Hank Williams III, from the hard-hitting, always-sinning family whose development has paralleled that of the country genre, occupies an odd place in today's music scene.

In a world where pop-flavored songs are now considered mainstream country, William's sophomore album, Lovesick, Broke & Driftin', is a return to the boot-tapping, sorrowful honky-tonk sound that his grandfather pioneered roughly half a century ago.

Hank III sings that old-fashioned, painful country with a twang, and he's backed up on his down tempo songs, such as "Broke, Lovesick & Driftin" and "Walkin' With Sorrow," by a slow, sad steel guitar sound.

But, while his traditional music might refresh country fans valuing the genre's western roots, his lyrics seem a little outdated. That's because Hank III not only inherited his family's taste for honky-tonk -- he also picked up the same wild lifestyle that sent Hank Sr. to the grave at 29.

Hank III -- who wrote all the tracks on the album except Bruce Springsteen's "Atlantic City" -- goes overboard on his references to old-fashioned country themes. He sings about drinking and drugs, women and guns, heartache and sorrow -- and he sings about them too much.

In fact, they even show up in the track titles. Take "Whiskey, Weed, & Women," for example.

Or there's this opening line from "One Horse Town," which all too accurately sums up both the theme and the mood of Lovesick Broke & Driftin': "Well my hat's done worn out, my boots are bad, I ain't got a gun but I wish I had. . ."

Enough said.

— Reviewed by Kim Tranell