Dallas Wayne - Here I Am In Dallas (2011/2020)

Imagine a burlier-sounding Randy Travis--stripped of varnish and steeped in the hard-twang influence of Buck Owens and Merle Haggard--and you'll have some sense of the rough-hewn gem that is Dallas Wayne. Though the uptempo opener, "Bouncin' Beer Cans Off the Jukebox," smacks of generic traditionalism, balladry such as "The Stuff Inside" and "Not a Dry Eye in the House" shows that there's plenty of room for subtlety and nuance within Wayne's brand of heartfelt honky-tonk. Other highlights include the soulful shuffle of "Happy Hour" (a song associated with the late Ted Hawkins) and the closing anthem for touring musicians, "I Hit the Road (And the Road Hit Back)," written with Robbie Fulks. --Don McLeese