I'm Your Biggest Fan (Koch, 2005)

Dallas Wayne CDs play out the way we wish contemporary country radio sounded. He has a wonderfully deep singing voice, which he applies to drop-dead serious tracks like the title son as well as sillier fare, such as "Tex-tosterone." You'd almost swear that some of these arrangements were classic country tracks, best exemplified by the western swing that drives "Junior Samples" or the quiet sadness saturating "Under The Overpass." Wayne uses a lot of tried and true country music devices to create his contemporary recordings, yet he never sounds dated. If it ain't broke, don't fix it, and Wayne has taken this saying to heart.

In addition to being a traditional diehard, Wayne is also self-sufficient. He produced this disc, had a hand in writing all 12 tracks and plays electric and acoustic guitar, as well as upright and standup bass. He may not be as quick-witted or speedy-fingered as Junior Brown, but Wayne shares a lot of high quality artistic values with that guit-steel man.

He doesn't yet share Brown's hip credentials, but even if Wayne never earns the kind of widespread exposure he so richly deserves, it's awfully hard not to be a big fan of what he's done here. Dallas Wayne