Kenny Rogers - Back to the Well (2003)

Kenny Rogers hasn't sold over 105 million albums by sticking rigidly to the genre with which he's most closely associated, and Back to the Well sees him once more lending his distinctive husky drawl to all manner of musical styles. "Listen to the Rain" is a mainstream pop love-song, name-checking John Lennon and Yoko Ono. "We Owe Them More than That" is a jaunty homage to other country music legends such as Lefty Frizzell and Waylon Jennings, while "Suitcase Full of Blues" is a rootsy stomper. Unfortunately, Rogers has not written any of the 12 tracks here and his choice of songs to record is far from consistent. "I'm Missing You", "Tears in God's Eyes" and "You Have No Idea" are all melodically weak and crassly sentimental. Nevertheless, he still has his moments, particularly with the two narrative tracks (Kenny's always at his best when there's a story to tell)--"Harder Cards" and Mark Knopfler's "Prairie Wedding". Respectively the tales of a battered wife who finally turns and a farmer who advertises for a bride, both will keep fans happy. Also excellent is "Love like This", where Rogers, with Alison Krauss on backing vocals, rails against a life without passion. The guy's still got something--there's no doubt about that. --Dominic Wills