07-06-2012, 11:27
(This post was last modified: 07-06-2012, 11:29 by Music Head.)
online listen
could have used more country weepers
but it'll do for country
the clip is what I had in mind
with my daughter going through a divorce, these songs are tough
I try and see it from the other side
1.7 from me and a converted 2.4 from the pros at allmusic
from the album - So You Don't Have To Love Me Anymore
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVGm93II-UA
released June 5th, 2012
![[Image: 220px-ThirtyMilesWest.jpg]](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/6/62/ThirtyMilesWest.jpg/220px-ThirtyMilesWest.jpg)
Bio - from allmusic
After Garth Brooks, Alan Jackson was the most popular male country singer of the '90s. An heir to the new
traditionalist movement of the '80s, Jackson's approach was rooted in classic honky tonk yet remained comfortably
within the contemporary mainstream. Jackson's hallmark was consistency -- he wrote many of his own hits, and his way
with a hook was part of the reason he never really hit a commercial dry spell, even into the new millennium. He also
projected a modest, wholesome, down-to-earth image that made him one of the best-liked stars of his era even apart
from his music. The total package resulted in an astounding 20 number one singles and 20 more Top Ten hits, all in
the first 12 years of his career.
Jackson was born in the small town of Newnan, GA, on October 17, 1958. He grew up singing gospel music, both in
church and at home with his family, and as a teenager, he performed locally as part of a country duo. He left school
to work and married his high school sweetheart, Denise, who worked as an airline stewardess. During the early '80s,
Jackson held down a series of odd jobs -- car salesman, construction worker, forklift operator at K-Mart -- while
playing the local club circuit with his band, Dixie Steel, and working on his songwriting. He caught his big break
when Denise found country-pop star Glen Campbell waiting for a flight and gave him a copy of her husband's demo
tape; Campbell in turn gave her contact information for his music publishing company, and the Jacksons picked up and
moved to Nashville shortly thereafter. Campbell's company suggested that Alan take a year and hone his songwriting
even further, and so he worked more odd jobs -- including the mail room at The Nashville Network, plus some session
singing -- before finally signing on as a staff writer. By night, he performed in Nashville clubs and recorded an
updated demo with songwriter/producer Keith Stegall. In 1989, Jackson became the first artist signed to Arista's new
country division.
Jackson's debut album, Here in the Real World, was issued in 1990 and became a platinum-selling hit on the strength
of four Top Five hits: the title cut, "Chasin' That Neon Rainbow," "Wanted," and the first of many chart-toppers,
"I'd Love You All Over Again." He shot to full-fledged superstardom with the follow-up, 1991's Don't Rock the
Jukebox, whose title track was an inescapable number one smash that year. The record produced three more number ones
("Someday," "Dallas," "Love's Got a Hold on You") and also contained one of Jackson's signature songs, the Top Five
"Midnight in Montgomery," which told the story of a visit to Hank Williams' grave. Also in 1991, Jackson co-wrote
several songs with Randy Travis for Travis' High Lonesome album. With 1992's A Lot About Livin' (And a Little 'Bout
Love), Jackson took his place as not only one of the most popular stars of his time, but also one of the best. The
number one smash "Chattahoochee" became another signature tune, and Jackson also topped the charts with "She's Got
the Rhythm (And I Got the Blues)," while scoring three more Top Five hits from the album -- which became his first
to top the country LP charts.
In late 1993, Jackson released the stopgap holiday album Honky Tonk Christmas, which actually avoided standards in
favor of lesser-known material. He returned in 1994 with Who I Am, his second straight number one country album,
which gave him a staggering four number one singles: a cover of Eddie Cochran's "Summertime Blues," the music-biz
satire "Gone Country" (a dig at executives hopping on the commercial country bandwagon), "Livin' on Love," and "I
Don't Even Know Your Name." In only his fifth year on the scene, Jackson was able to issue The Greatest Hits
Collection in 1995 and scored hits with three newly minted songs: a cover of George Jones' "Tall Tall Trees," "I'll
Try" (both number one), and "Home." It took The Greatest Hits Collection only a year to sell over three million
copies. And, of course, Jackson was far from done. 1996's Everything I Love became his fourth straight release to
top the country album charts, and it gave him five Top Ten hits, including the number ones "Little Bitty" (a Tom T.
