Ultimate Country Party
All that's right with modern country and all that's wrong with  modern country in one cellophane wrapper. You can't deny the current  roster of talented, enthusiastic, and charismatic performers. On the  other hand, the omnipresent rock beats and slick production seem to  indicate a lack of trust in the talent. As a result, artists with a  less-polished approach--BR5-49, Patty Loveless, Lee Roy Parnell--stand  apart from the pack. Choosing material in modern Nashville is also a  crapshoot, as evidenced by lines such as: "Going through the Big  D, I don't mean Dallas / I can't believe what the judge had to tell us  / I got the jeep and she got the palace." Or "Joined a cult,  joined the Klan, on the road with Pearl Jam / buried with the Grateful  Dead, came back as a Parrothead." Of course, this is a danceablepartyalbum, so maybe we should take Trace Adkins's advice:  "This ain't no thinkin' thing."--Marc Greilsamer