Travis Tritt Albums (11)
What The Critics Say
Since contemporary country records have little to do with sounding like country music from any other era -- other than the use of pedal steels, fiddles or banjos in their instrumentation at times -- it's a wonder that Travis Tritt, one of those responsible for ushering in the current era and a hitmaker of major proportion, is no longer with a major record label. It just doesn't make sense. Tritt was considered one of the "new traditionalists" back in the day. Whatever. He could still rock harder in his approach to the country tradition (without forsaking honky tonk or rockabilly in the process) than most any mainstream pop band. And while he isn't Merle Haggard, he is still a hell of a songwriter when he wants to be. As a performer, he is second to none. Not to take anything away from the considerable monolithic talent of Tim McGraw, but the latter may never have ascended the heights of the Nash Vegas and pop pantheons if Tritt hadn't come first. The Storm is Tritt's very first studio recording as an independent artist. Issued on the Category 5 imprint, the set is solid from top to bottom and offers a listen to the singer/songwriter as a thoroughly modern performer in the new country mold without giving up an ounce of his integrity or his backwoods character. What's more, he proves he can sing the blues and funk, too. The Storm is not a recipe for a disaster. It is an almost perfectly balanced recording with four strong originals, a few fine tunes by Diane Warren, and a killer cover of Hank Jr.'s "The Pressure Is On." It's got a wonderful equanimity between up- and mid-tempo tunes with a ballad or two thrown in for good measure. The set begins with "Mudcat Moan (Prelude)/You Never Take Me Dancing," the album's first single. It's got plenty of Fender Rhodes and a popping bassline, acoustic and slide guitar, and a chorus of female voices bringing home the refrain. It's funky, bluesy, gritty and full of soul. Tritt can shout the country funk better than anyone and the proof is in the grooves. The message tunes are here, too. His reading of Diane Warren's "(I Wanna) Feel Too Much" is utterly believable in the grain of Tritt's voice. It's a stunner, an anthem: it will no doubt be used in some Hollywood film at some point. Likewise the bluesy roots rocker "Doesn't the Good Outweigh the Bad," written with Richard Marx (remember him?) which swaggers and strolls with a cocky confidence that makes it a prime candidate for a second single and/or video. The title track, kicking off with a dirty electric guitar, a Hammond B-3, and a slamming backbeat is a woolly rocker. But the ballads are certainly here too: "What If Love Hangs On," written with Rob Thomas, is a convincing love song written in a time of trouble and committed to working through it. Tritt's big and throaty voice has just enough rasp to make him a singer who can get his lyrics across with conviction without sounding canned or corny. Because "Something Stronger Than Me" is an affecting ballad -- complete with strings in the backdrop -- it offers a tale of vulnerability that simply lays waste to the competition. The track is a moving narrative about trying to hang on, about desperation in the face of things that are uncertain and shaky. "The Pressure Is On," with its acoustic guitar entry, B-3, and harmonica moan is as tough and unrepentant as the original, but sounds less boastful. It feels like a paean to commitment and dedication, and does it ever work! Full of the blues and hardcore country sentiment it's one of the best tunes on the set. "High Time for Getting' Down" is a modern country boogie with the fiddle in the right place but which is rightfully overpowered by rock & roll guitars. Rather than close out on a ballad, Tritt follows this with the other bookend on the album, "Somehow, Someday, Someway," which is introduced by the burning electric blues guitar of Kenny Wayne Shepherd (who co-wrote the track). It's ferocious; the only thing that grounds it is the honky tonk piano fills in the middle and a swelling B-3. Shepherd isn't the only star who offers his talents here: drummers Kenny Aronoff and Vinnie Colaiuta, pedal steel and dobro whiz Greg Leisz, and keyboardist Matt Rollings also contribute, as does Charlie Daniels on his fiddle. Tritt and Randy Jackson co-produced The Storm, and the wild thing is, left to his own devices, Tritt's come up with one of the high points in his storied career. This is a contemporary country masterpiece. ~ Thom Jurek, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
