Blake Shelton

Though Blake Shelton is best known for his countrified power ballads, Pure BS kick-starts like a brand new Harley with the modern roadhouse rock of "This Can't Be Good." George Jones and Jon Anderson cameo on "The Last Country Song," a honky-tonkin' anthem that rails against the development of corporate retail sprawl (dig the stellar pedal-steel picking). Shelton's heartfelt cover of Chris Knight's "It Ain't Easy Being Me" is another standout, as is the infectious, two-stepping "The More I Drink."

Now a close personal friend of Miranda Lambert, troublemaking new traditionalist Shelton
cut this album mid-divorce, which is how he explains the thoughtful tone of songs that play
on received language like "She Don't Love Me" (worse, she doesn't hate me either), "What I
Wouldn't Give" (to make up for what I wouldn't give) and "I Don't Care" (actually, I do). The
finale ponders suburban developers displacing farmland and honky-tonks. "The... More >

Close personal friend of Miranda Lambert and trouble-making new traditionalist Shelton cut this album mid-divorce, which is how he explains the thoughtful tone of songs that play on received language like "She Don't Love Me" (worse, she doesn't hate me either), "What I Wouldn't Give" (to make up for what I wouldn't give), and "I Don't Care" (actually, I do). The finale ponders suburban developers displacing farmland and honky tonks. "The Last Country Song," it's called. You can bet it isn't. (Grade - ***)