Hall cover) and "There Goes." The 1998 follow-up, High Mileage, also hit number one and became Jackson's highest-
charting album on the pop side, reaching number four; it contained four more Top Tens, including the chart-topping
"Right on the Money."
Jackson paid tribute to his favorite country singers of the past on the easygoing 1999 covers album Under the
Influence, which featured material by Jones, Merle Haggard, Charley Pride, Jimmy Buffett, Hank Williams, Jr., Don
Williams (the chart-topping "It Must Be Love"), and Jim Ed Brown (the Top Ten "Pop a Top"), among others. Although
Under the Influence just missed hitting number one, 2000's When Somebody Loves You returned Jackson to the top of
the album charts and gave him another number one in "Where I Come From." That year, he also teamed up with George
Strait for the duet "Murder on Music Row," a strident defense of traditional country in the face of a new wave of
crossover stars.
The year 2001 brought an enormous hit in "Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)," a poignant attempt to
make sense of the aftermath of September 11; rush-released after an awards-show premiere, the song rocketed to the
top of the country charts and also became his first single to crack the pop Top 30. It was followed by the full-
length Drive in 2002, which spawned another number one in "Drive (For Daddy Gene)," a tribute to Jackson's late
father. The album was Jackson's seventh to top the country charts, and it also became his first to top the pop
charts. His second greatest-hits collection appeared in 2003 and featured the crossover hit "It's Five O'Clock
Somewhere," a duet with Jimmy Buffett. A year later the well-received What I Do became the purest country album from
Jackson in years. Precious Memories, released in 2006, was a collection of 15 hymns originally recorded as a
Christmas gift for his mother. Later that same year, Jackson released Like Red on a Rose, a mellow Alison Krauss
production. Live at Texas Stadium, a concert set with George Strait and Jimmy Buffett, followed in 2007. A new
studio effort, Good Time, appeared in 2008, followed by another studio outing, Freight Train, in 2010. Jackson left
Arista Records Nashville after two decades to sign a distribution deal with EMI Records for Jackson's new label,
Alan's Country Records (ACR). Jackson's 17th studio album, Thirty Miles West, appeared on ACR under the new deal in
2012.
Album Review - from allmusic
Splitting from his longtime label Arista, Alan Jackson sets up his ACR Records imprint at EMI and releases Thirty
Miles West, his 15th collection of new songs. Jackson doesn't use this opportunity as a rebirth but rather a
continuation, stripping away the barest hint of extra fat left upon his 2010 Arista farewell Freight Train and
delivering his leanest hard country album in years. Unlike his albums of the 2000s, which flirted with the digital
age via cutesy novelties like "www.memory," this doesn't bother with the present and often looks toward the past,
Jackson enlisting Zac Brown for a nostalgic trip down his hometown "Dixie Highway" and envisioning how he's "Gonna
Come Back as a Country Song." There's a constant tugging undercurrent of comfortable regret flowing underneath
Thirty Miles West, whether he's stoically playing the part of the bad guy on the dry-eyed ballad "So You Don't Have
to Love Me Anymore" or seeing his lifetime love almost slip away on "When I Saw You Leaving (For Nisey)," the
explicitly sad songs neatly balanced by breezy drinking anthems -- he's sipping margaritas, not beer, on "Long Way
to Go" -- and rockers so cheery it's easy to overlook how Jackson is talking about how life keeps bringing him down.
Over the years, Jackson has perfected that smooth easy touch and here, on a record devoted to new songs written in
the classic tradition (many written by Jackson himself, others penned by Terry McBride, Al Anderson, Shawn Camp, Jay
Knowles, Adam Wright, and Guy Clark), he is a master of understatement in both his delivery and construction, the
songs slowly seeping into your marrow. It's an album only an old pro could make and it's one of the best this ever-
reliable singer has ever done.
