One of country music’s favored duos and the 2000 CMA Vocal Duo of the Year, Montgomery Gentry, has released a new album. Some People Change is an apt title. And while it suggests a new direction, MG has proven to be reliable with a hot blend of what they deliver best –country with gritty attitude. And across this, their fifth album, attitude, loyalty, introspection, blue-collar pride and family values are the musical touchstones.

And playing real music to the people is the delivered promise on this album from CMT’s Most Played Duo of 2005. From the title track, to the hurt and pain of loss, to the revitalized spirit of opportunity, to the mellow reflections that twenty years isn’t a long-time, these guys from Kentucky show how 10-plus years of sharing the road and the load pays off.

With some of Nashville’s elite including Jeffrey Steele (NSAI Songwriter of the Year for 2005/6) and respected producer Mark Wright, the 12 tracks move beyond the duo’s brand of hard-core familiarity, to arrive with a new-found sense of purpose.

The title cut proves the point. People do and more importantly, can change. The song skirts the social ills of racism and alcohol dependence, but in the tune written by Michael Dulaney, Neil Thrasher and Jason Sellers, the seed of hope comes firmly planted. Attitude and a willing mind can bring real and lasting results.

The track is a musical signpost to other nuggets exploring the human condition. A tune mapping the shift in family and attitude is the poignant "Twenty Years Ago". It rings with a familiar knowing, namely: time explains everything. The older we become, the wiser we become. A rebel son has family fallout with his dad and after a fist fight, he leaves home. Anger and annoyance at the firm rules of a hard-nosed dad "built with blue-collar sweat and blood, a squared jaw and a crew cut" keep the son away. That is until he hears Dad is dying. He hops a plane and in a moment of meeting and remembrance, the years and the issues of separation disappear. If you’ve every wandered from home, left because of rules and expectations from your parents, reconnection is a powerful energy – this song proves that.

Other emotion probing tracks include the celebratory "Lucky Man". The need not to look at our losses, but, rather, value what we have left is a tool for modern living and a self-serving cure for torment removal. With a keen and clear melding of the voices, MG nails the lyrical when the tune is reflective or calls for more than toe-tapping accompaniment. "Clouds" is such a tune – melodic, honest, sad and heartfelt. Eddie Montgomery sings with conviction, when he looks to the clouds above and wonders if the rain means tears, or the sun happiness, from departed loved ones.

If you’re looking for a Christmas stocking stuffer, you’ve found it; the album’s out now on Sony BMG.