Alabama

Alabama – The Closer You Get… (1983/2016) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

Studio Masters By admin · June 5, 2022 · Comments off

On their fourth album The Closer You Get, Alabama gets further away from the country roots and down-home charm responsible for their incredible chart success. One may be surprised at the unusual number of ballads, but popular country in the early ’80s, in hindsight, seems more suited to adult easy listening than country with the popularity of Kenny Rogers, Crystal Gayle, and Dolly Parton. The songwriting is strong, and the vocal harmonies still blend unlike any other country band — in fact, the members of Alabama trade lead vocal roles throughout the album. However, this album suffers from glossy production and the use of synthesizers. The use of a drum machine on the opening title track is nearly unforgivable, and the arrangement distracts the listener from an otherwise good song. However, Alabama shines when they use more traditional country arrangements. Upbeat songs like “Red River” and “Dixieland Delight” are great additions to their catalog and demonstrate how they became one of country’s most successful groups. This is not the place to start, but most fans should eventually own this album. ~ Vik Iyengar

(more…)

Alabama – Roll On (1984/2016) [Official Digital Download 24bit/44,1kHz]

Studio Masters By admin · June 5, 2022 · Comments off

„Roll On“ is the eighth studio album of country music band Alabama, released in 1984. All four singles released from this album reached Number One on the Hot Country Singles chart: ‘Roll On (Eighteen Wheeler)’, ‘When We Make Love’, ‘If You’re Gonna Play in Texas (You Gotta Have a Fiddle in the Band)’ and ‘(There’s A) Fire in the Night’. Music videos were made for ‘I’m Not That Way Anymore’ and ‘(There’s A) Fire in the Night’. The album was certified quadruple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.

(more…)

Alabama – My Home’s In Alabama (1980/2016) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

Studio Masters By admin · June 5, 2022 · Comments off

This is the album that introduced Alabama as one of the biggest hitmaking country/pop bands of the ’80s. While the disc contains what was termed “country-rock” at the time, this is nothing like Lynyrd Skynyrd or even Hank Williams, Jr. at his rowdiest. The closest thing to country-rock among these ten tracks is the six-minute-and-27-second title track. The earliest representation of the band’s developing sound includes the ballad “Why Lady Why” and the fiddle-heavy “Tennessee River,” both hit singles.

(more…)

Alabama – Mountain Music (1982/2016) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

Studio Masters By admin · June 5, 2022 · Comments off

On their third album, 1982’s Mountain Music, Alabama hit their stride, streamlining the rough edges out of their sound and turning into a well-oiled hit machine. Here, when they stretch out it’s on the nearly seven-minute “Changes Comin’ On,” which doesn’t jam like Southern rock but instead has a smooth groove that veers close to soft rock. Of course, that soft rock quality was not only a large reason why Alabama crossed over to the pop charts (“Take Me Down,” one of three number one country singles here — the other two being the anthemic title cut and “Close Enough to Perfect” — crossed over into the pop Top 20, which is no small feat), it was also instrumental in defining the group’s own brand of “mountain music.” If their country music didn’t sound too down-home — it didn’t twang, it didn’t have mandolins, it was built on electric guitars — it was nevertheless pure country in its own modern way, borrowing on Western mythos (“Words at Twenty Paces” has an implied swagger, even if it is never menacing) and early Americana-rock (a strong cover of Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Green River”), playing up both sentiment (both the slow devotional “You Turn Me On” and the family celebration “Never Be One”) and revelry (“Gonna Have a Party”) to create the template for contemporary country. If there’s just a touch too much of the slow stuff here, it’s all expertly executed and almost all the songs click, with the best (all the aforementioned tracks, minus “Never Be One”) standing among the band’s best material, helping to make Mountain Music not only one of their best albums, but a record that — despite its big, slick production — still sounds like modern country even decades after its initial release.

(more…)

Alabama – Greatest Hits (1986/2016) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

Studio Masters By admin · June 5, 2022 · Comments off

Released in 1986, Greatest Hits runs a mere ten tracks, so it simply doesn’t have enough room to chronicle all the hits they had in the early ’80s; though they had years of hits still to come, they already had become a fixture at the top of the country charts, turning out too many hits to fit in this collection. That said, this does an excellent job of summarizing this early peak, containing many songs that became perennials of modern country: “Mountain Music,” “Feels So Right,” “Tennessee River,” “40 Hour Week (For a Livin’),” and “My Home’s in Alabama.” Later collections would offer more, but this collection provides the songs that are at the core of their sound, and, years later, it is still an excellent crystallization of what Alabama is all about.

(more…)

Alabama – Feels So Right (2016) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

Studio Masters By admin · June 5, 2022 · Comments off

Arguably the 800-pound gorilla of country prior to the arrival of Garth Brooks and Travis Tritt in the early ’90s, Alabama blends Southern rock and radio-friendly pop with traditional country and bluegrass. The group’s sophomore release „Feels so Right“ is typical of the period in country music when smooth, slick production was beginning to take hold.

A streamlined, pop inflected album, „Feels so Right“ is full of hook laden, lyrically unswerving songs about love and heartache. This is Alabama at its best.

On Alabama’s second album, Feels So Right, you can hear the band becoming comfortable with their sound and finding their niche. Unlike their first release, My Home’s in Alabama, they don’t sound like they’re testing out various tempos, selections, and styles. This session has a flowing consistency which resulted in three hit singles: the mellow pop of ‘Feels So Right’ and ‘Love in the First Degree,’ along with traditional country on ‘Old Flame.

(more…)