Through The Years: A Retrospective

Chicken notwithstanding, the dealin' is done for Kenny Rogers, who in 1999 has got time enough for countin' his myriad number one hits. Rogers was country music's brightest star during its darkest night. His hook-laden pop songs had just enough dust and his voice just enough Texas twang to earn him country credibility, but in reality, he was and always will be an adult contemporary pop singer. These four CDs comprehensively follow Rogers's chameleon-like career--from the vocal-pop of the Scholars to the light jazz of the Bobby Doyle Three to the acid-folk of the First Edition to the country-crossover sound of the mid-1970s to the full-blown pop stylings of 1980 forward. Rogers always had a knack for choosing material with mass appeal--in the notes he calls it "the simple song that has a great hook that everybody can sing, where everybody joins in with you on the second verse"--and he knew what would best suit his easy-flowing, thready voice. And there was always a duet partner--Dottie West, Sheena Easton, Kim Carnes, Dolly Parton--waiting to liven things up. These 80 songs (along with the detailed notes and interviews) will bring tears of joy to the diehards, but even the cynics might find themselves singing along with a couple of the most memorable ones. --Marc Greilsamer