RICKY SKAGGS. “Kentucky Thunder.” Epic. ** 1/2: Albums are rated on a scale of one(poor) tofive(a classic) stars

As a singer, Skaggs has always been a lot like Clark Kent: mild-mannered, eminently likable--and harmless. Lacking the powers of vocal Supermen like George Jones and Randy Travis, Skaggs runs into trouble with many of this album’s hackneyed stories and allusions. “The Fields of Home” dredges up every hokey, tear-inducing gimmick this side of Old Shep. The title tune, with its compendium of cliches about the Bluegrass State, poses no threat to displace Bill Monroe’s “Blue Moon of Kentucky” as the state song. Skaggs is at his best when he keeps it light and lively, as in Sonny Curtis’ witty “He Was Onto Somethin’ (So He Made You).” The musicianship, as expected from Skaggs and his top-drawer associates, is sterling throughout, but it’s still not enough to rescue most of these songs from the clutches of banality.