He is, quite simply, country music's Alpha male, a towering presence in an era when larger-than-life personalities are a rarity. His instantly recognizable baritone has been cutting through the airwaves and energizing concert hall speakers for well over a decade as he has established himself as a major force in contemporary country. Now, with the release of American Man, Greatest Hits Volume II, Trace Adkins collects the songs that have turned him from rising star to superstar.

Trace's body of work has been marked by both good-time anthems and soul-stirring slices of life. The centerpiece of American Man may well be "Honky-Tonk Badonkadonk," the hip-hop-influenced, across-the-board smash that carried the Louisiana-born singer to new levels of popularity following its 2005 release, but the song that sets both the CD and Trace's career into perspective is "Songs About Me," which makes clear the emotional realities behind the best of country music and so much of Trace's work. Perhaps nowhere is that better shown than in "Arlington," told from the perspective of a veteran whose heroism has earned him a spot in one of the nation's most hallowed resting places, or in "I Wanna Feel Something," which catalogues one man's battle with the deadening emotional effects of modern living.