Sylvia Jane Hutton (nee Kirby, born December 9, 1956), known simply by her first name Sylvia during the 1980s, is an American country music and country pop singer and songwriter. Some original source books have her birth name as Sylvia Kirby Allen; however, Allen was her first husband's last name. She consequently used only her first name. There was also a point in time that she used Sylvia Rutledge.

The release of her fourth album, Surprise, spurred her second foray into the Adult Contemporary charts, but neither its sound, nor her newly shorn locks courtesy Francesco Scavullo, were well received in country music. Surprise was the last of Sylvia's first four albums to be produced by Tom Collins, who also produced Mandrell, Charley Pride, and Ronnie Milsap. They have been described by critics as too slick for country music.  Her following album, One Step Closer, produced by The Judds' producer Brent Maher, had a more guitar-driven feel to it as opposed to her previously more orchestrated affairs. It was followed up by Sylvia's last top 40 country hit, "Nothin' Ventured, Nothin' Gained", from the unreleased album Knockin Around. The shelving of this album marked the end of Sylvia's tenure with RCA Records. The label did release a Greatest Hits compilation and a single from it titled "Straight from my Heart" (written with Jimmy Fortune of The Statler Brothers). The record received little promotion from RCA and the single charted in the low 60s. In the late 1980s, RCA began streamlining its roster of country-pop artists and the casualties included Sylvia, Dolly Parton, Louise Mandrell, Deborah Allen, Juice Newton, John Denver and Kenny Rogers.  Over an eight-year period, Sylvia crisscrossed America many times with her popular concert performances (over 200 per year), and she was a frequent guest on network television talk shows and specials -- from The Today Show and Good Morning, America to Dick Clark's American Bandstand and the Country Music Awards.  Her decision to stop touring and recording at the end of the 1980s was not fueled by the grueling schedule, as some might guess, but by her desire to bring more of herself to the music, she turned her energies to songwriting.

Answer the following question by taking a quote from the article: Was the album a success?
They have been described by critics as too slick for country music.