''My Honky Tonk History'' is the American artist Travis Tritt's ninth album, released on Columbia Records in 2004. It features the singles "The Girl's Gone Wild", "What Say You" (feat. John Mellencamp), and "I See Me", which peaked at #28, #21 and #32 on the Hot Country Songs charts, respectively. The duet was Mellencamp's first Top 40 entry on the country charts.

The track "Circus Leaving Town" was previously recorded by its writer, Philip Claypool, on his 1995 debut album ''A Circus Leaving Town''. Claypool's version of the song peaked at #70 on the country charts that year. - Wikipedia

With now-shoulder-length hair receding beyond what even the most generous craniologist would call his forehead region, Travis Tritt looks more like Bert Lahr's Cowardly Lion than ever. In addition to the physical resemblance, there's something Lahr-esque in Tritt's blend of swagger and vulnerability, a combination that's led to some upper-shelf country rock over the past 15 or so years. The bluesy 1991 kiss-off "Here's a Quarter (Call Someone Who Cares)" and 2000's lovely and exalted "It's a Great Day to Be Alive" are certified classics; one or four tracks from each of his consistently inconsistent albums are damn-good-if-not-great.

Despite its backward-looking title, My Honky Tonk History is as often topical as it is nostalgic-with mixed results. "The Girl's Gone Wild" responds to a home video and behavioral trend with nakedly stupid results. On the well-meaning but bland "What Say You," blue-collar conservative Tritt trades slogans with blue-collar liberal John Mellencamp, offering this famously polarized historical moment a kind of political "Ebony and Ivory," hold the ebony. Tritt, if you're curious, is for a smaller welfare state; the Coug is against empty flag waving and doesn't want to talk about religion. Both, of course, are pro-rocking. In Tritt's case, this last stance is more than evident on the Professor Longhair-style romp "Monkey Around." He also comes out ahead on the sentimental but not cloying ode to fatherhood "I See Me," and quietly stops the show with "Circus Leaving Town," a beautifully sung weeper more affecting than several dozen George Jones album cuts. The guy's a journeyman, no doubt, but he's got a heart full of soul.

"With now-shoulder-length hair receding beyond what even the most generous craniologist would call his forehead region, Travis Tritt looks more like Bert Lahr's Cowardly Lion than ever. In addition to the physical resemblance, there's something Lahr-esque in Tritt's blend of swagger and vulnerability, a combination that's led to some upper-shelf country rock over the past 15 or so years. The bluesy 1991 kiss-off ""Here's a Quarter (Call Someone Who Cares)"" and 2000's lovely and exalted ""It's a Great Day to Be Alive"" are certified classics; one or four tracks from each of his consistently inconsistent albums are damn-good-if-not-great.

Despite its backward-looking title, My Honky Tonk History is as often topical as it is nostalgic-with mixed results. ""The Girl's Gone Wild"" responds to a home video and behavioral trend with nakedly stupid results. On the well-meaning but bland ""What Say You,"" blue-collar conservative Tritt trades slogans with blue-collar liberal John Mellencamp, offering this famously polarized historical moment a kind of political ""Ebony and Ivory,"" hold the ebony. Tritt, if you're curious, is for a smaller welfare state; the Coug is against empty flag waving and doesn't want to talk about religion. Both, of course, are pro-rocking. In Tritt's case, this last stance is more than evident on the Professor Longhair-style romp ""Monkey Around."" He also comes out ahead on the sentimental but not cloying ode to fatherhood ""I See Me,"" and quietly stops the show with ""Circus Leaving Town,"" a beautifully sung weeper more affecting than several dozen George Jones album cuts. The guy's a journeyman, no doubt, but he's got a heart full of soul.

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