The country-rock tradition that originated with the Eagles and Poco has been kept alive recently by such groups as the Larry Gathn Band, the Oak Ridge Boys and Alabama. All of these outfits are more adept at country than rock, and of the three, Alabama is currently the most successful – and the least interesting. While lead singer Randy Owen has a pleasant voice and the emotional directness of Merle Haggard, and while some of the tunes on Mountain Music feature charged electric-guitar duels, Alabama lacks the solid adherence to roots that would give their good-time songs some substance. Their most attractive numbers, such as the title song of Mountain Music, sound an awful lot like TV jingles. And all too often they settle for lugubrious pop schlock ("Close Enough to Perfect," "Never Be One") that even Kenny Rogers might be too embarrassed to sing. (RS 370)

DON SHEWEY