Trisha Yearwood's 2005 album didn't manufacture hits the way she did in the '90s, when she was among country's most bankable vocalists, but her first new disc in four years did provide fresh assurance that hers remains one of the genre's most versatile voices.

Russ Harrington (ENLARGE)
Trisha Yearwood
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The 43-year-old Georgia native sounds equally appealing on her latest, with tunes that emphasize the homespun qualities that are her strength.

Earthy presence is a mainstay of her singing, adding color as she powers the punchy drive of "They Call It Falling for a Reason" and shifts from robust belting to lyrical caresses amid fluttering mandolin on "Not a Bad Thing." Her assertive trip through the title track is typical of an approach that is sprightly, assertive and out to have fun on acoustic-framed hybrid songs that keep their characters by leaning closer to country than pop.

Detours give the collection agreeable breadth, particularly a duet with Keith Urban on "Let the Wind Chase You" and the sweetly rendered "Cowboys Are my Weakness," which stitches together fiddle and pedal-steel guitar into a swinging showcase of old-style acoustic celebration. She radiates enough grounded presence to keep the puffy piano ballad "This Is Me You're Talking To" from getting away, and she fills out the percussive romp "Nothin' About You Is Good for Me" with lively flair that's as comfortable as it is enticing.

— Thomas Kintner, Hartford [Conn.] Courant