Don Williams - I Believe In You (1980)

Don Williams, whose star had been on the rise for nearly a decade, hit his pinnacle in 1980. I Believe in You, both single and album, were the best-selling recordings Williams had ever had and this man had sold more than a few. From the mid-'70s on, Williams continued to refine a formula that didn't feel like one choose the best songs from a proven stable of writers for your particular laid-back style of delivery, use the same musicians in the studio, and, along with your former engineer, produce the record yourself. It worked like a charm at ABC, and on MCA it worked even better. I Believe in You is the most seamlessly beautiful album Williams recorded since Expressions, and in terms of the quality of the material, maybe even eclipsed it, though it's a tough call. The free-flowing easy stroll of Williams' singing underscored by dreamy yet simple country arrangements on these ten songs is wondrous. Bob McDill wrote half this record, which includes such Williams staples as the faux Caribbean-flavored "I Want You Back Again," the shimmering "Falling Again," the folk-flavored outlaw country of "Simple Song," and side two's opening kicker, "Ain't It Amazing," as well as the closer, the airy and impressionistic "Slowly But Surely." He didn't pen the smash, though; a lilting country song dipped in early-'60s Bobby Darin rock that was authored by Roger Cook and Sam Hogin. In many ways it's far from the best song on the record, but it does have that slowpoke hook that sucked in virtually everybody who heard it. In sum, the album is solid track to track, without a weak moment, and gives Williams fans what they desired most: a collection of tunes that were all love songs no matter how they were framed, because no one, no one, sings a love song like Don Williams, even now.