Raybon Bros. (MCA, 1997)

Tim and Marty Raybon, late of Shenandoah, branched out on their own with this self-titled release, produced by Nashville biggies Don Cook and Tony Brown. It's a not-up-to-par effort.

The album starts out on a low note with a cover of Bob Carlisle's sappy "Butterfly Kisses." This has got to be the second worst cover choice of the year, right behind LeAnn Rimes' cover of Debby Boone's wretched "You Light Up My Life." Things get better with "The Way She's Looking," one of the two tracks on the disc rating repeat listenings, the other being the equally upbeat honky-tonker "Just Tryin' to Keep the Woman I Got."

The remainder is filled with treacly ballads ready-made for the "adult contemporary" or "easy listening" markets. One track worth mention is "Falling," noteworthy in that it marks the return of Olivia Newton-John, who proves she's still got the voice to perhaps make a resurgence in this industry. If MCA is smart, they'll release a CD single of the two good songs and spare listeners from programming their CD players to skip the other tracks.