Alabama - For the Record: 41 Number One Hits

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Free Music Notes for For the Record: 41 Number One Hits

Free Music Review: Cream Of The Crop
Hit: 5 Stars

Alabama is an appropriate name for this band. Aside from being the birthplace and present home of Owen, Gentry, and Cook, its deep south locale serves as the inspiration for many of their biggest hits. The southern-rock influenced, fiddle-featured sounds of "Tennessee River" are revisited with "Mountain Music," "If You're Gonna Play In Texas (You Gotta Have a Fiddle In The Band)" and "Dixieland Delight." Less boisterous, but just as full of southern pride are the rural-based hits "Song of the South," "High Cotton," "Down Home," and "Born Country." Another theme important to the band is the commitment to lasting love and fidelity with hits like "Feels So Right," " There's No Way," "When We Make Love," and "Forever's As Far As I'll Go" (they steer clear of songs that detail cheating and sinning). They salute (SA-LUTE!) the values of the working man as well, most notably with "Roll On (Eighteen Wheeler)" and "Forty Hour Week (For a Livin')". But don't try to pigeon- hole Alabama into a few musical themes or styles; these guys have proven to be just as adept at honkytonkers ("Jukebox In My Mind"), thoughtful meditations ("Close Enough To Perfect"), sophisticated pop-rockers ("Here We Are"), and amusing domestic depictions ("She and I"). In short, Alabama can do it all - and better than most.

The three new tracks on this set hold their own quite impressively next to the previous number one hits. "Five O'Clock 500" provides a rowdy and humorous tribute to the exhilaration of rushing home from work. "Keepin' Up" offers another uptempo work-related tale, albeit a far more serious anthem for those who work their butt off just to maintain the status quo (and can't even think about getting ahead). It highlights Herndon's crisp drumming and the group's smooth harmonies. Best of all is the first single "How Do You Fall In Love," a string-filled romantic ballad which showcases Randy Owen's wearily expressive voice.

With an enormous line-up of past hits and great new songs, this collection has only one problem: it limits the previously released material to those singles which made number one. Such criteria keeps some stellar '90s recordings that only inched up to the top five from meriting inclusion ("Dancin', Shaggin' On The Boulevard," "Take A Little Trip," "The Maker Said Take Her"). Look for them on other collections, but in the meantime, pick up this great set TODAY!

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