Startin' Fires (2008)

Blake Shelton is nowhere near as compelling as his girlfriend, Miranda Lambert (who shows up to lend guest vocals to the cheeky ''Bare Skin Rug''), but this sensitive Nashville hunk definitely knows how to craft a sturdy country tune. On Startin' Fires, Shelton decides to dial down the crossover aspirations apparent in his recent cover of Michael Bublé's ''Home''; these Fires are fueled by midtempo beer-joint grooves, pretty-but-manly vocals, and lyrics about family, heartbreak, and ''workin' like hell till the dinner bell.'' Next time a little more Lambert would help heat things up. B–

Dowload This: Listen to tracks from the new album on the artist's MySpace

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