here do you go after conquering the world with a “Badonkadonk”?




The country music world, that is. Trace Adkins has had a #1 single (1996’s “No Thinkin’ Thing”) and a moderately successful decade-long career, but he seemed to be missing a focus—let alone a hit that’ll be remembered in a decade’s time—until last year’s ridiculous #2 smash “Honky Tonk Badonkadonk.” It filled a niche which most didn’t know was still vacant—one previously filled by hits like “Achy Breaky Heart” and “Boot Scootin’ Boogie.” And it did so by essentially being a country version of “Baby Got Back,” a high-energy (not high-NRG, though its attendant remixes came closer than you might expect) ode to the female ass.

Adkins was actually already honing a focus with the singles from 2004’s Comin’ On Strong. “Hot Mama” marked his rebirth as an ever-so-slightly naughty guy with a leering eye (but a good heart) and hit #5 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart; the #13 follow-up “Rough and Ready” helped cement his image as a kind of sexy, ready-for-anything redneck. He’s reminiscent of another six-foot-plus country star who labored as a generic everyman for years before realizing that what he does best is show off his big brass balls. Just as “How Do You Like Me Now?!” was Toby Keith’s statement of intent, “Honky Tonk Badonkadonk” is Adkins’.

The cover of Adkins’ eighth album, Dangerous Man, is a sepia-toned photo of him wearing a dirty white T-shirt, an unbuttoned flannel over it, and of course jeans, boots, and his ever-present Stetson. He’s not smiling (and is in fact scowling somewhat—he is “dangerous” after all), but he does a lot of it in these songs, now that he’s relaxed and let his inner redneck teenager take over.

The album succeeds on the back of that spirit; while first single “Swing” is a bit too novelty-kitschy for its own good (even by “Badonkadonk” standards), the likes of “Ladies Love Country Boys” (take that, LL Cool J!), “Southern Hallelujah,” the title track and especially “Fightin’ Words” rev up their mix of southern rock guitar and fiddles with a heapin’ helpin’ of Attitude.

A funny thing happened on the way to Dangerous Man, too—Adkins found a bunch of “sensitive” songs that work for him. His last album’s missteps were largely due to him trying on a slew of ill-fitting ballads (Garth Brooks he’s not) but the softer side of Dangerous Man is much more true to who Adkins is. “I Came Here to Live” is cribbed from the Montgomery Gentry ballad songbook (i.e. “I’m not ready to go yet”), while “The Stubborn One” is a touching ode to a dying grandfather. There’s no pretense here.

Whether his tempo’s fast or slow, the subject matter lascivious or tender, the mood is consistent across Dangerous Man. It sounds like Adkins has finally nailed down who he is as an artist, and by all accounts, it’s not much different from who he is as a man (by all accounts): a good ol’ boy from Louisiana who’s fully embraced it, and found a set of songs that express it. In doing so, he’s made the most complete album of his career.