| Alabama: The American Farewell Tour - Alabama | |
|
Reviewed by Matt Bjorke
In late 2002, the most successful country music band of all time, Alabama, announced that 2003 would be their final touring year. Billed as the American Farewell Tour, the tour featured inventive seating packages with special features such as guitars and tour books. When February 2003 rolled around the band released what was supposed to be their "final" album for their record label, RCA Records. However, as the year has rolled along, the band and the label decided to package a collection of songs that the band has sung while on tour. While it's not a live collection of songs, Alabama: The American Farewell Tour is a nice career-spanning collection of songs.
"When It All Goes South" is the first song on the CD. It's not one of their biggest hits but it is a fun song. It has a funky beat and definitely would set the pace for a fun evening at one of their shows. The song comes from their last full-length CD (with the same title) from 2001.
"The Closer You Get" is another uptempo song and continues the fun vibe set by "When It All Goes South" and "Love In The First Degree." From the album of the same name, this is one of the love songs that helped Alabama change the way Nashville did business. While there'd always been duos or family groups, there had never been a complete band who recorded their own sessions without studio musicians.
The song "High Cotton" is one of my favorite Alabama songs. It tells a reflective story of growing up in a loving household, even if there wasn't much money; the family had many good times together. Coming from a large happy family, I can relate to this song a lot.
One of the newer songs on the record is the midtempo “Sad Lookin' Moon." From their Dancin' on the Boulevard album 0f 1997, this song was one of the few of their later hits to stand out at radio. It became a Top 2 hit at Billboard in 1997.
"Down Home" is another of the songs I enjoyed the most from Alabama. It tells a story that continues to be written all the time, those who grow up "Down home where they know you by name and treat you like family" are likely to want to go to the city only to realize as they get older that "Down Home" is a great place to raise your family. This song was one of their 40 plus No. 1 hits.
While oddly placed in the middle of this collection of songs, "Christmas In Dixie" is a classic country holiday song. It is one of the few holiday songs that get near the top of the charts. It was a top 40 country hit in 1982 and a Top 3 Pop chart hit in 1983, the band's only Top 10 pop hit (It also joins Lee Greenwood's "God Bless The USA" as the only country songs to chart in the Top 40 three different decades).
"Song Of The South" is one of the many sing-a-long types of songs that Alabama has sung throughout their 25 year career. With its good beat and solid fiddle-laced groove, this is another of their concert classic songs. Any show without this song would basically be "sacrilege."
The song "The Fans" is one many casual fans of Alabama will think is a new track. Actually recorded as a statement of thanks to the people who gave Alabama everything they have, it was part of Alabama's first ever Greatest Hits CD in 1986. It was never a single and never a hit but it fits in with the context of this album.
"I'm In A Hurry (And Don't Know Why)" is another of the good-natured fun rock influenced songs that Alabama is so good at. Recorded for the 1992 American Pride album, the song was a multi-week hit single and over 10 years after it's release it still receives significant recurrent airplay from radio stations.
"Dancin', Shaggin' On the Boulevard" has a laid-back groove to it and it is more or less a testimony of love for the boardwalk boulevards where Alabama had a regular gig until their career their first big hit kicked them into high gear.
"Mountain Music" is an essential song for any Alabama concert to be complete as is the album closing "My Home's In Alabama." The song was the first Top 20 hit for Alabama and was their first RCA single. It is an autobiographical tune that says despite the trappings of stardom and wherever the band went, they still retained the southern charm of their childhood in Alabama.
Alabama may be retiring as a band but they will forever be in the hearts of their fans and it is for those fans that collections like Alabama: The Farewell Tour exist. Whereas For The Record is the definitive collection of Alabama songs, Alabama: The Farewell Tour contains quite a few songs that aren't on that album thus it's a needed addition to a fan's collection.
Song List:
Album cover used with permission of RCA Records
Click on the button below to find the best price for this CD and purchase it from a retailer on the Internet.
| More to do on this site |
|---|
| [ Country Photo Index | Garth Photo Index ] [ Content Index | Trivia Central | CD Releases ] [ Country Music Lyrics Trivia Index ] [ Country Audio/Video Index ] [ Guitar Tabs, Chords & Lyrics Index ] [ Top 500 Country Songs ] [ Top 100 Country Songs of the 1990s ] [ Top 100 Country Albums of the 1990s ] [ Top 200 Most Influential Country Albums ] [ Top 100 Country Artists of All Time ] [ Top 10 Country Artists of the 1990s ] FREE Country Music Courses [ Country 101 | Dose-a-Day Country Trivia ] [ Planning a Trip to Fan Fair ] [ Country Artist of the Day | Country Photo of the Day ] |