Many of the "hat act" superstars of the New Hot Country explosion of the early 1990s embraced a harder edged honky-tonk image than their '80s predecessors, but few did so with the believability of Travis Tritt. While Garth Brooks sang of "friends in low places," he also covered Billy Joel. Tritt, on the other hand, dressed like a rock & roller, covered Steve Earle and the Eagles, and brought a taut southern-rock influence to his music. Like his platinum peers, however, Tritt also knew his way around a tear-jerking ballad.

Rhino's THE VERY BEST OF TRAVIS TRITT captures both sides of Tritt's catalog--the honky tonk and the heartbreak. The collection is his sixth best-of compilation and one of the finest summations of his career available. All the early '90s hits are here, such as "Help Me Hold On," "Here's a Quarter (Call Someone Who Cares)," and "Foolish Pride," but the disc also includes latter-day smashes such as "Best of Intentions" and "It's a Great Day to Be Alive." Also found here is Marty Stuart's "This One's Gonna Hurt You (For a Long, Long Time)," previously unavailable on any Tritt recording.