Some People Change
It might have been tempting to subtitle the latest from Eddie Montgomery and Troy Gentry...And Some People Don't. Though the soaring title ballad that opens the album celebrates the power of redemptive transformation, much of the material finds the duo pledging allegiance to roots that remain proudly hick ("Hey Country," with its interplay of banjo and screaming rock guitars) and defiantly redneck ("Redder," "What Do You Think About That"). Highlights include a deathbed reconciliation between a stubborn father and his rebellious son on "20 Years Ago" and a revenge song that channels a "Pretty Woman" groove on "Your Tears Are Coming." Wherever Montgomery Gentry are taking their music, they haven't forgotten where they came from.--Don McLeese