Oklahoma-born country newcomer Blake Shelton recently made a big splash with "Austin," his first hit single, a cleverly rendered love ballad built as much on lyric contrivance as inspiration. But Shelton's self-titled debut CD, produced by the great veteran country songwriter Bobby Braddock, also contains quite a few harder-hitting, meatier tunes. "Old Red," for instance, is a twangy and resolutely down-home prison tale that Shelton imbues with growling tongue-in-cheek humor.
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