The Way I'm Livin'

Last updated
The Way I'm Livin'
The Way I'm Livin'.png
Studio album by
Lee Ann Womack
ReleasedSeptember 23, 2014 (2014-09-23)
Genre Country, Americana, Roots
Length46:20
Label Sugar Hill
Producer Chuck Ainlay
Frank Liddell
Glenn Worf
Lee Ann Womack chronology
Call Me Crazy
(2008)		The Way I'm Livin'
(2014)		 Trouble in Mind
(2015)
Singles from The Way I'm Livin'
  1. "The Way I'm Livin'"
    Released: June 23, 2014
  2. "Send It On Down"
    Released: January 26, 2015 [1]
  3. "Chances Are"
    Released: October 5, 2015

The Way I'm Livin' is the eighth studio album by American country music recording artist Lee Ann Womack. The album was released via Sugar Hill Records on September 23, 2014. Her first album in six years, following 2008's Call Me Crazy , this album sees Womack embrace roots music and americana alongside neotraditional country rather than the country pop sound that was prevalent in several previous releases.

Contents

Production

The Way I'm Livin was recorded and mixed by Chuck Ainlay at Sound Stage Studios in Nashville, Tennessee. [2] Additional recording was done by Brandon Schexnayder and Christian Best at Dogtown Studios in Nashville, and Monique Studios in Cork, Ireland. [2] The album was produced by Chuck Ainlay, Glenn Worf and Womack's husband Frank Liddell.

Critical reception and accolades

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic 84/100 [3]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [4]
American Songwriter Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [5]
Billboard Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [6]
The Daily Telegraph Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [7]
USA Today Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [8]

According to Metacritic, The Way I'm Livin' received a weighted average of 84 out of 100, based on 7 mainstream critic reviews, indicating "Universal Acclaim". [3] In his review for USA Today , Brian Mansfield compares the album, which is "rooted in gospel and hymns", to "Dolly Parton's finest". Mansfield noted, "Her run-ins with the devil may seem uncomfortably specific, but the swelling steel guitars carry her as if on angels' wings." [8]

In his review for AllMusic, Stephen Thomas Erlewine observes that The Way I'm Livin' "plays like a classic album: it's a record where the sum is greater than the individual parts". [4] Hal Horowitz, in his review in American Songwriter , writes, "The resulting comeback doesn't always click but when it does, the artist can rebound with some of their best work". [5] Horowitz goes on to write, "This is a triumph for country music that's never musty yet still harkens back to a simpler, less glitzy time when emotions drove songs, not simplistic clichés." [5]

In his review in Billboard magazine, Chuck Dauphin writes, "Was it worth the wait or has Womack stayed away from music-making too long? The answer is a very definitive one, as the Texas native reclaims her spot as one of country's most expressive and distinctive vocalists." [6] Writing for The Daily Telegraph , Martin Chilton writes, "She succeeds admirably with The Way I'm Livin', a moving and powerful set of songs, right from the gorgeous opening prelude Fly ... It's great to have Lee Ann Womack back with such a sad and lovely album, which has an eye-catching cover." [7]

Commercial performance

The album debuted on the Billboard 200 at No. 99 and on the Top Country Albums at No. 18, selling 4,300 copies for the week. [9] As of February 2015, the album has sold 14,600 copies in the US. [10]

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Fly" Brent Cobb, Reed Foehl2:31
2."All His Saints" Mindy Smith 3:22
3."Chances Are" Hayes Carll 3:41
4."The Way I'm Livin'" Adam Wright 3:43
5."Send It on Down" Chris Knight, David Leone4:06
6."Don't Listen to the Wind" Julie Miller 4:00
7."Same Kind of Different" Natalie Hemby, Adam Hood 2:55
8."Out on the Weekend" Neil Young 4:33
9."Nightwind" Bruce Robison 3:34
10."Sleeping with the Devil"Brennen Leigh3:18
11."Not Forgotten You"Robison3:19
12."Tomorrow Night in Baltimore" Kenny Price 3:23
13."When I Come Around" Mando Saenz 3:55
Total length:46:20
Walmart Deluxe edition
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
14."Satisfied Mind" Joe "Red" Hayes, Jack Rhodes 3:28
15."Cup of Loneliness" George Jones, Burl Stevens2:18

Personnel

As per liner notes. [2]

Music
Production

Chart performance

Chart (2014)Peak
position
UK Country Albums (OCC) [11] 5
US Billboard 200 [12] 99
US Top Country Albums (Billboard) [13] 18
US Independent Albums (Billboard) [14] 22

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References

  1. ↑ "R&R :: Going For Adds :: Country". Radio & Records . Retrieved January 19, 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 The Way I'm Livin' (booklet). Lee Ann Womack. Franklin, TN: Sugar Hill Records. 2014. pp. 2–3. SUG-CD-4107.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  3. 1 2 Metacritic. "Critic Reviews for The Way I'm Livin'". CBS Interactive . Retrieved September 24, 2014.
  4. 1 2 Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "The Way I'm Livin' – Lee Ann Womack". AllMusic . All Media Network . Retrieved September 24, 2014.
  5. 1 2 3 Horowitz, Hal (September 23, 2014). "Lee Ann Womack: The Way I'm Livin'". American Songwriter . ForASong Media, LLC. ISSN   0896-8993 . Retrieved September 24, 2014.
  6. 1 2 Dauphin, Chuck (September 23, 2014). "Lee Ann Womack, 'The Way I'm Livin': Track-by-Track Review". Billboard . Prometheus Global Media. ISSN   0006-2510 . Retrieved September 24, 2014.
  7. 1 2 Chilton, Martin (September 17, 2014). "Lee Ann Womack, The Way I'm Living, album review". The Daily Telegraph . ISSN   0307-1235. Archived from the original on September 17, 2014. Retrieved September 24, 2014.
  8. 1 2 Mansfield, Brian (September 23, 2014). "Listen Up: Lee Ann Womack, Leonard Cohen and alt-J". USA Today . Gannett Company, Inc. ISSN   0734-7456 . Retrieved September 24, 2014.
  9. ↑ Matt Bjorke on October 1, 2014 (October 1, 2014). "Country Album Sales Report: October 1, 2014". Roughstock.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) Sales figure give here
  10. ↑ Matt Bjorke (February 4, 2015). "Country Album Chart Report For February 4, 2015". Roughstock. Sales figure give here
  11. ↑ "Official Country Artists Albums Chart Top 20". Official Charts Company.
  12. ↑ "Lee Ann Womack Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard.
  13. ↑ "Lee Ann Womack Chart History (Top Country Albums)". Billboard.
  14. ↑ "Lee Ann Womack Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard.
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