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Back in 1994, David Ball's twangy, new-traditionalist smashThinkin' Problemwas like a golden needle in a haystack, hidden among that year's tangle of sound-alike hat acts. Since that breakthrough, though, Ball's singles have stiffed, and stiffed again. Predictably, then, the weakest moments on 1999'sPlay, Ball's third album for Warner Bros., are the ones that try to fit in with the successful sounds of late-'90s country radio. Clearly, the empty "Hasta Luego, My Love" is a song that exists solely because of its famous movie catch phrase, and arena-rock drums pounds the emotion out of more than a couple of numbers here. But when Ball turns to the dance-hall honky-tonk and boogie-woogie that he loves most, the disc soars. "Lonely Town" and "When I Get Lonely" have the beef and bite of the bestDwight Yoakamcuts, and the sweet cover ofJim Lauderdale's "What Do You Say to That" is tender and romantic in a way Ball has never been before.--David Cantwell