I've Got You on My Mind represents the first real stumble from Buck Owens, his first vocal album to miss Billboard's Country Top Ten (its immediate instrumental predecessor The Guitar Player didn't crack the Top Ten either, yet it was always destined to be a niche record), and his first not to have a single hit number one since 1963. The slowing of his hot streak was inevitable. Tastes change along with the times, something that's evident on I've Got You on My Mind, which is filled with music that breaks Owens' Bakersfield template. The most notable change is the presence of honeyed harmonies, overdubs that give the record a bit of burnished warmth at the expense of the vigorous snap of the Buckaroos. Some of this is a continuation of the expansion hinted at on Sweet Rosie Jones, particularly the acoustic instrumentation reminiscent of Merle Haggard's albums with the Strangers, but there are also new twists, like the piano on the title track and "Alabama, Louisiana, Or Maybe Tennessee," a wily boogie that has a cousin in "Love Is Me." Buck also brings in his son Buddy Alan for duets on "Let the World Keep a Turnin'" and "I'll Love You Forever and Ever," an attempt to expand his Buckaroo empire that works better on the former than the latter. Buddy's presence adds a vague hint of show biz, while the harmonies soften the Buckaroos muscle a tad, a combination that makes I've Got You on My Mind appear to be in soft focus -- an unusual departure from Owens, one that isn't without its charms, but ultimately feels a little slighter than a usual Buckaroos album.