Best of the RCA years

Following his incredibly successful spell with United Artists during which time Kenny recorded such classics as Lucille, The gambler, Coward of the county and many others, he switched to RCA where he recorded four original solo albums - Eyes that see in the dark, What about me, Heart of the matter, They don't make them like they used to - pulas a Christmas album with Dolly. Understandably, Kenny could not sustain his previous level of success although he started well.

His first RCA album, Eyes that see in the dark, is represented here by five tracks - the title track, Islands in the stream (with Dolly), Buried treasure, This woman and Evening star. The album, produced by the Bee Gees, is one of the finest ever made by anybody. It has been made available separately on CD and I've already reviewed it.

The remainder of Kenny's time with RCA was less successful, but he recorded some great songs and remained successful, especially on the country charts. He had a top twenty American pop hit with What about me (featuring Kin Carnes and James Ingram), which didn't do much on the country chart. Subsequently, he had four number country hits with RCA - Crazy (an original, not to be confused with the old Patsy Cline song), Morning desire, Tomb of the unknown love and Make no mistake she's mine (with Ronnie Milsap). Twenty years ago and I prefer the moonlight both made number two on the country chart, while The factory made number six.

A friend of mine has suggested that, apart from the tracks produced by the Bee Gees, everything else here is just average Kenny Rogers. I agree, except I would say that what is average for Kenny is way above average for most singers. Aside from those five Bee Gees tracks, my favorites are Tomb of the unknown love, Morning desire, Twenty years ago and The stranger (released on single as a B-side).

If you are new to Kenny's music, I recommend that you begin with a compilation of his earlier hits. If you enjoy that enough to want to hear more, you will find much to interest you here.

Next Best Thing To "Eyes That See In The Dark"

Since the album "Eyes That See In The Dark" is unavailable (inexplicably!), this is the next best alternative. That landmark album is represented here by five songs (four of them singles) - "Islands In The Stream", "Eyes That See In The Dark", "Buried Treasure", "This Woman" and "Evening Star". The remainder of the songs here are middle of the road Kenny Rogers standards. It's surprising that this mix should have been released, but any album titled with the biggest selling hit single in Country Western music history is sure to sell. I can only recommend it for these great five songs, all penned by the Bee Gees. The rest are a mixed bag. If you have to have these songs, then this is as close as you are going to get. I hope RCA releases "Eyes That See In The Dark" as it provided Kenny Rogers with an album that brought in new fans.

Tears

I think this album brought tears to my eyes.