Over the course of five albums, Trace Adkins explored his strengths as a singer and an interpreter of material, and though he delivered many gems, he finally found his true voice with Comin’ On Strong. The album showed a huge boost in the fullness and self-assurance of his singing and the production is sufficiently full-bodied and muscular. Adkins shows his love of Southern rock in “Hot Mama” and “Rough & Ready,” which echo Lynyrd Skynyrd and the Charlie Daniels Band. The remainder of the album is unfailing. Rather than switch between songs that lean either towards rock, pop, or country, Adkins manages to blend elements of all three in “Comin’ On Strong,” “Untamed,” and “I’d Sure Hate to Breakdown Here.” He's always been a compelling singer, but on “Then Came the Night” and “One Night Stand” Adkins shows he can match a match a good story to dramatic music. The latter song draws a wrenching portrait of a regretful man alone in a hotel room, estranged from his wife and kids. It took some time, but with his sixth album Adkins proved himself a triple threat: a great band leader, singer, and storyteller.