Bob Woodruff is hoping the second time around will be the charm.

Woodruff hopes the commercial reception for his second album, "Desire Road," out March 25 on one of Nashville's newest labels, Imprint, will match the critical reception his debut, "Dreams & Saturday Nights," received three years ago. The only problem then was while the album garnered glowing reviews, sales about matched radio play - not much.

And in the fickle music world, that meant he left Asylum, hunting for a new label.

That's not the only new part about "Desire Road." While "Dreams & Saturday Night" has a more twangy sound, "Desire Road" incorporates elements of pop and soul into the country mix.

"I feel when I made this record, I wasn't trying to think too much (about what) I needed to do or what's expected of me in terms of country radio," Woodruff says from Nashville. "We just kind of let the songs sort of find their own way. I enjoy the record. I feel it's a bit more rocking than my first record. On the other hand, I think it's more commercial than the first record. It's more acceptable."

"Those songs really work in the context of a country album. I guess what I'm most proud of is we developed our own sound on this record. The way in which steel guitar works with 12-string guitar, more of a Byrdsy feel," he says.

"Dreams & Saturday Nights," released in March 1994, resulted in three singles being released, but the highest charter - "Hard Liquor, Cold Women, Warm Beer" - only reached 68 on the charts, according to Woodruff.

With hat act music abounding, Woodruff's was not the kind of country music being played on the airwaves, even if he did receive video play.

Woodruff, 36, harbors no ill will towards Asylum, his first label. "When I started out with Asylum, it felt like the right place to be. I was the poster boy. My first record fit in with their (plans) completely - the idea of creating a singer/songwriter label. Historically, Asylum has been a record label that's embraced singer/songwriters who might be a little left of center."

"Towards the end of my record, everybody was disappointed that we didn't chart some songs on country radio," Woodruff says. "In a way, perhaps they might have been a ahead of their time. "

Woodruff knew he had to make a change. He sat down with label head Kyle Lehning. "He felt that we could have another go at it (second album), but I think the bloom was off the rose," Woodruff says.

"He was encouraging me to go more mainstream, and I felt like I didn't really want to do that," says Woodruff, a New York native. "My instincts were just telling me we had a good shot with this record. They believed in it. I believed in it. It must be time to make a change."

By the summer of 1994, Woodruff asked for his release. "I wasn't mad," he says. "They don't owe me a living. They know I did my best."

"I'm happy because they got my foot in the door," Woodruff says. "They gave me a shot."

Woodruff, who moved to Nashville from New York six years ago, took a break and started writing songs. His manager had a short list of record company people he might want to work with. Roy Wunsch, a founder of the new Imprint label, who had been at Sony, was at the top. "They were very familiar with my history and what happened with Asylum. It just felt really good."

Imprint signed Woodruff as its first artist in 1995 even before the label had offices. "It was really a commitment based on people, not so much on the record label," Woodruff says.

The label has since signed the likes of Al Anderson and Gretchen Peters, both known for their songwriting.

Besides a different label, Woodruff opted for a new producer, Ray Kennedy, instead of Steve Fishell, who oversaw his debut. Woodruff says he would have hooked up again with Fishell, but saw a conflict of interest because Fishell's wife has a key post at Imprint.

Woodruff says he thinks Kennedy is responsible for the change in sound on "Desire Road." "We kind of let the pop side of me out a little bit on this record," Woodruff says. A reference point is "I'm Losing You" with echoes of The Beatles.

"He looked at the songs that I had and gravitated to songs that some people in Nashville making a country record might not want to include," Woodruff says. "He didn't let songs like 'I'm Losing You' and 'I Want You' scare him. He thought those were some of the best songs written at the time, and I cut them."

Woodruff acknowledges the label's interest in seeing him get radio airplay led to recording a few covers. The lead-off is John Fogerty's "Almost Saturday Night," a bouncy romper.

"It's a song I've been wanting to do for awhile," Woodruff says. "In the process of recording the record, there were some pressure from the record label to come up with a 'radio song.' They were pleased with the direction we had taken. They had some songs we thought that might be right for radio, but they weren't really sure. I kind of dug into my album collection and thought about songs I'd think of doing for a few years. It popped up. It did what we wanted. It was a really fun song to record and to produce. It helped us kind of turn the corner on the project...When we came up with that song, it may not be a typical country radio song, but it's undeniably commercial."

"When I was being encouraged to look at outside material by Imprint, I kind of enjoyed it," Woodruff says. "They didn't really tell me include other people's songs. They intimated they were looking for stuff that was little bit more straight forward.

Woodruff gets downright soulful - while still maintaining a country flavor - in covers of two Arthur Alexander songs "Everyday I Have to Cry" and "If It's Really Got to Be This Way." The former was penned by the late R&B singer more than three decades ago. The latter was on Alexander's 1993 comeback disc and written in part with country writer Gary Nicholson.

"I've always been a big Arthur fan," Woodruff says. "He's one of the greatest songwriters in the world...I love both those songs a lot...It's fun. I wish I wrote (it), but it fits in with my songs. It's not unlike something I might have written."

"Country music and R&B are pretty close," he says, referring to the Stax/Volt and Muscle Shoals kind of Southern soul. Woodruff says he was influenced by the likes of Gram Parsons, who did the classic "Dark End of the Street" as a link between country and R&B.

"He was doing things that I wanted to do," Woodruff says of Parsons. "I knew of him and his records. When I first heard him in late '80's, something hit me because this cat is trying to do what I'm doing now."

Of the remaining nine songs, Woodruff penned three alone and six with others, also a change from the debut. "At first it seemed hard," Woodruff says of writing with others. "I always approached songwriting as something pretty personal and something I always did on my own, but after working with people like Michael Smotherman and Gary Nicholson, I learned how to open myself up a little bit when I write songs. To a certain extent, it's important to work without a lot of self-consciousness."

The songs are filled with the desires of love blooming and busting with depth and story to the lyrics, "Out of the Blue" highlights a hopefulness after the end of a relationship.

"That Was Then" is the tale of a an ex-star "just looking for a joint that has cold beer and a place to plug in my amp tonight" in a twangy/traditional musical setting.

"Cry Behind the Wheel" is a tale of heartbreak with the need to outrun the pain. Kennedy provides good mandolin licks here.

Others helping on the record include Raul Malo and Paul Deakin of The Mavericks, Joy Lynn White and ace session player Harry Stinson on backing vocals.

While looking to find a place on country radio, Imprint's first move is towards the growing Americana segment, radio stations playing a mixture of country, folks and roots music. "We're really hoping to establish a beachhead with Americana and go to country sometime in May or June," Woodruff says.

"It lowers the ante a little bit," Woodruff says of the strategy. "My first record, we went straight at country radio. It's a make or break kind of thing. If you don't get a record up the charts, it's a real lonely feeling."

"We still have a shot with it (at country radio)," says Woodruff, who plans to tour starting in April. "It's a bit scary. It's so closed right now. I'm real happy that we're not relying on it."

"People are scratching their heads about what's going on with country radio now. It's in flux. All I can do as an artist, is try to make the best record I can with an eye towards songs that accessible and commercial enough to fit on country radio."