[Ignatius]

I've been through the whole disc twice now, and my impression at this point is that it has more depth to the songwriting and production than perhaps any of his prior releases. There are some of the common themes present (guys are different from girls, women control men, fishing references, good ol' boys doing things that good ol' boys do, you're my woman and I love you and you're everything, etc.) but that's partly who the guy is and partly the country music demographic that they're pushing a product to. Both understandable I guess, but I was at least pleased that these themes don't seem to be conveyed as, um, 'cornily' as on his previous work.

Regarding the 'forced' guitar solos commentary, there is one really fast lick on one tune (can't recall exactly where at the moment) that sounds way out of context for the tune. It was odd that it leapt right out of the speakers and hit me like that. But I think that's maybe being a bit overcritical, and of course the playing is excellent all over the CD.