LIVING HARD - Gary Allan

Personnel: John Willis (acoustic guitar, mandolin); Jaime Hanna (electric guitar, strings, background vocals); Steve Nathan (piano, Hammond b-3 organ, Wurlitzer organ); Glenn Worf, Michael Rhodes (bass instrument); Jon Randall (background vocals); Russ Pahl (acoustic guitar, steel guitar); Kenny Greenberg, Brent Rowan (electric guitar); Dan Dugmore, Robby Turner (steel guitar); Hank Singer (fiddle); Chad Cromwell (drums); Eric Darken (percussion); Jerry Flowers, Wes Hightower, Russell Terrell, Perry Coleman (background vocals).
Audio Mixer: Greg Droman.
Recording information: House Of Gain, Franklin, TN; Little Big Sound Studio, Nasvhville, TN; SOund Kitchen, Franklin, TN; Starstruck, Nashville, TN.
LIVING HARD has a newfound bluesy rock edge that's a bit different from Gary Allan's previous, more traditionalist strain of Nashville country, but it feels more like an exploration of a slightly different sound than a naked pop crossover attempt. Tough outlaw rockers like "Wrecking Ball" sit comfortably next to power ballads like "Learning How To Bend" and winsome love songs like "She's So California." While the album seems less intensely personal than 2005's TOUGH ALL OVER (which was written and recorded in the aftermath of his wife's suicide), a strain of emotional loss still reverberates through many of these songs; even the soaring first single, "Watching Airplanes," has a melancholy edge. However, these songs are tempered by the rebellious title track and the wry bad-boy anthem "Like It's A Bad Thing."

• Format: CD
• Released: 10/23/2007
• Genre: Country
• Genre: Country
• Released: 10/23/2007
• Format: CD