The O'Kanes - The Only Years (2000)

Between 1986 and 1988, the O'Kanes, along with such peers as the Desert Rose Band, led the bluegrass division of the new traditionalist movement in country music, scoring a series of six consecutive Top Ten hits. But the duo of Kieran Kane and Jamie O'Hara split up by the end of the decade, leaving three strong albums as their legacy. Columbia Records, their label, never issued a compilation, but in 2000, parent company Sony's Lucky Dog imprint did, and it's a curious album. Only three of the band's seven chart entries are included, with the number one hit "Can't Stop My Heart From Loving You" not among them. In place of the hits are some low-key album tracks that show off Kane and O'Hara's talent for the high and lonesome sound of bluegrass but will be less familiar to fans. One can only assume that Lucky Dog, issuing this compilation in its discount-priced "Pick of the Litter" series, was not allowed to do a real best-of, Sony perhaps intending to issue an O'Kanes title in its Super Hits or 16 Biggest Hits series. (A Shelby Lynne compilation, Epic Recordings, released simultaneously by Lucky Dog, is similarly devoid of singles.) If so, those interested in the O'Kanes might want to wait, since this set does not contain their best-remembered material. © William Ruhlmann