Just over a month after Trace Adkins became a new daddy again, his latest album hit the stores. Chrome was released on October 9th. The first single release, "I'm Tryin'" has been doing extremely well on the charts. The rest of the album has some strong songs as well and I think it will do really well for him. It is released by Capitol Nashville, and produced by Trey Bruce and Dann Huff. All in all, Trace should be a very happy man these days.

"Chrome" is the title track and I think it is very strong single material. However, it is not the traditional country sound. It has a very contemporary feel to it. It is hard to tell whether he is talking about cars or girls. He ties it all in pretty well and plays on words. It definitely grows on you.

"Once Upon A Fool Ago" is another classic country sound. He has discovered it was his pride that chased her away. Now he wants her back. He spends the song reliving memories and trying to figure out how to fix the situation.

"I'm Tryin'" was the first single release from the album. It has almost a classical sound to the intro with the violin music. It turns into a very pretty song with a nice sound. Not too fast, not too slow. The basic lament of most people - no matter how hard you try there always seems to be another obstacle in the way for you to get over.

"Thankful Man" has an upbeat tempo. I really like what it has to say. It is a song thanking his parents for raising him right. They gave him the tools necessary to be a success in life whether he has money or not. He says, "It's a good life, a real good life, and I'm a thankful man."

"And There Was You" is one of the more up-tempo songs on the album. It is fun to listen to. He had bad luck with relationships in the past. He swore up and down he'd never do it again. And then there she was - just like that. He was head over heels in the middle of a relationship again.

"Scream" is leaning toward the more contemporary sound. It has a neat drum beat throughout the song. He wants the whole world to know he has found the woman of his dreams.

Overall I thoroughly enjoyed this album. Trace can certainly hold his own among the gentlemen of Country Music. All of the tracks on the album were solid and easy to listen to. It is one that will be played frequently in my CD player.

Song List:

1. Chrome
2. Help Me Understand
3. Once Upon a Fool Ago
4. I'm Tryin'
5. Thankful Man
6. I'm Payin' for It Now
7. And There Was You
8. Come Home
9. Scream
10. I'm Goin' Back
11. Give Me You
12. Love Me Like There's No Tomorrow

Audio clips courtesy of Barnes & Noble
All graphics © Shelly Fabian, with the exception of the album cover, used with permission of Capitol Nashville.