Twentieth Century (CD - 1999)

Alabama: Randy Owen (vocals, acoustic guitar); Jeff Cook (vocals, guitar, fiddle); Teddy Gentry (vocals, bass); Mark Herndon (drums, percussion).

Additional personnel: Mark Casstevens (acoustic guitar); Brent Rowan (6- & 12-string electric & gut string guitars, electric sitar); Jim Nelson, Dean C. Pastin (saxophone); Larry Hanson (trumpet); John Jarvis (piano, Hammond B-3 organ, keyboards); Brian D. Siewert (synthesizer); Glenn Worf, Michael Rhodes (bass); Lonnie Wilson (drums, percussion); 'N Sync, Don Cook, Liana Manis (background vocals).

Recorded at The Soundshop Studios A & B, Nashville, Tennessee.

"God Must Have Spent A Little More Time On You" was nominated for the 2000 Grammy Award for Best Country Collaboration With Vocals.

"Twentieth Century" was nominated for the 2001 Grammy Award for Best Country Performance by a Duo Or Group With Vocal.

This is an Enhanced CD, which contains both regular audio tracks and multimedia computer files.

Recording information: Sony-ATV Tree Music Publishing Studio; Soundshop Studios A & B, Nashville, TN.

TWENTIETH CENTURY is a fine collection of well-crafted pop-country tunes, distinguished by Randy Owen's warm, gravely vocals. Ironically, the single "God Must Have Spent A Little More Time On You" (a country version of the pop hit by 'N Sync), with its depiction of the dizzying effects of a new romance, is an anomaly for the group. Alabama's real forte is songs about mature relationships and how to make them last. The sexual invitation of "I'm In That Kind of Mood," for example, is tempered by the fact that it's being made by a husband to his long-time wife.

"Then We Remember" paints a portrait of a couple struggling to keep their marriage together, while "Life's Too Short To Love This Fast" is about a couple trying to find time for each other in the modern world. The standout track, though, is the final one: "I Love You Enough To Let Go," a touching song about a father who realizes his little girl is all grown up. As befits Alabama's final CD of the millennium, the group attempts to sum up the last 100 years in the clever title track. minimize