Inside Traxx - Various Artists

More of this Feature • Inside Traxx CD Review • CD Review Index • Other Reviews by Kathy    Related Resources • Spotlight on Travis Tritt • I'm Alright CD Review • Set This Circus Down CD Review • Anita CD Review • Can You Hear Me Now CD Review • Almeria Club CD Review • Neal McCoy Spotlight • John Michael Montgomery Guitar Tabs, Chords & Lyrics    Community • Country Chatroom • Country Forums    Elsewhere On The Net • Travis Tritt • Jo Dee Messina • Dwight Yoakam • Tim McGraw • Anita Cochran • Ken Mellons • Sawyer Brown • Hank Williams Jr. • Neal McCoy • Trini Triggs • John Michael Montgomery

Reviewed by Kathy Coleman

Country music and NASCAR seem to have always gone together. Rednecks and fast formula racers seem to compliment each other, and the image of Bubba and his cooler of beer with his pals, gal, and kids at the dusty track on a warm summer afternoon is indelibly etched in the mind. To celebrate that eternal union, Warner Brothers and Curb Records have combined some hot names in country music with some hot songs to produce Inside Traxx, a 14-track collection of fast country songs with a rockin' beat to listen to and enjoy at home and at the track.

Although most of the songs here on Inside Traxx are re-issues, they're largely good ones. The disc comes on strong with Travis Tritt's "Start the Car" (from the album No More Looking Over My Shoulder), and whips into high gear from there. But the re-treads (pardon the pun) and the few weak spots are easily overlooked in the presence of such gems as the seldom-heard Ken Mellons' powerful baritone singing "I Can't Kick My Country," as well as what is probably the last song Dwight Yoakam recorded for Warner Brothers, "Sitting Pretty," (one of the only new cuts, and only available on this disc). Yoakam is the only artist featured twice, as the sly, sexy rocker "Fast As You" (from the album This Time) also appears here.

Among the seldom-heard/seldom-seen names are Brad Wolf, with his suberb "Strictly Business," Trini Triggs coming on strong with a cover of the immortal Chuck Berry classic, "You Never Can Tell," and the strong voice of Mark Tinney with "Gypsy Blue Tattoo."

Also on the disc you'll find Hank Williams Jr., with a cut from his new Almerica Club, "Go Girl Go," and Anita Cochran belting out "God Created Woman," from her self-titled album. Sawyer Brown do a turn on "Can You Hear Me Now," the title track from their upcoming new release, and Neal McCoy sings "What If." As well, there are oldies from Jo Dee Messina and Tim McGraw -- "Dare to Dream" and "I Like It, I Love It." (From "Burn" and "All I Want," respectively.)

On the whole, it's a cracking good listen, and a lot of fun. More original songs would have been nice, but it's more than worth the price of admission just for the new Yoakam cut, and it's terrific hearing Ken Mellons again -- he's one I'd like to see more of. It's an excellent combination of the artists and songs from Warner Bros./Curb, a good way to "sample the waters," as it were, and a place to pick up some of the oldies if you don't want to buy the whole original album. As a "Best Of" collection it's pretty strong, and the overall theme is well-maintained.

We close the disc with John Michael Montgomery's "Friday At Five," a favorite for the early weekend crowd, and we're off to the track. Start your engines!

Song List:

1. Start the Car - Travis Tritt
2. Dare To Dream - Jo Dee Messina
3. Fast As You - Dwight Yoakam
4. I Like It, I Love It - Tim McGraw
5. God Created Woman - Anita Cochran
6. I Can't Kick My Country - Ken Mellons
7. Can You Hear Me Now - Sawyer Brown
8. Sitting Pretty - Dwight Yoakam
9. Go Girl Go - Hank Williams Jr.
10. Strictly Business - Brad Wolf
11. What If - Neal McCoy
12. You Never Can Tell - Trini Triggs
13. Gypsy Blue Tattoo - Mark Tinney
14. Friday At Five - John Michael Montgomery