Adkins returns to heartfelt topics

On his previous album, Trace Adkins came out stomping and snarling like a riled-up snake, creating the hardest-rocking album of his career. But the album failed to generate any top 10 hits. Understandably, on his new collection “Proud To Be Here,” the tall country star returns to what he does best, using his deep, gruff baritone to lend philosophical weight to sensitive songs about love, lasting relationships and working-class values.

The album’s first single, “Just Fishin’,” perfectly captures the sentimentality of a father and an elementary school-age daughter spending a morning on the water, with the focus more on togetherness than on what they catch.