Capitol Nashville
2008
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About This Album
If you didn't know better, the blasting guitar riff on "Sweet," the opening track on Trace Adkins'X (Ten), might be mistaken for one off a .38 Special track from the late '70s. The track has the single potential of one of Adkins' many hits. The song has an infectious hook in its refrain -- and yes, it rocks. But by the time the set's second number, "Happy to Be Here," commences with a similar big guitar entrance -- albeit on a midtempo ballad -- "Sweet" isn't even a memory. And the same happens for the latter cut when "All I Ask for Anymore" arrives with strings, an acoustic guitar, and a pedal steel whispering in that big gritty baritone of Adkins. It's a ballad drenched in personal truth, and gratitude that is profound. Adkins is actually trying to get across something of a "message" here, albeit one that is humble in scope. The funky B-3 and snare WHOMP that introduces "Let's Do That Again" is a nice curve ball, even if the cut sounds like an outtake from a Josh Turner record. The wide-open slide and pedal steel guitars ride the shuffling rhythm; the singer's delivery has that balance of swagger and warmth that makes it soulful.
Track List (try tracks 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8 and 9)

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