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It isn't until you see them all together like this that you realize the obvious: Trace Adkins has been responsible for some of the greatest country records of our time.
The new album is paced by his tender, new fatherhood ballad "Then They Do." The song has taken off in popularity so quickly that it has already inspired a book of stories collected from parents all across America. The rest of the performances collected here have become the calling cards of an entertainer of exceptional range, depth and power. Whether roaring good-time rockers like "Big Time" and "(This Ain't) No Thinkin' Thing" or caressing heartache ballads like "Don't Lie" and "Every Light in the House Is On," this man is the definition of "country." Even when singing in such sophisticated musical settings as "I'm Tryin'" or "Chrome," Trace Adkins remains identifiable as a blue-collar "everyman." And when you turn him loose on a hillbilly romp like "I Left Something Turned on at Home," there's no finer honky-tonker on disc today. From the upbeat "More" to the downbeat "Help Me Understand," this is a guy who is always supremely convincing. There are few more memorable country moments than his falsetto leaps in "Lonely Won't Leave Me Alone." His career launching "There's a Girl in Texas" chugs along with the confident vocal swagger that has characterized so many of his finest outings. If there was ever a "perfect" country wedding sound, it was surely in the bounced fiddle bows and rumbling bass vocal dip of "The Rest of Mine." And to top the whole package off, there's a striking slab of anger against terrorist zealots, "Welcome to Hell." "I'm still recording songs that I think could be career singles," says Adkins. "So I was a little concerned when they told me the next album was going to be a Greatest Hits. I thought, Oh God, one of the reasons why an artist puts out a Greatest Hits is that it's a last, desperate act." Of course, the other one is that he legitimately has the hits to do it. "Well, I definitely don't think I'm done yet, so let's choose reason Number Two. There have been times in my career when the wheels have come off the bus and things got screwed up. But I'm still here, and things are better than ever. In fact, this year's been pretty wild, man , every gig we've done has been a sell-out." One reason for that is the fact that Trace Adkins is a showman of the first rank. Country audiences love his shoot-from-the-hip candor, his hell-bent-for-election energy and his user-friendly attitude. Concert promoters, booking agents and road managers agree that this is one star who never pulls a tantrum or puts a crown on a swelled head. "I wear that as a badge of honor," he comments. "I've had so many people say, 'You were the easiest guy to work with.' Because I'm not demanding. I don't need particular things. I think it's the old roughneck in me. We're used to being in locker rooms. Sometimes we'll be at the venue setting up and my road manager will say, 'OK, you want to go back to the room, take a shower and get ready for the show?' I'll say, They ain't got a shower here? 'Yeah, but it's kinda nasty.' I don't care. Cancel my room. I'll shower here. It don't matter to me. I'm just not that high maintenance. I've been told that time and time again." He is indeed an ex-oilfield roughneck. And an ex-gospel singer. And an ex-football player. Not to mention one of the most seasoned honky-tonkers who ever earned a recording contract. Born Tracy Darrell Adkins, he was raised in little Sarepta, LA, the son of a factory worker and a schoolteacher. The boy was playing guitar before he reached his teens, and at age 17 he became the bass singer for the regionally popular gospel quartet The New Commitment. The act recorded two local albums when Adkins was 18. By then, he had grown to six-feet, six-inches in height and bulked up to 240 pounds to play tackle and linebacker in high school and college football. "I started out as a pretty successful jock and then took that same attitude right into the oil field, where that kind of attitude is rewarded and valued to a certain extent. I went to an offshore rig, where it's hard-core and dangerous. A drilling rig with a bunch of roughnecks where there aren't any women around is just a testosterone fest. You're physically working hard every day, and you�¹re in great shape. "If there was some hazardous duty, I was always the guy who would volunteer. The more dangerous it got, the better I liked it." He nearly lost a leg and one of his fingers due to accidents on the rig. His fellow workers heard him playing and singing. In 1985, one of them hooked him up with the Louisiana band Bayou Speak Easy. Adkins sang lead in the group and wrote its 1986 single "Bayou Sunrise." "Send more!" raved Music Row magazine's reviewer. But by then Trace Adkins was getting tired of 300 shows a year in the grungiest dives in America. Performing what he termed "combat country," he found himself in roadhouse brawls where he was stomped and stabbed. His marriage to his high school sweetheart dissolved during the long touring separations. Adkins decided the oilrig was an easier life and quit the country-music business in 1989. An old friend warned him that one day he might regret not pursuing his music dreams. Adkins knew he didn't want to wake up years from then and realize he'd squandered his talents. He packed up and left for Music City in August 1992. At first, he worked construction jobs, but after awhile he landed a steady singing job at a small club east of Nashville. Another marriage came and went; this time with such turbulence that she shot him in the chest on their final day together in 1994. Adkins survived a bullet through his lungs and heart and returned to singing. While performing at a Nashville nightclub, producer Scott Hendricks, caught his act and signed him to Capitol Records on the spot. As soon as the hits started coming in 1996, fans were instantly drawn to the singer's compelling presence and natural charisma. The Academy of Country Music voted him 1997's Top New Male Vocalist, an honor he repeated in the pages of Country Weekly and at the 1998 TNN/Music City News Awards. His first two albums went Gold and Platinum and yielded five top-10 smashes. His fourth album is also Gold. Even non-country listeners could see that Trace Adkins was something special. His wise-guy appearances on Bill Maher's Politically Incorrect ABC-TV show became legendary. He starred in Chevy truck TV commercials and Wrangler jean magazine ads. He's been booked for Hollywood Squares. His distinctive, window-rattling baritone has earned him film and television voice-over work in recent years. He has narrated music shows, home-decor programs and western documentaries. Adkins hosted the 2002 CMT special The Honky Tonk Sound and narrates the acclaimed new feature film about a boxer, The Dance, which premiered in March 2003 in Austin, Texas. But music remains the big guy's focus. Now reunited with Scott Hendricks, Trace Adkins is already working on his next batch of Greatest Hits. And since beginning an alcohol rehabilitation program in 2002, he's doing it with the clearest vision he's ever had. "My next album is leaning a lot harder toward the country and traditional side," he reports. "So don't bring me any pop songs. I'm a country artist and proud of it. But, man, I've also got that wild streak in me, too, that I can't wash away. It's that 38 Special, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Molly Hatchett side of me. That's why I cut 'Know a Little' for the King of the Hill movie soundtrack and did 'Legs' on the ZZ Top tribute TV show. "I enjoy doing that stuff. It just feels good. In fact, most everything feels better now. I want to get back to having that joy for music that means you do it just for the pure love of doing it. That's what I want to be like, and I'm getting that way. One day at a time." TraceAdkins.com (Opens New Window) Source: Capitol Records Label Profile |
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