Track Listing
1. Gonna Come Back as a Country Song
2. You Go Your Way
3. Everything But the Wings
4. Talk Is Cheap
5. So You Don't Have to Love Me Anymore
6. Look Her in the Eye and Lie
7. Dixie Highway (Featuring Zac Brown)
8. She Don't Get High
9. Her Life 's a Song
10. Nothin' Fancy
11. Long Way to Go
12. Life Keeps Bringin' Me Down
13. When I Saw You Leaving (For Nicey)
could have used more country weepers
but it'll do for country
the clip is what I had in mind
with my daughter going through a divorce, these songs are tough
I try and see it from the other side
1.7 from me and a converted 2.4 from the pros at allmusic
from the album - So You Don't Have To Love Me Anymore
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVGm93II-UA
released June 5th, 2012
Bio - from allmusic
After Garth Brooks, Alan Jackson was the most popular male country singer of the '90s. An heir to the new
traditionalist movement of the '80s, Jackson's approach was rooted in classic honky tonk yet remained comfortably
within the contemporary mainstream. Jackson's hallmark was consistency -- he wrote many of his own hits, and his way
with a hook was part of the reason he never really hit a commercial dry spell, even into the new millennium. He also
projected a modest, wholesome, down-to-earth image that made him one of the best-liked stars of his era even apart
from his music. The total package resulted in an astounding 20 number one singles and 20 more Top Ten hits, all in
the first 12 years of his career.
Jackson was born in the small town of Newnan, GA, on October 17, 1958. He grew up singing gospel music, both in
church and at home with his family, and as a teenager, he performed locally as part of a country duo. He left school
to work and married his high school sweetheart, Denise, who worked as an airline stewardess. During the early '80s,
Jackson held down a series of odd jobs -- car salesman, construction worker, forklift operator at K-Mart -- while
playing the local club circuit with his band, Dixie Steel, and working on his songwriting. He caught his big break
when Denise found country-pop star Glen Campbell waiting for a flight and gave him a copy of her husband's demo
tape; Campbell in turn gave her contact information for his music publishing company, and the Jacksons picked up and
moved to Nashville shortly thereafter. Campbell's company suggested that Alan take a year and hone his songwriting
even further, and so he worked more odd jobs -- including the mail room at The Nashville Network, plus some session
singing -- before finally signing on as a staff writer. By night, he performed in Nashville clubs and recorded an
updated demo with songwriter/producer Keith Stegall. In 1989, Jackson became the first artist signed to Arista's new
country division.
Jackson's debut album, Here in the Real World, was issued in 1990 and became a platinum-selling hit on the strength
of four Top Five hits: the title cut, "Chasin' That Neon Rainbow," "Wanted," and the first of many chart-toppers,
"I'd Love You All Over Again." He shot to full-fledged superstardom with the follow-up, 1991's Don't Rock the
Jukebox, whose title track was an inescapable number one smash that year. The record produced three more number ones
("Someday," "Dallas," "Love's Got a Hold on You") and also contained one of Jackson's signature songs, the Top Five
"Midnight in Montgomery," which told the story of a visit to Hank Williams' grave. Also in 1991, Jackson co-wrote
several songs with Randy Travis for Travis' High Lonesome album. With 1992's A Lot About Livin' (And a Little 'Bout
Love), Jackson took his place as not only one of the most popular stars of his time, but also one of the best. The
number one smash "Chattahoochee" became another signature tune, and Jackson also topped the charts with "She's Got
the Rhythm (And I Got the Blues)," while scoring three more Top Five hits from the album -- which became his first
to top the country LP charts.
In late 1993, Jackson released the stopgap holiday album Honky Tonk Christmas, which actually avoided standards in
favor of lesser-known material. He returned in 1994 with Who I Am, his second straight number one country album,
which gave him a staggering four number one singles: a cover of Eddie Cochran's "Summertime Blues," the music-biz
satire "Gone Country" (a dig at executives hopping on the commercial country bandwagon), "Livin' on Love," and "I
Don't Even Know Your Name." In only his fifth year on the scene, Jackson was able to issue The Greatest Hits
Collection in 1995 and scored hits with three newly minted songs: a cover of George Jones' "Tall Tall Trees," "I'll
Try" (both number one), and "Home." It took The Greatest Hits Collection only a year to sell over three million
copies. And, of course, Jackson was far from done. 1996's Everything I Love became his fourth straight release to
top the country album charts, and it gave him five Top Ten hits, including the number ones "Little Bitty" (a Tom T.
