The 1990s have been rough on Bocephus. Eclipsed by Nashville's youth movement (and his own stumbles into self-parody), his chart presence has waned. In 1999, at age 50 and two years after his last album, he emerges unrepentant. As always, roaring guitars punctuate the customary barroom macho of "I'd Love to Knock the Hell Out of You," "Naked Women and Beer," and "Southern Thunder." Fans of sing-alongs will find "Where Would We Be Without Yankees" and, in a nod to TV, "Hank Hill Is the King." Yet all is not business as usual. "They All Want to Go Wild (And I Want to Go Home)" and "Sometimes I Feel Like Joe Montana," pensive (for Hank Jr.) explorations of aging, reflect a different--and ultimately more authentic--macho. Maturity also triumphs on the magnificent, classic country ballad "All Jokes Aside," the saga song "Gibbonsville Gold," and the dark, tense "I Like It When It's Stormy." Fashionable? Hardly, but amid Music Row's unending streams of generically engineered, radio-friendly fluff, it's positively refreshing. --Rich Kienzle