Mountains (BNA, 2006)

The title track of Lonestar's 10th CD, the inspirational and impossibly-catchy gem "Mountains" is a song with spirit, ready for fast-track canonization amongst the group's personal Rushmore. So does the rest of the record hold up?

Well, even for a group that could be the house band for Dr. Phil, this album treads new lyrical ground in male sensitivity. There's the doting man waiting with the wine after your hard day. While he admires your ambition, he also swoons at your wild streak. There's not one, but two drunken louts left by empowered women. Even Gloria Steinem, with Shania riding shotgun, would both roll their eyes at the "You Go Girl!" refrain of "Long Lost Smile." What's next...All my Rowdy Friends Are Coming Over to Watch Lifetime?

When not tripped up by Venus Envy, Lonestar creates probing material. "Hey God" expresses gratitude for simple blessings. And singer Richie McDonald shares the downside of a storied career with "Always in the Band," a highlight. His revelation about missing his child's birth so as not to let "thirty thousand people down" mines honest and personal territory. Now that will impress the ladies.