The pop-soul veteran, now 62, has always had country music in his bones: Just ask Kenny Rogers, who took the Richie-penned ''Lady'' to No. 1 in 1980, or Conway Twitty, who famously covered ''Three Times a Lady.'' (The ladies, Lionel knows.) Yet it's still gratifying to see how many A-list Nashville stars lined up for guest spots on Tuskegee — Blake! Tim! Shania! Willie! — and to hear how naturally the Alabama native countrifies R&B classics like ''Endless Love'' and the Jennifer Nettles-assisted ''Hello.'' On a banjo-tastic ''Dancing on the Ceiling,'' Richie even out-twangs good ol' boys Rascal Flatts. A-
Best Tracks:Darius Rucker duet Stuck on You
Harmony-laden Deep River Woman
