Gary Allan is a surfer from Southern California, but you'd never know it from listening to IT WOULD BE YOU. Allan's taken care to pack his sophomore release with nothing but straight-up country songs from some of the finest writers in Nashville. Heck, he's even cut a song Conway Twitty wrote back in 1963 ("She Loves Me, She Don't Love You.") The material ranges from uptempo honky tonkers ("I've Got A Quarter In My Pocket," "Don't Leave Her Lonely Too Long") to melodic ballads ( "I Ain't Runnin' Yet," "I'll Take Today.") Allan, with his slightly gritty voice, handles the range of material just fine. But his best performance, ironically, is on the CD's hidden track. "No Judgment Day" comes several minutes after the last listed cut, and tells the chilling story of a single violent incident which tears a small town apart. It's possible Allan hid the song to avoid being labeled "politically incorrect," but it seems strange to hide what is truly his album's most powerful moment.

Estimated despatch 5-10 days after ordering.