After the disappointing performance of 1998's
No More Looking Over My Shoulder
and his departure from
Warner Bros. Records
,
Travis Tritt
mounted a surprising comeback with his
Columbia Records
debut, 2000's
Down the Road I Go
.
Strong Enough
, that album's follow-up, similarly tones down the
Southern rock
aspect of
Tritt
's musical palette in favor of a more straight-ahead
country
sound more acceptable to
radio programmers. In the opening track, the self-written
"You Can't Count Me out Yet,"
addresses the premature rumors of his commercial demise as well as his return to form. "Some thought I was finally gone for good," he sings, "but those doubters just got rattled/'Cause I'm back in the saddle/Doing better than a body should." If so, it's because he has gotten better at playing the Nashville game, and while the album is not devoid of up-tempo
honky tonk
material, notably
"If You're Gonna Straighten up (Brother Now's the Time),"
"Time to Get Crazy,"
and
"I Can't Seem to Get Over You"
(each of which
co-wrote), there are many sentimental
ballads
that look back regretfully on changing times, particularly
"County Ain't Country,"
or treat romantic subjects.
's composition
"Strong Enough to Be Your Man,"
the album's advance single, is an affirmative answer record to
Sheryl Crow
's 1993 song
"Strong Enough,"
which asked, "Are you strong enough to be my man?" Another good singles choice would be
"Can't Tell Me Nothin',"
"You Really Wouldn't Want Me That Way,"
which also touts the singer's independence, could find a home on radio, too. The irony is that in such songs,
is actually conforming to Nashville's dictates: using standard formulas or co-writing with music row pros, recording with the usual sessionmen. So far, it appears he can have it both ways. ~ William Ruhlmann