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Most artists playing and staying true to traditional country styles get pigeonholed as retro acts in the 1990s. Junior Brown, on the other hand, is viewed as something fresh and vital. You'd like to think it's because of his appealing baritone drawl, deft songwriting touch, and fleet set of picking fingers, but you just know that it's the Hendrix flourishes and his "guit-steel" creation that make him "relevant" to the contemporary Nashville tastemakers. Either way, Brown's mix of Hawaiian-tinged ballads, honky-tonk weepers, steady shuffles, and boy-girl duets is as potent as country gets in the 1990s. This 1993 effort, his first for Curb, not only showcases his rather formidable guitar technique and wall-shaking voice, but also proves him to be a sneakily clever lyricist, whether being ironic, sarcastic, or honest. --Marc Greilsamer