Loaded: The Best Of Blake Shelton - CD

<p>In 2001, Blake Shelton made his debut with the single "Austin". Released as the lead-off single from his self-titled debut album, "Austin" went on to spend five weeks at Number One on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts. This song was the first single from his gold-certified debut album which also produced two more Top 20 hits. His second and third albums, 2003's THE DREAMER and 2004's BLAKE SHELTON'S BAR &amp; GRILL, were each certified gold as well. Shelton's fourth album, PURE BS, was issued in 2007 and re-issued ion 2008 with a cover of Michael Buble's "Home" as one of the album's bonus tracks. A fifth album, STARTIN FIRES, was released in 2008. This is Blake's first greatest hits package. It features 14 of his biggest hits and his current single "Who Are You When I'm Not Looking".</p>

Loaded: The Best of Blake Shelton, is a solid collection of the country singer's singles, hits, and favorites from his five studio full-lengths, and the two six-track EPs he released in the latter year. Fifteen tracks deep, it begins with the two cuts that put him on contemporary country's radar -- "Ol Red" and "Austin" -- from his self-titled debut album in 2001. The Dreamer, from 2003, is represented by the its two best cuts, "The Baby," and the classic "Playboys of the Southwestern World." There are three from 2004's Blake Shelton's Bar & Grill, including Shawn Camp's stellar "Nobody But Me," and Shelton's reading of the Conway Twitty smash "Goodbye Time." Pure BS, from 2007, is showcased by a pair of numbers, including "The More I Drink" and a third, "Home," comes from the deluxe edition of album. There's a solid version of "She Wouldn't Be Gone" from 2008's Startin' Fires to round things out. The first 11 tracks were a given, and Shelton's annotations in the booklet make a solid case for their inclusion. That said, Shelton also tacks on the title track from the Hillbilly Bone, "Six Pack," as well as "Kiss My Country Ass" from the same set. Further, "Who Are You When I'm Not Looking" and the title track from the second EP are here. All four of these songs were released earlier in the calendar year, making their appearances seem redundant at best and, frankly, like a cynical money grab at worst. Oftentimes, less really is more. ~ Thom Jurek, Rovi

Performer	Blake Shelton
Music genre	Country, Contemporary Country
Music subgenre	Contemporary Country
Media format	CD
Number of tracks	14
Has parental advisory label	N
Number of discs	1
Track listing	15, 14, 13, 12, 11, 10, 4, 3, 6, 5, 8, 7, 9, 2, 1
Record label	WEA
Target audience	General/trade
Songwriter	POP COUNTRY
Music media format	CD
Is edited	N
Is enhanced	N