It's difficult to believe that Travis Tritt has been kicking it from Nash Vegas for nearly 15 years. For most of that time, Tritt has been remarkably consistent. He has espoused his own vision of outlaw country since the beginning. While marketed as one of the first "new traditionalists" and then refashioned as a progenitor of "young country," Tritt has followed his own redneck way throughout and for the most part made the records he wanted to make. My Honky Tonk History, is another chapter, though this one rocks pretty hard. Co-produced with Billy Joe Walker, Tritt assembled a stellar cast of pickers -- including Reggie Young, Pat Buchanan, Brent Mason, Pig Robbins, and Eric Darken in a very large cast for this date -- as well as some special guests. The title track opens the set with a rollicking firebrand and burning electric guitars all but covering a lone banjo that stands in for tradition. It's a juxtaposition that works, since Tritt's celebration of a hungry life of hustling is timeless. "Too Far to Turn Around," is a bluesy dobro-fueled ballad that is lean and mean, with Gretchen Wilson (one of the song's three writers) guesting on backing vocals. The intro to "What Say You," feels like a track off John Mellencamp's Lonesome Jubilee, but perhaps that's because Mellencamp duets with Tritt here on this working-class anthem. It's easily the best cut on the set, and the two singers are particularly suited to one another as electric guitars, mandolins, fiddles, a B-3, and Béla Fleck's banjo crisscross in a swirl of rocking country-soul. Honky tonk music proper enters the fray in Philip Claypool's "Circus Leaving Town," a modern take on the music that made the careers of George Jones and Ray Price. Texas R&B meets the country bar's sawdust floor in "Monkey Around," written by Delbert McClinton, Benmont Tench, and Gary Nicholson. It's greasy, raucous, and freewheeling with killer piano lines by Robbins. Of the ballads, slick as it is, Tritt and Marty Stuart's "We've Had It All," works well. Tritt brings the emotion in the tune right upfront and sings with conviction and grace, but the whining pedal steel in "Small Doses" makes the slow step of this low-down country tearjerker really stand out. Tritt's protagonist is a man on a barstool talking to himself, trying to buoy his courage to face the empty space left by a long-gone lover. In all, My Honky Tonk History is a solid, sure-voiced outing from an enduring and committed artist. Bravo. ~ Thom Jurek, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
After the disappointing performance of 1998's No More Looking Over My Shoulder and his departure from Warner Bros. Records, Travis Tritt mounted a surprising comeback with his Columbia Records debut, 2000's Down the Road I Go. Strong Enough, that album's follow-up, similarly tones down the Southern rock aspect of Tritt's musical palette in favor of a more straight-ahead country sound more acceptable to country radio programmers. In the opening track, the self-written "You Can't Count Me out Yet," Tritt addresses the premature rumors of his commercial demise as well as his return to form. "Some thought I was finally gone for good," he sings, "but those doubters just got rattled/'Cause I'm back in the saddle/Doing better than a body should." If so, it's because he has gotten better at playing the Nashville game, and while the album is not devoid of up-tempo honky tonk material, notably "If You're Gonna Straighten up (Brother Now's the Time)," "Time to Get Crazy," and "I Can't Seem to Get Over You" (each of which Tritt co-wrote), there are many sentimental ballads that look back regretfully on changing times, particularly "County Ain't Country," or treat romantic subjects. Tritt's composition "Strong Enough to Be Your Man," the album's advance single, is an affirmative answer record to Sheryl Crow's 1993 song "Strong Enough," which asked, "Are you strong enough to be my man?" Another good singles choice would be "Can't Tell Me Nothin'," and "You Really Wouldn't Want Me That Way," which also touts the singer's independence, could find a home on radio, too. The irony is that in such songs, Tritt is actually conforming to Nashville's dictates: using standard formulas or co-writing with music row pros, recording with the usual sessionmen. So far, it appears he can have it both ways. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
One word describes Travis Tritt and his music: consistent. Since his first release in 1989, Tritt has been adding bluesy Southern rock to his country honky tonk roots, creating a sound all his own. Having written or co-written seven of the album's 11 tracks, Tritt says Down the Road I Go does have a purpose: "I want to continue to connect with my female audience, but I want to include songs that come from a more male perspective. If country is going to have a resurgence, we are going to have to get the men listening again." Male and female fans alike will enjoy this solid effort from a man who hasn't lost his touch even after eight dependable albums. ~ Maria Konicki Dinoia, All Music Guide
'No More Looking over My Shoulder'
Release Date 10/13/1998
Tracks 10
Label Warner Bros.
