Jack Ingram - Exit/In

Nashville, TN. (Top40 Charts/ Big Machine Records) - If there's ever been a Texas artist determined to punch through Music Row's mainstream, it's Dallas' Jack Ingram - a veteran of three Nashville labels, nominal success and a never-say-die attitude. That resilience, toughness and learning curve netted the rocker/writer his first No 1 hit on country radio last year - the sweeping midtempo 'Wherever You Are' - and a stint opening for Brooks & Dunn.

But with the defiance singular to those Texas acts, Ingram might be willing to do what's necessary to get on the radio, but the white-hot flame of his live show isn't something he'll turn down under any circumstance. With thin-legged rockers in calf-gripping backing him up, it was a raw intensity to the playing that brought the songs of the past 15 years to life on a stage Imgram first mounted in 1994.

Drawing on a relentless rock edge, it is the populism of a Texas John Mellencamp that defines Ingram's truth and perspective. These are songs of hardwon recognition ('Biloxi,' 'Keep On'), utter disgust ('Barbie Doll') and broken-in tenderness (the acoustic set closer 'Good Night Moon').