Throwback character and an effortlessly tuneful manner have been Alan Jackson's hallmarks, mainstays of a two-decade run atop country music, even when he has shifted course for the sorts of departures he took with his pair of 2006 releases.

He's written a long string of his own hits, but this time out the 49-year old performer writes an entire album's worth with "Good Time."

His comfortable, homespun singing proves evocative as Jackson details uncomplicated passions on "I Wish I Could Back Up."

He puts his light Georgia drawl to good use as he celebrates simple virtues on "Small Town Southern Man" and examines the sorrows of loss in "If You Want To Make Me Happy."

The collection's 17-song canvas is sufficiently broad to hold the spirited, honky tonk-laced jaunt of the title track and the softly pulsating, organ-laced gospel of "If Jesus Walked the World Today."

In less capable hands "I Still Like Bologna" would be clunky, but Jackson handles it by embracing classic values while tipping his hat to modernity.

On a larger scale, that's the core appeal of everything he does.

Essential Download: "Small Town Southern Man"

— Thomas Kintner