Blue County

Curb Records could easily promote the duo of Aaron Benward and Scott Reeves by referring to their background, but the fingersnapping opening track "Good Little Girls" is so strong that they could take country music by storm even without those cool resumés (the single hit the Top Ten on the Billboard Country Singles Chart before the album's release). A look back: Benward was a successful gospel singer, scoring several contemporary Christian hit albums with his dad as Aaron Jeffrey, while Reeves starred on The Young & The Restless. All that is somewhat secondary for the tandem, who met through a mutual friend at a video shoot five years ago. While they sound very country when they sing harmony, verses on the wistful "Hollywood California" show a rock influence when they sing separately. They're also not above a more traditional country blues approach, with the acoustic-flavored opening segment to "Sunday Driver" holding back on all the polished production values found elsewhere. Aside from great song selection and strong vocals, Blue County also has the advantage of Benward's songwriting expertise; the feisty blues-rocker "What's Not to Love" is on par musically and lyrically with any of the outside material on the disc. Nominated for an Academy of Country Music Award in 2003, Blue Country seems poised to join the ranks of the superstars in the genre any minute.