She Rides Wild Horses

by Stephen Thomas ErlewineDespite his best efforts, Kenny Rogers spent almost all of the '90s hitless. Toward the end of the decade, he formed his own label, Dreamcatcher, and began to spend more time constructing his albums, starting with the adult contemporary Across My Heart. Its follow-up, She Rides Wild Horses, continues in the same direction, albeit with a slightly stronger country influence than before. There aren't any of the All-4-One cameos that cluttered Across My Heart, and the song selection, while still a bit uneven, is stronger -- enough to give the impression that She Rides Wild Horses is some sort of a comeback. And in a way, it is. It's been a while since Rogers has delivered an album with as many appealing songs as he does here -- "The Kind of Fool Love Makes," "Love Don't Live Here Anymore," "Let It Be Me," "The Greatest," the title song -- and the sound of the record is smoothly pleasurable, even if it can get a little bland. That doesn't mean it will be a hit -- after all, this is basically a return to his hitmaking sound of the early '80s -- but for fans awaiting an album that harks back to his classic period, this will be welcome.