Best Compilation Available...still missing some key songs

This is the most comprehensive compilation by this band currently available in one set, but even though there are extra tracks featured here that aren't part of the For The Record set, there are some blatant omissions that should be mentioned: no Love In The First Degree, Closer You Get, 40 Hour Week, Then Again, or Once Upon A Lifetime. These are all on the For The Record set. Any fan will probably find tracks that seem to be missing from both sets such as Angels Among Us, God Must've Spent, Maker Said Take Her, TLC ASAP, Take A Little Trip, and Cheap Seats. These are also pretty well known tracks that you'll have to buy other records to obtain. Hence, there still isn't one complete set that covers all the bases. There needs to be a box set that has all the singles plus some bonus stuff for collectors as well...

Best Retrospective Available

Having hit number one for the first time in 1980 with "Tennessee River", Alabama (lead singer and rhythm guitarist Randy Owen, bass player Teddy Gentry, multi-instrumentalist Jeff Cook, and drummer Mark Herndon) ranks as the longest lasting hit maker in current country music. They are also the most successful group/band in country music history with forty-two recordings that made it to number one on the Billboard and/or Radio & Records country charts. .

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 newer 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 ... 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 single "How Do You Fall In Love," a string-filled romantic ballad which showcases Randy Owen's wearily expressive voice.

The main difference between this collection and the two-disc For The Record is that it contains seven extra tracks, including the nostalgic gem "Dancin', Shaggin' On The Boulevard." Because of the extra tracks, this is THE Alabama set to get!

Legendary

Alabama is probably the best known country band ever. This 3-CD collection is the most complete I've come across. It spans over 20 years of their music since 1980. There are 50 songs in all including "My Home's in Alabama", "Tennessee River", "Old Flame", "She and I", "Forever's as Far as I'll Go", "I'm in a Hurry", and "Jukebox in My Mind" just to name a few. This collection from Australia is high quality and is a must for all fans of Alabama.