See Album Tracklist and Review
'The Restless Kind'
Release Date 8/27/1996
Tracks 11
Label Warner Bros.
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
Under the direction of Don Was, Travis Tritt turns in one of his leanest and easily his grittiest country record yet with Restless Kind. Cutting back the country-rock flourishes that have always distinguished his sound, Tritt opts for twangy guitars, wailing fiddles, dobros, and unaffected guts vocals. Mirroring the stripped-down instrumentation, the song selection is straight-ahead honky tonk, rockabilly and traditional country. Tritt benefits immeasurably from this approach -- he has never sounded so alive. Actually, he has never sounded so purely country. ~ Thom Owens, All Music Guide
'Ten Feet Tall and Bulletproof'
Release Date 1/1/1994
Tracks 10
Label Warner Bros.
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
Travis Tritt's most personal album is the one in which he feels most comfortable with his Southern rock/outlaw mantle. ("Outlaws Like Us," in fact, features the voices of Hank Williams, Jr., and Waylon Jennings.) Tritt poked fun at his own foibles in the title track and co-wrote "Wishful Thinking" and "No Vacation from the Blues" with Lynyrd Skynyrd's Gary Rossington. "Wishful Thinking" and "Foolish Pride" are ballads that rival "Anymore" for power and Skynyrd and Bob Seger for production values. ~ Brian Mansfield, All Music Guide
'A Travis Tritt Christmas: Loving Time of the Year'
Release Date 1/1/1992
Tracks 10
Label Rhino/Warner Bros.
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
The harder Tritt rocks on Loving Time of the Year, the better he sounds. His Southern-boogie versions of "Winter Wonderland" and "Silver Bells" make a perfect antidote to sleigh-bell burnout...Elsewhere, Tritt writes the title track while covering two by Buck Owens and one by Sonny James. ~ Brian Mansfield, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
On his third full-length,Travis Tritt's rollicking cover versions of Buddy Guy ("Leave My Girl Alone") and Elvis Presley ("T-R-O-U-B-L-E") are nice touches and show deeper roots than the Gary Rossington co-written tracks here ("Blue Collar Man"). This is also a very diverse collection that shows off a little (though not a lot) more of the singer and songwriter's depths as a performer as well. Tritt's abilities as an authentic showman come across on his recordings, and did even at this early stage of the game, establishing him as a top-flight entertainer and concert draw. Producer Gregg Brown plays to Tritt's strengths, by selecting freewheeling country tunes such as Marty Stuart's "A Hundred Years from Now," Troy Seals' "Lookin' Out for Number One," and Kostas' "Lord Have Mercy on the Working Man" for his moneymaker to sink that countrified voice into. That all said, T-r-o-u-b-l-e is also almost indistinguishable from It's All About to Change: a good novelty song masquerading as more, a couple of ballads with big flourishes, and a large helping of Southern rock strut is a good formula, granted, but it's still a formula. And for a guy who claimed he never played it safe, this was a bit to close to the net for posterity to bear. ~ Brian Mansfield & Thom Jurek, All Music Guide
'It's All About to Change'
Release Date 1/1/1991
Tracks 10
Label Warner Bros.
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
Better production means ballads like "Anymore" sound bigger and rockers like "Bible Belt" (with Little Feat) and "Homesick" rock harder. Travis Tritt brought in Marty Stuart for a duet on "The Whiskey Ain't Workin'" and revived "Here's a Quarter (Call Someone Who Cares)" as a catch phrase. ~ Brian Mansfield, All Music Guide
