Me And My Gang (Lyric Street, 2006)

Rascal Flatts has titled its fourth album after a drinking, motorcycling and general partying song. But these three pretty boys are hardly the hell raising type. After all, they're the same softhearted trio that also gave the world "Bless the Broken World." They're also not ashamed to admit that they melt like ice cream on hot summer day ("I Melt") in the presence of the fairer sex.

Not surprisingly, there are multiple soft and warm moments here. But the best two tracks aren't particularly romantic at all. For instance, "Backwards" humorously lists all the good things a man can get back, such as his hair and his house, if you played a country song backwards.

On a more somber note, "Ellsworth" is a touching ballad about an elderly lady with Alzheimer's, which suggests that some indelible memories are stronger than even the worst mental ailment.

Rascal Flatts is primarily the vehicle for Gary LeVox's emotive singing, and he sounds best here on the yearning "I Feel Bad." There are also a few memorable musical moments, however, such as the Charlie Daniels-like fiddle fire on "Me and My Gang." Think of this CD as a familiar ride with a relatively harmless gang.