40 Hour Week
Five years and seven albums after signing with RCA Records, Alabama took a creative turn with40 Hour Week. The title song best represented the change. The music contained a tougher, more driving edge, while the lyrics celebrated American workers rather than love or the rural South. For the most part, the stylistic shift was slight. The first million-selling group in country music remained breezily energetic and acutely polished. But the slightly more aggressive sound made this the quartet's most successful crossover album, as it entered the pop Top 10 in 1985. It's also the album most likely to appeal to those who think the band's early '80s work is too soft and contrived.--Michael McCall