Mark Chesnutt came of age singing in the honky-tonks of Beaumont, the same East Texas town that produced living legend George Jones. His 1990 debut classic, "Too Cold at Home," established Chesnutt as an authentic honky-tonk singer in the mold of his heroes, Haggard, Jennings and Jones.

Chesnutt's 12th studio album, "Rollin' with the Flow" (Lofton Creek), is a 12-track collection of straight country songs with no frills and no gimmicks. Eighteen years down the road, it's mature Chesnutt -- reflective, playful and personal.

Chesnutt shuffles into the set with the lighthearted and lonesome "Things to Do in Wichita," reciting a litany of time-killing distractions in a hotel while waiting for his girl to call. In the ballad "When You Love Her Like Crazy," he sings, "that's what you are."

In the title track, a cover of Charlie Rich's 1977 hit, Chesnutt looks back at the years with the wisdom of a survivor. With "Man in the Mirror," he sees the reflection of his father and musical mentor in his own aging countenance.

Chesnutt has always enjoyed songs steeped in blue-collar humor (you'll remember that he recorded "Friends in Low Places" before Garth got hold of it). He continues the trend with "(Come on In) The Whiskey's Fine" and he asserts that you can "Live to be 100" if you're willing to "give up everything that makes you want to live to be that old."

"Rollin' with the Flow" may not contend for album of the year. But if you prefer stone-country to pop-country, it's the album you've been waiting to hear.