Keith Urban

"Be Here"

Capitol Records

Grade: A+

With the same fiddle-pickin' good-time tunes that made "Golden Road" such a hit, Keith Urban is back with his third album, "Be Here."

The album is filled with a perfect contrast of happy sing-along songs with just enough slow ballads mixed in.

In this day and age it is often hard to find happy country songs, but Urban pulls it off well with hits such as his first single, "Days Go By," and other enjoyable tunes such as "Better Life," God's Been Good To Me" and "I Could Fly."

All of those songs paint a happy picture of life, a far-cry from the usual heartbroken, my-baby-left-me songs that usually fill a country album.

Not so fast, though. If drowning your tears in a bottle of whiskey is what you want to do, Urban has a few sad ballads that will make you do just that.

"Tonight I Wanna Cry," sounds like the sequel to "You'll Think of Me" from his last album. Urban admits to drinking wine, not whiskey, while crying in this song. "Nobody Drinks Alone" is just as depressing, but depending on a persons mood, could be a great song.

Overall, Urban didn't let his fans down with this album. His talent in picking catchy tunes hasn't wavered a bit.

Urban proves with each album, he can only get better. The road may have not been so "golden" while getting him here, but his hard work and dedication have paid off, making "Be Here" his best album yet.

-- By Stacy Temple, Senior News Editor