Hillbilly Bone

This six-song mini-album finds Blake Shelton coming into his own when it comes to song selection. If “Hillbilly Bone,” a Trace Adkins duet chock-full of Southern pride, doesn’t cement Blake’s place as an authentic country boy, then the Montgomery Gentry-esque “Kiss My Country Ass” surely will. Although Blake’s muscular voice can knock out a romantic song (think “Home”), even his most sentimental cut here has an edge; the understated “You’ll Always Be Beautiful,” finds Blake singing about taking care of a drunk girlfriend and then watching her wake up with a makeup-stained pillowcase after a wild night. Meanwhile, “Can’t Afford to Love You” sounds like a modern take on Travis Tritt’s “Country Club.” “Delilah” is Blake’s strongest lyric here, while the steel drums on “Almost Alright” help close the set with a nice island flourish. Hillbilly Bone