The question is, what does Randy Travis have now that he didn't have a few years back, when younger, cheaper and occasionally even cuter hunky-tonkers began goosing country-radio revenues harder than he could? Well, he has lots of things: a brand-new label (David Geffen, Jeffrey Katzenberg and Steven Spielberg's Dream Works), the honor of being first into the breach for that organization's assault on country, and a new producer (James Stroud).

On his eleventh album, Travis is in fine voice, and he remains a grand illusionist of calm and depth (he also looks even better than he used to). But You and You Alone isn't so much an album as it is a demographic-targeting device, filled with the joy of the fear of failure and that something-for-everybody, never-piss-off-the-programmers spirit we all just love in modern Music Row recordings. You've got tunes here for mom, dad, grandpa, grandma, Bobbie Lee and Jody, and for pretty much anyone else with a disposable income. Hell, you've even got a couple for Randy (and for other real country fans, too)!

Some of them are good. "The Hole," a fast, funny play on words, is almost fabulous, while "You and You Alone," deepened and dignified by the harmonies of Vince Gill and the great Melba Montgomery (its main writer), reminds you just how lovely the classic country-song forms can be. Others are awful, particularly "I Did My Part," in which Randy poses as a father and songwriters Billy Livsey and Don Schlitz smother family values in goo à la Clinton ("Build a family ... build a city ... build a country ... build a world," sings the choir). "Satisfied Mind" finds writer Tony Arata, Garth Brooks' favorite philosopher, lushing up two themes – your lover dying before you do, and inner peace meaning more than money – and Travis delivers the package sincerely enough to tweak your heart or your gag reflex, depending on whether you're a homily-hugging sap. Most of the other songs are just fiber: mid- to slow-tempo contemporary pop/country ballads a bit better than most for having been so carefully chosen by so many experts, but basically boring. Which is to say, perfect for their purpose. (RS 787)

PATRICK CARR