The Oak Ridge Boys
With all due respect to the Oaks' no-doubt-about-it success, it is just as well that they're rebuilding. The recent departure of William Lee Golden, the group's baritone since 1965, wasn't your standard "artistic differences" charade. The group's three other singers voted to fire Golden, announcing he was "always conflicting personally or musically." If Golden's long hair and absorption in American Indian culture hadn't brought those conflicts to the breaking point, his 1986 solo album probably would have. And if that hadn't, this listless record certainly should have. It is understandable that the quartet has so little cohesiveness on this album. Oaks fans nonetheless are likely to be disappointed. There's one pleasant tune, It Takes a Little Rain (To Make Love Grow). Still, when the highlight of an LP by a hard-core country group is a guest vocal by R&B singer Patti LaBelle, it suggests something is rotten in the state of Tennessee. (MCA)
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