Aaron Tippin's most recent musical adventure, Tool Box, is a hot little number that will certainly win over legions of new fans. Tippin has made a mint from singing anthems of honesty and integrity (i.e. "You've Got To Stand For Something"), and Tool Box doesn't fall short of those ideals. What this album does do, however, is introduce us to a mellower Tippin with a distinct departure from his signature sound as witnessed by the hit song "That's As Close As I'll Get To Loving You."
    Tippin also slacks up on his songwriting chores a bit too, contributing to only three songs out of the eleven cuts on this album (compared to writing or co-writing most of the songs on his previous effort Looking Back At Myself), including "Country Boy's Tool Box," which was also on his last album.
    Judging by the songs Tippin picked for Tool Box no one can accuse him of having a negative attitude in his music. Songs like "She Made A Man Out Of A Mountain Of Stone," "Everything I Own" and "Without Your Love" all serve to elevate the importance of women in a man's life.
    Tippin also covers the classic 1974 Billy Swan hit "I Can Help" which will likely show up as a single before all is said and done

-Charlton Wiggins