Randy Travis' 1986 emergence as the leader of a fresh crop of country music "youngsters" came with a deeply reverential nod to the makers of what was once long-considered authentic, unvarnished, old-school country. Now, after an early-millennium shift into no-doubt-about-it Christian country, Travis returns here with a somewhat more mainstream country release, in a career that long-ago rendered such delineations superfluous. "You Didn't Have a Good Time" is a gut-wrenching "ballad of the bottle" that holds out hope for redemption, while "Every Head Bowed" is a riotously funny look at blessings that heat up as dinner cools down. The title song is a bluesy, country reflection on life and death, with a stinging Telecaster solo sealing its place in tradition and modernity. As if almost effortlessly, Travis proves track after track the difference between bravado and stone-cold brilliance. —Gordon Ely