Electric Rodeo

Lee Kernaghan has earned his reputation as one of Australian country music’s favorite sons for his near-unparalleled ability to capture the essence of what makes the land and the people so special. His seventh studio album, 2002’s Electric Rodeo, is an essential example of just that. From the beginning, “The Way It Is” lays out the Corryong songwriter’s romantic visions of the outback with a sentimental melody. As Electric Rodeo chugs on in this fashion, Kernaghan also manages to nail numerous country-music tropes while putting his own spin on things. He’s got barn burners and good-time pub songs to spare in “Baptise the Ute,” “Wild Side of Life,” and the Brooks & Dunn-indebted roadhouse shaker “Texas Qld 4385” (a nod to the tiny Queensland town). He’s got lusty and sun-kissed tunes (“Something in the Water,” “You Rock My World”) sidling up next to sweet love songs (“Sing You Back Home” and the cross-country road-tripper “That Old Caravan”). Tales of tough living abound too, especially in the perseverance anthem “A Handful of Dust.” Kernaghan wraps it all up with “The Odyssey,” a wistful, clear-eyed, and full-hearted ode to the land that made him who he is.