The Hardest Part (Allison Moorer album)

The Hardest Part
Studio album by Allison Moorer
Released	September 26, 2000
Studio	Woodland Sound Studios and Treasure Isle Recordings (Nashville, Tennessee)
Genre	Country, Americana
Length	45:51
Label	MCA Nashville
Producer	Kenny Greenberg Allison Moorer Doyle Lee Primm
Allison Moorer chronology
Alabama Song (1998) The Hardest Part (2000) Miss Fortune (2002)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
The A.V. Club	Favourable [2]

The Hardest Part is the second album by singer/songwriter Allison Moorer. The album is a concept album about a doomed relationship produced and co-written by Moorer's then husband Doyle Lee Primm. ^[3] The album is based on her parents' relationship which ended in the mid-1980s when Moorer's father murdered her mother before killing himself. ^[4] She told No Depression magazine in 2000: "This record was inspired by the things I saw my mother go through. It’s not the true story, but it’s inspired by the true story." ^[5]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"The Hardest Part"	Allison Moorer, Doyle Lee Primm	3:13
2.	"Day You Said Goodbye"	Moorer, Primm	4:21
3.	"It's Time I Tried"	Moorer, Primm	4:13
4.	"Best That I Can Do"	Moorer, Primm	3:23
5.	"Think It Over"	Moorer, Primm	3:57
6.	"Bring Me All Your Lovin'"	Moorer, Primm, Kenny Greenberg	5:24
7.	"Is It Worth It"	Moorer, Primm	3:23
8.	"Send Down An Angel"	Moorer, Primm	3:47
9.	"No Next Time"	Moorer, Primm	6:39
10.	"Feeling That Feeling Again/Cold, Cold Earth"	Moorer, Primm	7:31

Personnel

• Allison Moorer – vocals, acoustic guitar (1, 3)
• Jay Bennett – acoustic piano (2, 4, 8, 9), acoustic guitar (2), Hammond B3 organ (3, 6), Mellotron (8)
• Kenny Greenberg – acoustic guitar (1, 3, 7-9), electric guitars (2-6, 8-10), acoustic 12-string guitar (4)
• Rick Plant – electric guitars (3, 9), acoustic guitar (10)
• Buddy Miller – acoustic guitar (4), electric guitars (6)
• Richard Bennett – acoustic guitar (7)
• Rick Plant – banjo (1)
• Marty Stuart – mandolin (1)
• Russ Pahl – pedal steel guitar (2-6, 8-10)
• Michael Rhodes – upright bass (1), bass (2-10)
• Chad Cromwell – drums
• Eric Darken – percussion (2, 5, 6, 9)
• Joe Spivey – fiddle (1, 6)
• Chris Carmichael – fiddle (10)
• Jim Hoke – harmonica (2, 7)
• The Nashville String Machine – strings (3, 8, 9)
• The Love Sponge Strings – string quartet (4)
• Kristin Wilkinson – string arrangements and conductor (3, 4, 8, 9)
• Louise Red – harmony vocals (1-4, 6, 8, 9)
• Harry Stinson – harmony vocals (1), backing vocals (5)
• Louis Nunley – backing vocals (3)
• Dennis Wilson – backing vocals (3)
• Rick Schell – backing vocals (5), harmony vocals (6)
• Lonesome Bob – vocals (9)

Production

• Tony Brown – executive producer
• Kenny Greenberg – producer
• Allison Moorer – co-producer
• Doyle Primm – co-producer
• Don Smith – engineer (1-6, 8-10)
• Peter Coleman – overdub recording, string recording (3, 4, 8, 9), engineer (7)
• James Bauer – assistant engineer
• Nathan Mann – assistant engineer
• Greg Parker – assistant engineer
• John Saylor – assistant engineer
• Justin Niebank – mixing at Masterfonics (Nashville, Tennessee)
• Ken Love – mastering at MasterMix (Nashville, Tennessee)
• Kate Garner – photography
• Beth Middleworth – design
• T.K. Kimbrell for Two Artist Management – management

Chart performance

Chart (2000)	Peak position
US Top Country Albums (Billboard) [6]	26
US Top Heatseekers Albums ( Billboard ) [7]	26

References

1. Zac Johnson. "The Hardest Part - Allison Moorer | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved October 12, 2013.
2. Klein, Joshua (March 29, 2002). "Allison Moorer: The Hardest Part | Music". The A.V. Club. Retrieved October 12, 2013.
3. "Michael Bialas: Allison Moorer Interview, Part 2: A Chance to Take Deeper Breaths". Huffingtonpost.com. April 6, 2010. Retrieved October 12, 2013.
4. "Eugene Register-Guard - Google News Archive Search".
5. Alden, Grant. "Allison Moorer – Loving, Leaving, Living « Americana and Roots Music - No Depression". Archives.nodepression.com. Archived from the original on October 12, 2013. Retrieved October 12, 2013.
6. "Allison Moorer Chart History (Top Country Albums)". Billboard.
7. "Allison Moorer - Awards". Allmusic . Retrieved March 3, 2014.