Blake Shelton - Startin' Fires (Studio Masters Edition) (2008) [Hi-Res]

The fifth album by Nashville star Blake Shelton, „Startin' Fire“ continues the singer-songwriter's winning mix of tongue-in-cheek wit (a previous album was called PURE B.S.) and heartfelt sentimentality.

On „Startin' Fire“, Shelton's sardonic humor is best heard on the album's closing track, a saucy duet with Shelton's girlfriend, country star Miranda Lambert, called 'Bare Skin Rug,' as well as similarly PG-13 material like 'This is Gonna Take All Night' and 'Country Strong.' His more serious material includes the patriotic 'Home Sweet Home,' the wistful 'I Don't Care,' and a fine pair of lost-love ballads, 'I'll Hold On' and '100 Miles.'

„Whether paying tribute to country living, cracking musical jokes or crooning about romance and heartbreak, Ada native Blake Shelton’s rich baritone and earnest delivery heat up 'Startin’ Fires.”

The Tishomingo resident celebrates his move from Nashville, Tenn., back to Oklahoma on the soaring 'Home Sweet Home” and pays tribute to hardworking 'cowboys, plowboys (and) good-hearted women” on the toe-tapping 'Country Strong.” He declares 'I was green before green was a thing” on the funny down-home anthem 'Green.”

He and girlfriend Miranda Lambert hilariously defy expectations for a country duet with the sly 'Bare Skin Rug,” which matches the sonic trappings of a pretty ballad with goofy lyrics they penned about young hillbillies finding love.

Their novelty duet notwithstanding, Shelton lives up to his reputation as a great country balladeer on his fifth studio album. He strikes the right balance between playful and sexy on 'Good at Startin’ Fires” and 'This Is Gonna Take All Night.” He strums heartstrings with 'Here I Am,” a celebration of unexpected love he co-wrote with Dean Dillon, and effectively tells a tale of lost love with a twist ending on 'I Don’t Care.”

But Shelton’s passionate outpouring of desperation and regret on 'She Wouldn’t Be Gone” makes the lead single the sizzling highlight of 'Startin’ Fires.” (Brandy McDonnell)

Blake Shelton, guitars, vocals
Bryan Sutton, acoustic guitar
Brent Rowan, electric guitar
Paul Franklin, steel guitar
Jonathan Yudkin, mandolin
Chip Davis, violin, background vocals
Melodie Crittenden, violin, background vocals
David Davidson, viola
David Angell, viola
Monisa Phillips Angel, cello
Kristin Wilkinson, cello
Tim Lauer, strings, Hammond b-3 organ
Bobby Braddock, strings
Gordon Mote, piano
Glenn Worf, bass
Shannon Forrest, drums
Wes Hightower, background vocals

Tracklist:
01. Blake Shelton - Green (3:01)
02. Blake Shelton - Good at Startin' Fires (3:02)
03. Blake Shelton - She Wouldn't Be Gone (3:36)
04. Blake Shelton - I'll Just Hold On (4:01)
05. Blake Shelton - 100 Miles (3:30)
06. Blake Shelton - Never Lovin' You (4:39)
07. Blake Shelton - Country Strong (3:14)
08. Blake Shelton - Home Sweet Home (3:55)
09. Blake Shelton - This Is Gonna Take All Night (3:18)
10. Blake Shelton - Here I Am (3:52)
11. Blake Shelton - I Don't Care (3:53)
12. Blake Shelton - Bare Skin Rug (feat. Miranda Lambert) (3:48)