Gary Allan - Greatest Hits

iTunes Review

Over the past 15 years Gary Allan has become Nashville’s leading dark horse, quietly turning out a consistent string of well-crafted hits that retain their integrity instead of grabbing for mainstream gimmickry. Sequenced according to mood rather than chronology, Greatest Hits stretched back to Allan’s first hit, 1996’s “Her Man,” a catchy, untroubled love song that is indicative of the singer’s low-key approach. The collection proves Allan is a versatile artist, crossing into hard rock (“Man of Me,”), folk (“It Would Be You”) and even R&B (“Songs About Rain”), but the songs are always grounded by his voice — a hard-edged high tenor that holds songs together like a leather strap. If Allan sings like a man who has earned the right, it’s because he has. He started singing in California bars with his dad at age 13, and worked a variety of day jobs before being noticed by Nashville in the mid-‘90s. Greatest Hits shows a voice that is tough and smart and sincere — qualities that when found together are worth more than commercial success in an industry where singers will stoop to anything to garner radio plays.