Tracks
It's hard to dislike Collin Raye, even with his guy-next-door earnestness and his penchant for wearing his emotions on his sleeve. Just when you think you can't stand anymore of his over-the-top, greeting card sentimentality ("There are moments I love you beyond the limits of my human heart," he sings in "You Will Always Be Mine"), he comes up with a leftfield winner like "Harder Cards," a turn-of-events murder saga told by the arresting officer. And when you're ready to dismiss him for his endless harping about family values, darn if he doesn't pull out two such songs ("Water and Bridges," which traces deeds that can't be undone, and "She's Gonna Fly," about a mother lost to Alzheimer's) that just rip your heart out.Tracks, like all of his efforts, is hit and miss, but this one broadens its appeal with faux R&B; ("Couldn't Last a Moment") and instrumental and vocal washes straight out of theBeatles,Robert Palmer, andQueen. You may not recognize them right away, but they burrow into your brain and make this most homogeneous of country singers a familiar and welcome guest--no matter how much you didn't want to let him in.--Alanna Nash