Montgomery Gentry w/ Josh Thompson

Commercial country music saw the '90s end with bang upon the national debut of Montgomery Gentry. Eddie Montgomery (brother of arguably more gentlemanly country hitmaker John Michael Montgomery) and Eddie Gentry hit hard with the purposeful dare of a first single, "Hillbilly Shoes," and its attendant album, Tattoos & Scars. Their radio presence has largely been a given since then. They have adapted the outlaw stance of '70s hellraisers such as Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson to the sometimes uneasy, more family-friendly milieu of today's country aesthetic, but that has given them a rather wide textual berth all the same. Montgomery Gentry's is a catalog encompassing the cocky chauvinism of "She Couldn't Change Me" to the sincere plea against racism and other societal sins embodied in "Some People Change." The trick is that they sound convincing both as self-assured jerks and motivators of relational harmony. No matter the character they employ in song, there's always a bit of the rough-hewn redneck about them. Their latest set, Gravel Road, looks to be off to a rougher start than usual for the duo, but they likely have more catchy, whiskey-swillingor, alternately, heartstring-tugginghits in them.