Rhett Akins debuted in 1994, and with Reba McEntire"s management firm behind him, exposure on tours with Reba, and a major-label recording contract, he had all the right fundamentals. Unfortunately, his debut reflected that day"s generic, assembly-line Nashville fluff. Despite a Top 10 single and a 1996 No. 1 with "Don"t Get Me Started," he wound up lost in a shuffle of sound-alike acts. Sadly, his first new album in four years reflects little improvement. Songs like "White Lies and Blue Eyes" are stale radio ringers laden with the same kinds of tired hooks, harmonies, and colloquialisms ("You play my heart just like a groovin" guitar") heard on dozens of chart singles over the past decade. It would have been a joy to hear him transcend his past with something more individual and edgy, instead of such exercises in triteness as "Right Back Atcha" and the predictable "I Wonder What You"re Doing Tonight." Following trends didn"t set Akins apart in the 1990s. Neither will this generic repeat performance. --Rich Kienzle