Toby Keith

iTunes Review

Sporting a feathery blonde mullet and a bolo tie, a boyish, grinning Keith poses bashfully for the camera: Fans who discovered Toby Keith through “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue” might be surprised by the portrait adorning the cover of his 1993 debut. Even if that image doesn’t quite square with the macho persona that Keith would later develop, the music on Toby Keith displays the singer’s conviction and talent for solidly built songs. “Should’ve Been a Cowboy” and “A Little Less Talk and a Lot More Action” bear the influence of Southern roots-rock, particularly John Mellancamp and the Georgia Satellites. At this stage in his career, Keith’s style fell somewhere between the throaty conviction of Ronnie Milsap and the good ol’ boy charm of Hank Williams Jr. Of course, there was one thing that set Keith firmly apart from other up-and-coming Nashville stars: He wrote almost all his own material. “He Ain’t Worth Missing,” “Wish I Didn’t Know Now” and “Close But No Guitar” show Keith’s distinctive songwriting imprint. His songs have an easy way about them, but it’s the honesty that makes the clever lines stick.