Under the direction of Don Was, Travis Tritt turns in one of his leanest and easily his grittiest country record yet with Restless Kind. Cutting back the country-rock flourishes that have always distinguished his sound, Tritt opts for twangy guitars, wailing fiddles, dobros, and unaffected guts vocals. Mirroring the stripped-down instrumentation, the song selection is straight-ahead honky tonk, rockabilly and traditional country. Tritt benefits immeasurably from this approach -- he has never sounded so alive. Actually, he has never sounded so purely country.