In The Mood: The Love Songs

Disc 1
1	I'm In The Mood
2	The Living Years
3	When We Make Love
4	Touch Me When We're Dancing
5	Feels So Right
6	How Do You Fall In Love
7	Fallin' Again
8	Lady Down On Love
9	The Closer You Get
10	If I Had You
11	We Can't Love Like This Anymore
12	Then Again
Disc 2
1	Here We Are
2	Face To Face
3	Take Me Down
4	In Pictures
5	Close Enough To Perfect
6	Forever's As Far As I'll Go
7	Love In The First Degree
8	There's No Way
9	God Must Have Spent A Little More Time On You
10	Nothing Comes Close
11	Once Upon A Lifetime

Barnes & Noble

Released to coincide with the kickoff of Alabama's farewell tour, the two-disc, 23-track I'm in the Mood: The Love Songs assures that the country juggernaut goes out not with a whimper but with a bang. For starters, it gets rolling with two new songs recorded specifically for this collection: the soft, slinky ballad "I'm in the Mood," on which lead singer Randy Owen coaxes his woman into a mind-body summit with his robust baritone, and the contemporary country "The Living Years," a mid-tempo advisory to appreciate our lifelines while they're still here. Then the hit parade starts, and it's pretty impressive. To Alabama's credit, their love songs are less formulaic than their up-tempo blockbusters, and even daring at times, as on "Touch Me when We're Dancing," in which the arrangement blends contemporary country with an '80s R&B approach. Disc 2 features some especially strong cuts. "Here We Are," co-written by Beth Nielsen Chapman and Vince Gill, kicks mightily behind stinging rock guitars and those soaring Alabama harmonies as the guys sing of everlasting love. The lilting, spare "Forever's as Far as I Will Go" is a well-observed account of how a bruised man learned to love, set to the ringing tones of an electric piano and Owen's open-hearted testimony. The 'N Sync boys even make an appearance here, adding some velvety harmonies and vocal fills to a mid-tempo valentine, "God Must Have Spent a Little More Time on You." Alabama have plenty of toe-tappers in their repertoire, but this set aims straight for the heart, and hits its target every time. David McGee

All Music Guide

Spanning two discs and over two decades' worth of music, Alabama's In the Mood: The Love Songs collects the most romantic moments from the band's body of work, including "Close Enough to Perfect," "Feels So Right," "How Do You Fall in Love," and "The Closer You Get." Indeed, love songs play a fairly significant part in the band's career -- many of the tracks included here, such as "Fallin' Again," "Touch Me When We're Dancing," "Lady Down on Love," and "In Pictures," also appear on For the Record, Alabama's collection of chart-topping singles. All of this means In the Mood: The Love Songs is a consistent collection of the band's easygoing, sentimental songs, and while it doesn't replace a more straightforward greatest-hits compilation, it should please the band's fans as well as anyone partial to romantic country. Heather Phares