But for their legion of fiercely loyal fans, Alabama's 20th RCA album "Dancin' On The Boulevard", will be just that ---a treasure trove of Alabama music that is both a return to their roots and an affirmation of their collective talents as writers, musicians and entertainers.

Co-produced by Alabama and Don Cook (known for his work with Brooks & Dunn, the Mavericks, Tracy Lawrence and others), Dancin' On The Boulevard is Alabama the band in one complete package. They serve notice that the same band that revolutionized country music and stood the world on its ear back in the 1980s, is still producing some of its best work ever as the '90s come to a close.

Not since the day of My Home's in Alabama, Mountain Music and Feels So Right, have so many songs on an Alabama album or CD been written by the band itself. Says lead singer Randy Owen, "Our fans have been telling us they wanted to hear more of our own songs, so this collection is something truly special. And to have the endorsement of RCA, their stamp of approval on songs we feel so strongly about, really means a lot. As a artist, this is something you reach for--a project that really comes from your heart, that represents your own life's experiences and influences, and that allows you to express all those inner thoughts and feelings."

"We spent so many hectic years touring and recording," Randy continues, "It was difficult to find the time to write. And there were so many good songs coming out of Nashville's writers anyway. A great song is a great song, no matter whose name is on it, and we've been fortunate over the years to have the support of the industry's writers, our record label, and our writers at Maypop Music for coming up with some great songs for Alabama. One More Shot (Owen, Gentry and Rogers) became a Number One record for us in 1995, and the positive reaction we received from a lot of people on the songs we wrote recently for the Alabama Christmas, Volume II album, we felt very strongly about playing these songs for Joe Galante and everyone at RCA. They gave us total support. That means everything."

A return to the traditional tour bus had a lot to do with Alabama's resurgence as writers. When Alabama sold their private plane a couple of years ago, some saw it as a sign the band was slowing down. But, in reality; touring by bus again allows them the time to unwind between shows, and focus more on the creative aspects of their music. It was in the back of the tour bus that many of the songs on Dancin' took shape, reminiscent of the days when the band would drive from one gig to another loaded up in a Dodge mini-van, with little to do but bounce lyrics off one another and tighten those trademark harmonies.
After the band exploded on the charts in the early '80s, schedules got tighter and the demands of success had its limitations. Performing as many as 300 shows a year can take its toll.
But the drive to write their own music has never left. Says bass guitarist Teddy Gentry, "I'd rather write songs than eat. Some people like to go hunting with their buddies, but my idea of fun is to get together with other songwriters."
A prime example of Alabama's creative bond is in their first release off the new album, Sad Lookin' Moon. Recalls Teddy, "We were riding down the road up in New York state one night, and Randy was sitting in the front of the bus. There was a full moon out, and Randy said something like, 'That sure is a sad looking moon tonight.' We started thinking hey, that's a great idea for a song,"

With the lyrics and melody to Sad Lookin' Moon safely on cassette, the group was on a roll. By the time they pulled into Long Island, New York, later that day, another song had made it to the tape recorder--I Just Couldn 't Say No. Says Randy, "We're very proud of this ballad. It has its own special place on this album."
With a mixture of up-temp country; country rock, soulful balladry, love songs and "working man" songs, all punctuated with Alabama's driving beat and artfully laced with the smoothest harmonies in the business Dancin' On The Boulevard touches all the nerves of Alabama's enduring talent.
The album, though, takes its heart and soul from the title cut, a trip back to the beach front clubs and music of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. It was there that the aspiring young musicians paid their dues in a steamy bar called the Bowery, playing for tips six nights a week for seven long years, in Dancin' Alabama pays tribute to the music of the era, to the freewheeling, fun loving crowds that still "shag" down the boulevard to nonstop festival of summer fun and beach music. No matter in how many hundreds of cities and towns since that Alabama has played it's music, no matter how many television specials, state fairs, or coliseums have stood in awe of those tight Alabama harmonies, Myrtle Beach will always be special. That's where it started for Alabama, and these songs are reflective of those early influences on the band while playing at the beach in Carolina.
"A big part of our lives is entwined in these new songs," says Teddy. There was so much music, and different music, you couldn't be there without being touched by all of it."
"And back then, you played what people wanted to hear, what was hot on the radio," recalls lead guitarist Jeff Cook. "You also tried to work in some original material during those long, long sets. So we worked on our own songs when we could, but we still spent a lot of time picking up songs from the radio--country, pop, R&B, whatever was popular--and doing our own versions at the Bowery."

A consummate musician, Jeff rates each Alabama performance on its technical merit, and each album on its live audience appeal. "I'm as excited about this album as anything we've ever done," he says. "These are songs we can certainly enjoy doing live. And that's important--to be able to bring to life, on stage, what we've done in the recording studio and what our fans hear on the radio."
Drummer Mark Herndon, an integral part of Alabama's energy on stage, agrees. "Myrtle Beach brings back a lot of memories, and this album is really Alabama, the band, doing what we do best--entertaining on stage, with all the parts working together as one unit, creating that chemistry that is Alabama."
Mark's enthusiasm for the project spills over into the new set design for Alabama's 1997 tour, as he works behind the scenes to bring Dancin' to life on the stage. When Alabama takes to the road to showcase their latest work, Mark's own creative influence will reach beyond his thundering drum stand. "I'm ready and roaring to go. We're all excited about playing this new material in concert."
Nowhere on the new album does the excitement and energy come to the surface more profoundly than in One More Time Around, a true Alabama group effort in the writing. Joining Randy, Teddy and Greg on the writing credits are stage musicians Larry Hanson and Tim Briggs, with a song that typlflies the day-to-day grind of every working man. "You have to include bar bands and musicians in those sentiments," observes Teddy. "Larry and Tim are a big part of the Alabama family, and it was the first time they've joined us in writing an Alabama song. It was a lot of fun working on that song on our bus while we were out on tour."

But the talent of other songwriters isn't overlooked, either. Calling All Angels by Jeff Jones and Of Course I'm Alright, written by Billy Kirsch fit the mold for inclusion on Dancin' On The Boulevard. Like the rest of the package, those songs also extracted a measure of introspection from a lifetime of music. Add Randy's seasoned vocals, and the cuts take on an Alabama style that is unmistakable.

On another cut, She's Got That Look In Her Eyes, Randy and Teddy collaborate on a song that combines introspection with a bit of mystery. Explains Randy, "This song takes its influence from those Farrah Fawcett posters that every guy-- and lot of girls-- used to have tacked up in their rooms. There was just something about that look. We believe this song will appeal to anyone who has ever been stirred by the look of someone else, and felt the mystique."
The band also collaborated on several songs with frequent Alabama writer Ronnie Rogers of Dixieland Delight frame, penning the winsome Is The Magic Still There, and the bluesy Anytime I'm Your Man. Says Randy, "Ronnie is an old friend with a flair for Alabama music. Whenever we get together, a song usually comes out of it. In fact, Anytime came about during a social gathering before last Christmas at my cabin on Lookout Mountain. We call it the 'Old Pals Club,' and the ideas just start flowing whenever we do it."
The laid back, personal approach to Dancin' On The Boulevard carried over to the final selection process, as the guys got together and did acoustical demos of each potential song for RCA executives at Randy's home in Fort Payne, Alabama. The result is an album that embodies the same passion that Alabama brings to every stage performance, which is the ultimate test for any song that makes the cut.
"We have never considered ourselves a complicated band." says Randy, "and these are not complicated songs. But they do come from deep inside. Not only are they songs we have written, for the most part, they are all songs we can perform well, live. This album is what Alabama is all about, from those years on the Boulevard to where we are today,"