Hall cover) and "There Goes." The 1998 follow-up, High Mileage, also hit number one and became Jackson's highest-
charting album on the pop side, reaching number four; it contained four more Top Tens, including the chart-topping
"Right on the Money."
Jackson paid tribute to his favorite country singers of the past on the easygoing 1999 covers album Under the
Influence, which featured material by Jones, Merle Haggard, Charley Pride, Jimmy Buffett, Hank Williams, Jr., Don
Williams (the chart-topping "It Must Be Love"), and Jim Ed Brown (the Top Ten "Pop a Top"), among others. Although
Under the Influence just missed hitting number one, 2000's When Somebody Loves You returned Jackson to the top of
the album charts and gave him another number one in "Where I Come From." That year, he also teamed up with George
Strait for the duet "Murder on Music Row," a strident defense of traditional country in the face of a new wave of
crossover stars.
The year 2001 brought an enormous hit in "Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)," a poignant attempt to
make sense of the aftermath of September 11; rush-released after an awards-show premiere, the song rocketed to the
top of the country charts and also became his first single to crack the pop Top 30. It was followed by the full-
length Drive in 2002, which spawned another number one in "Drive (For Daddy Gene)," a tribute to Jackson's late
father. The album was Jackson's seventh to top the country charts, and it also became his first to top the pop
charts. His second greatest-hits collection appeared in 2003 and featured the crossover hit "It's Five O'Clock
Somewhere," a duet with Jimmy Buffett. A year later the well-received What I Do became the purest country album from
Jackson in years. Precious Memories, released in 2006, was a collection of 15 hymns originally recorded as a
Christmas gift for his mother. Later that same year, Jackson released Like Red on a Rose, a mellow Alison Krauss
production. Live at Texas Stadium, a concert set with George Strait and Jimmy Buffett, followed in 2007. A new
studio effort, Good Time, appeared in 2008, followed by another studio outing, Freight Train, in 2010. Jackson left
Arista Records Nashville after two decades to sign a distribution deal with EMI Records for Jackson's new label,
Alan's Country Records (ACR). Jackson's 17th studio album, Thirty Miles West, appeared on ACR under the new deal in
2012.
Album Review - from allmusic
Splitting from his longtime label Arista, Alan Jackson sets up his ACR Records imprint at EMI and releases Thirty
Miles West, his 15th collection of new songs. Jackson doesn't use this opportunity as a rebirth but rather a
continuation, stripping away the barest hint of extra fat left upon his 2010 Arista farewell Freight Train and
delivering his leanest hard country album in years. Unlike his albums of the 2000s, which flirted with the digital
age via cutesy novelties like "www.memory," this doesn't bother with the present and often looks toward the past,
Jackson enlisting Zac Brown for a nostalgic trip down his hometown "Dixie Highway" and envisioning how he's "Gonna
Come Back as a Country Song." There's a constant tugging undercurrent of comfortable regret flowing underneath
Thirty Miles West, whether he's stoically playing the part of the bad guy on the dry-eyed ballad "So You Don't Have
to Love Me Anymore" or seeing his lifetime love almost slip away on "When I Saw You Leaving (For Nisey)," the
explicitly sad songs neatly balanced by breezy drinking anthems -- he's sipping margaritas, not beer, on "Long Way
to Go" -- and rockers so cheery it's easy to overlook how Jackson is talking about how life keeps bringing him down.
Over the years, Jackson has perfected that smooth easy touch and here, on a record devoted to new songs written in
the classic tradition (many written by Jackson himself, others penned by Terry McBride, Al Anderson, Shawn Camp, Jay
Knowles, Adam Wright, and Guy Clark), he is a master of understatement in both his delivery and construction, the
songs slowly seeping into your marrow. It's an album only an old pro could make and it's one of the best this ever-
reliable singer has ever done.
Track Listing
1. Gonna Come Back as a Country Song
2. You Go Your Way
3. Everything But the Wings
4. Talk Is Cheap
5. So You Don't Have to Love Me Anymore
6. Look Her in the Eye and Lie
7. Dixie Highway (Featuring Zac Brown)
8. She Don't Get High
9. Her Life 's a Song
10. Nothin' Fancy
11. Long Way to Go
12. Life Keeps Bringin' Me Down
13. When I Saw You Leaving (For Nicey)
