Greatest Hits

Performer: Tracy Byrd
Producer: Billy Joe Walker, Jr.; Tracy Byrd
Distributor: BMG (distributor)

Notes: Personnel: Tracy Byrd (vocals, guitar); Billy Joe Walker, Jr. (acoustic guitar, electric guitar); B. James Lowry, Biff Watson (acoustic guitar); Pat Buchanan, Reggie Young, Steve Gibson, Adam Shoenfeld, Brent Mason (electric guitar); Dan Dugmore, Paul Franklin (steel guitar); Kenny Sears, Aubrey Haynie (fiddle); Joe Carter (harmonica); John Jarvis (piano, Hammond b-3 organ); Glenn Worf, Mike Brignardello (bass guitar); Greg Morrow, Paul Leim (drums); Curtis Young, John Wesley Ryles, Neil Thrasher, Wes Hightower, Mike Taliaferro (background vocals). Recording information: Emerald Entertainment, Nashville, Tennessee. The first two songs on Tracy Byrd's GREATEST HITS make clear what a wide variety of material the Beaumont, Texas native has successfully tackled. "The Truth About Men" (which also features Andy Griggs, Montgomery Gentry, and Blake Shelton) is a great example of Byrd's trademark party songs. Celebrating the less-than-dainty behavior that often characterizes the male gender, the tune is driven by a beat that tears a honky-tonk page straight from the Merle Haggard barroom book. "Just Let Me Be in Love," on the other hand, is a Latin-influenced number full of nylon-string flamenco-guitar leads and lush synthesizer lines. Although Byrd's vocal performance is stone-cold country, the end result here sounds more like SHANGO-era Santana than Marty Robbins or Freddy Fender. Luckily, Byrd's big, rich voice and classic phrasing tie the various stylistic detours together. In addition to several re-recorded versions of his biggest chart-toppers, the 2005 collection includes two previously unreleased tracks. "Johnny Cash" is an escapist fantasy in the vein of Johnny Paycheck's "Take This Job and Shove It," while "Revenge of a Middle-Aged Woman" is a hilarious two-stepping romp that will definitely make male listeners think twice about doing their woman wrong.

Hat act Tracy Byrd is one of the bigger stars of the second wave of country music's new traditionalists. His perfect balance of good-old-boy hell-raising anthems and tender ballads has endeared him to a generous swath of the genre's listening audience. The Beaumont, Texas, native has been a consistent chart presence since arriving in the early 1990s; however, in 2006 Byrd jumped from RCA to an independent label for his ninth studio album, DIFFERENT THINGS.

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