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On his self-titled 1996 debut album, Mark Wills showed himself to be a talented utility player on the modern country field, as familiar with edgy Southern country-rock as mainstream radio fare. However, none of the raggedy stuff passed muster like the smoother, sentimental sounds of Wish You Were Here, his second outing, and with three No. 1 hits--"I Do (Cherish You)," "Wish You Were Here," "Don't Laugh at Me"--the die was cast. Wills's third release finds the Georgian pigeonholed as the ultimate heart-on-his-sleeve romantic, changed by love and fatherhood, and fretting about the world's forgotten children. All that is well and good, and Wills, with his earnest, aching tenor, knows how to sell a song, mostly to neglected, housebound wives. What's missing is the other three-quarters of his personality--and a rhythm number guaranteed to wear the leather off your shoes. --Alanna Nash