Rollin' With the Flow

If the title track sounds familiar, chances are you've been a country music fan for a while; "Rollin' With The Flow" was a number one hit for Charlie Rich in 1977. Over three decades later, Mark Chesnutt salutes the "Silver Fox" by not straying too far from Rich's velvety version — though this time around it's played a step or two lower to better accompany Chesnutt's finely textured tenor. His 13th studio album is a mature and elegant sounding affair rooted in the traditional tones of refined honky-tonk songs, good ol' beer joint twang, and moving country balladry. The weepy pedal steel, contagious melodies, and beautiful harmonies in the chorus of "When You Love Her Like Crazy" make for an instant classic. And of course it wouldn't be true honky-tonk without a boozy number like "Come On In (The Whiskey's Fine)" — a drinkin' song to the core with a funny narrative about backwoods hillbillies hunting rodents in the mountains before stumbling into their dream dive saloon. If Chesnutt keeps making albums this good, nobody has to worry about the new traditional sound leaving the country airwaves.