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TRAVIS TRITT “t-r-o-u-b-l-e” Warner Bros.* * 1/2...

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TRAVIS TRITT “t-r-o-u-b-l-e”

Warner Bros.

* * 1/2 “Starting now I’m looking out for No. 1,” the unruly country contender proclaims in his third album’s opening song.

Starting now?

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With his fringed jackets, feathered hair and defiant baby face, Tritt is the most self-absorbed country singer to come along since Hank Jr. There’s no irony in his me-first assertion, and it drains the credibility from the album’s attempts at sensitive sentiments and pensive poses.

There are plenty of such moments on “t-r-o-u-b-l-e,” which alternates rockers and ballads to create a condensed form of the honky-tonk experience--you dance, you cry in your beer, you dance again, you nod off, you dance a little more unsteadily. . . .

The pattern is too predictable, and Tritt doesn’t know the meaning of restraint, but he gets a lot of mileage from his ability to rock and a voice that’s among the most soulful in country. When he ties those talents to worthy songs, he backs up his bravado.

Marty Stuart’s “A Hundred Years From Now” is this album’s “Here’s a Quarter”--rueful rather than vengeful, but catchy and obvious. Kostas’ “Lord Have Mercy on the Working Man” is also obvious but has some sharp lines and a rousing chorus. “Blue Collar Man,” Tritt’s collaboration with Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Gary Rossington, is, yes, obvious in its poor-and-proud declaration, but it showcases Tritt’s fine Southern-rock instincts, and it does offer one modern twist--he owes his soul to MasterCard instead of the company store.

“T-r-o-u-b-l-e” is a conservative album that doesn’t go far enough toward fulfilling either of Tritt’s main impulses: The overtures toward a wide audience are dull, but for all his attitude he doesn’t really give free rein to his wildness. Tritt has the gifts, no question, but he won’t make great music until he becomes someone who cares.

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