Kenny Rogers
Gentle, intimate, full of rue and remorse, this sounds like Rogers before he started thinking he was a Bee Gee. That's no accident, since all 10 songs on the album were recorded by Rogers before 1983, when he switched labels from Liberty to RCA and orientation from soft country to soft pop. One of the most touching tracks, Still Hold On, was edited out of the album Lionel Richie produced for Rogers, Share Your Love (the others are discards from Larry Butler-produced records). Lee Greenwood had a hit with Jan Crutchfield's It Turns Me Inside Out, another song Rogers does admirably on this LP. Most of the material is on the ballad or torch side, though Twentieth Century Fool, a Brian Neary tune, bounces along cleverly—as Rogers laments his lovelorn life of "Falling in love with the wrong ones/Running away from the strong ones." Rogers fans of long standing will especially enjoy this collection; those turned off by his recent LPs might discover his virtues here, and Kenny himself might profit from listening to how he sounded in the better old days. (Liberty)
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