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On his major-label debut, Martin Sexton employs major-label producer Danny Kortchmar (Don Henley, James Taylor) to assemble a 12-track collection, comprised of new material and rerecorded tunes lifted from his self-produced demo, In the Journey, and indie release, Black Sheep. Layered guitar-and-vocal tracks add texture, but the extra knob turning and keypunching robs The American of the raw energy that made Sexton's earlier recordings so compelling. His talents are most pronounced when he is the primary attraction, and the more complex production found here forces him to compete with his backing tracks for attention. All is not lost, however. The songwriting remains strong on tracks such as "Glory Bound" (a narrative of life on the road in search of success) and "Love Keep Us Together" (a promise to the son Sexton fathered out of wedlock at age 19). There are also moments where his vocals are powerful enough to lift his songs higher. "Diggin' Me" finds Sexton exploring his dynamic range with a scat breakdown session, and "The Way I Am" allows him to show off some soulful yodeling. --Jason Pascal