Randy Owen - One On One

Six years after country mega-group Alabama announced their retirement, lead singer Randy Owen returns with his first solo album on Broken Bow Records. Produced by John Rich, One on One finds Owen contemplating the relationships that mean the most to him at this point in his life.Mostly made up of love songs, the set opens with a dancing fiddle line and upbeat drums on the standout country rock song “I Confess” (co-written with John Rich and James Otto). Owen sings “I showed up last night with roses and candy/New cologne and my old guitar.” Here lies the first indication of what this album attempts to accomplish: a modern update on a classic sound. However, the fun and energy of the album’s opening tracks – including a duet with label mate Megan Mullins on Dolly Parton’s “Holding Everything” – quickly disappear and by the time the title track plays at the album’s midway point, the overall sound of the album is slightly confused.“One on One” pairs jazz vocal melodies with steel guitar as Owen croons “I was making/Me a list/Of all the places I want to kiss” before an out of place piano solo comes banging in. This pattern, and subsequently the out of place piano, continues with “Urban’s On the Radio,” a song about listening to Keith Urban while driving by Wal-Mart, GNC and Domino’s and remembering a lost lover. Owen is successful in maintaining a contemporary country sound that is more traditional than it is pop. The piano-based ballad “Braid My Hair,” though at points generic, features a great melody and excellent key change during the pre-chorus to give the song more depth. Yet, the album’s bright spots don’t overcome the lyrical and musical miscues throughout.