Sawyer Brown frontman Mark Miller was an inspired choice to produce Bucky’s debut (along with co-producer Dale Oliver), molding a muscular sound that perfectly complements the American Idol finalist’s lived-in voice and Southern-rockin’ style.

The team also found some terrific songs, including kickers like “American Friday Night” and “The Bible and the Belt.” But the stumbles are big ones—“A Different World” is pointlessly crotchety nostalgia, while the over-the-top “I’ll Walk” plays more like a vicious parody of a tear-jerking country ballad than the real thing.