Personnel: Travis Tritt (acoustic guitar); James Harrah, Michael Thompson (acoustic guitar); Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Rusty Anderson (electric guitar); Greg Liesz (dobro); Caroline Campbell, Cameron Stone (violin); Gabe Witcher, Charlie Daniels (fiddle); Joel Pargman, Michael Atkwood (viola); Jimmie Wood (harmonica); Matt Rollings (piano); Michael Finnigan (Hammond b-3 organ); Paul Bushnell (bass guitar); Kenny Aronoff, Vinnie Colaiuta (drums); Luis Conte (percussion); Sharlotte Gibson, Storm Gardner, Sherree Brown, Siedah Garrett, Tabitha Fair (background vocals).

A pop-rock crossover record with a strong R&B element, Travis Tritt's THE STORM is an album-length collaboration with AMERICAN IDOL judge Randy Jackson, who had produced a track on Tritt's previous album, OVERNIGHT SENSATIONAL. Rather than being a rock oriented album in the manner of contemporaries like Big and Rich, THE STORM blends adult contemporary ballads like "What If Love Hangs On," co-written with Rob Thomas of Matchbox Twenty, with soulful southern-fried boogie workouts like the first single "You Never Take Me Dancing."

Although the resulting album is by far the one-time traditionalist's most pop-oriented and least traditionally country sounding release yet, THE STORM does not come across as a market-driven sellout. The Georgia-born Tritt has always had a soulful edge to his vocal style, at times akin to 1970s southern rockers like Gregg Allman, and that aspect of his personal style is showcased well here. Other highlights include a cover of Hank Williams Jr.'s "The Pressure Is On" and the wry "Doesn't the Good Outweigh the Bad," a sardonic tale of a relationship tested by the rigors of a home remodeling.