Given the popularity of country music in Europe -- Germany in particular is mad for the stuff -- it's a surprise that more American country acts haven't taken the lead of so many of America's jazz musicians and moved over to the old country at least temporarily.
Doug Adkins is one of the few who has, and his second album is perfectly fine traditional country that, ironically, is probably too rootsy to make it in the pop-oriented Nashville climate. Highlighted by the rollicking title track, a sly first-person character study of a failed musician working behind the bar,
Whiskey Salesman is straight country with a few bluesy touches that suggest an affinity with the '70s outlaw country movement.
Adkins has a rather plain but expressive voice, and his small-combo backing group is heavy on the pedal steel and light on the keyboards, as it should be. On record,
Adkins sounds like an amiable but somewhat lightweight second-stringer, but he's probably a lot of fun to see in a bar.