The Bo Bice story calls to mind that old Hank Williams Jr. kiss-off, "A Country Boy Can Survive," in which Hank informs us that the true country boy can always make it -- his dogs and his four-wheel drive are all he needs. The caveat is that he's got to stay true. None of that goin' to the big city.

And so wonders what Hank would have to say about Bo, who rode that advice to an improbable second-place finish in the fourth season of American Idol, then promptly abandoned it when the time came to record his debut. That record, the inaccurately titled The Real Thing, found success but missed the mark artistically. In some A&R guy's version of a good idea, it cast Bice as an achy arena popper, ignoring the fact that if even Simon Cowell had accepted his down-home style, folks could have handled a country-rock record.

Thankfully, See the Light is the album The Real Thing should have been (this time, do trust the title). It's a scruffy and swampy set that evokes the old heros Bice lists in "Take The Country Outta Me": "And if that Freebird wasn't soarin'/ Y'all would have never heard of me/ Turn up Bocephus on the radio/ Marshall Tucker now can't you see." (Bocephus, of course, is the nom de hick of old Hank.)

These allegiances are evident from the first notes of first track "Witness." "Notes" is probably too formal a word for what these are. Overdriven electric guitars seem to be spitting fireballs at us, and as Bice tears into gutty vocals the mix of Saturday-night jam and Sunday-morning gospel recalls the Black Crowes and Skynyrd. The singer sounds utterly liberated -- this is why he got into the biz to begin with.

There are remarkably few missteps through the rest of the album. Ballad "Only Words" will surely spark debate, but given that this guy got his start in the poppiest of pop competitions, it's a victory if he escapes with just one cheesy tune. The others are entirely credible -- by universal standards, not just Idol ones. "I'm Gone" shows that slowing down doesn't have to mean hamming it up. It's a heartfelt mini-epic in the tradition of Bad Company's "Shooting Star." "See The Light" sics its twang on the Delta blues. And "Whiskey, Women, & Time?" Come on -- you know exactly what that one sounds like.

By Jake Blaine