Tough All Over (Gary Allan album)

Tough All Over is the sixth studio album by American country music artist Gary Allan. It was released in October 2005 via MCA Nashville. It has been certified gold by the RIAA. Recorded after his wife's suicide, this album is more somber than his previous ones, with several of its songs termed to be "excruciatingly sad."[3]

Tough All Over
Studio album by Gary Allan
Released	October 11, 2005
Recorded	2005
Studio	The Sound Kitchen and House of Gain
Genre	Country
Length	47:13
Label	MCA Nashville
Producer	Mark Wright Gary Allan
Gary Allan chronology
See If I Care (2003) Tough All Over (2005) Greatest Hits (2007)
Singles from Tough All Over
"Best I Ever Had" Released: May 23, 2005 "Life Ain't Always Beautiful" Released: January 17, 2006

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Entertainment Weekly	A[2]

Two songs from the album were released as singles: "Best I Ever Had" (a cover of a 2001 Vertical Horizon song) and "Life Ain't Always Beautiful" . Both placed reached within the Top 10 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs chart.

Critical Acclaim

Rhapsody (online music service) ranked the album number 7 on its "Country’s Best Albums of the Decade" list.[4] "Allan's sixth album was the first one released after his wife of three years committed suicide. This collection of haunting, heartbreaking songs chronicles his pain and, ultimately, his path back to living. Steeped in grief, Tough All Over is one of Allan's most consistent efforts to date, thanks in part to his gift of conveying emotions like regret, heartbreak and emptiness in a single, well-phrased line. Country Universe said the album was the 3rd best of the decade.[5] Engine 145 country music blog list it number 7 on the "Top Country Albums of the Decade" list.[6]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Tough All Over"	Jim Lauderdale, Odie Blackmon	3:21
2.	"Best I Ever Had"	Matt Scannell	4:11
3.	"I Just Got Back from Hell"	Harley Allen, Gary Allan	4:03
4.	"Ring"	Kostas	3:47
5.	"Promise Broken"	Deric Ruttan, Margaret Findley	3:11
6.	"Nickajack Cave (Johnny Cash's Redemption)"	Jamie O'Hara	4:15
7.	"Life Ain't Always Beautiful"	Tommy Lee James, Cyndi Goodman	3:44
8.	"He Can't Quit Her"	Casey Beathard, Ed Hill	3:32
9.	"What Kind of Fool"	O'Hara	3:57
10.	"Puttin' Memories Away"	Allan, Matt Warren	3:32
11.	"No Damn Good"	O'Hara, Allan, Blackmon	3:44
12.	"Putting My Misery on Display"	Allan	6:07
Total length:			47:13

Personnel

As listed in liner notes.[7]

• Gary Allan - lead vocals
• David Campbell - string arrangements on track 7
• Perry Coleman - background vocals
• Chad Cromwell - drums
• Eric Darken - percussion
• Kenny Greenberg - acoustic guitar on track 2, electric guitar on tracks 2, 7, 8 and 12
• Wes Hightower - background vocals
• Kirk "Jelly Roll" Johnson - harmonica on tracks 1 & 7
• Jake Kelly - acoustic guitar
• Steve Nathan - B3 organ, synthesizer, piano
• Michael Rhodes - bass guitar
• Brent Rowan - electric guitar
• John Wesley Ryles - background vocals
• Hank Singer - fiddle
• Russell Terrell - background vocals
• Robby Turner - steel guitar
• John Willis - acoustic guitar
• Reese Wynans - B3 organ on tracks 3 and 10

Strings by the Nashville String Machine.

Chart performance

Weekly charts Chart (2005) Peak position US Billboard 200[8] 3 US Top Country Albums (Billboard)[9] 1

Year-end charts Chart (2005) Position US Top Country Albums (Billboard)[10] 52 Chart (2006) Position US Billboard 200[11] 176 US Top Country Albums (Billboard)[12] 31

Singles

Year	Single	Peak chart positions
		US Country	US
2005	"Best I Ever Had"	7	51
2006	"Life Ain't Always Beautiful"	4	61

Certifications

Region	Certification
United States (RIAA)[13]	Gold

References

1. Jurek, Thom. "Tough All Over review". Allmusic. Retrieved July 15, 2011.
2. Nash, Alanna (October 17, 2005). "Tough All Over review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved July 15, 2011.
3. Sanneh, Kelefa (May 29, 2006). "Rascal Flatts and Gary Allan: The Yin and Yang of Stoicism". New York Times. Retrieved March 13, 2009.
4. "Country’s Best Albums of the Decade" Archived January 19, 2010, at the Wayback Machine Retrieved January 12, 2010.
5. Retrieved March 17, 2010
6. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on October 24, 2014. Retrieved February 15, 2010.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) Retrieved February 10, 2010.
7. Tough All Over (CD). Gary Allan. MCA Nashville. 2005. B0003711.CS1 maint: others (link)
8. "Gary Allan Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved November 11, 2020.
9. "Gary Allan Chart History (Top Country Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved November 11, 2020.
10. "Top Country Albums – Year-End 2005". Billboard. Retrieved November 11, 2020.
11. "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2006". Billboard. Retrieved November 11, 2020.
12. "Top Country Albums – Year-End 2006". Billboard. Retrieved November 11, 2020.
13. "American album certifications – Gary Allan – Tough All Over". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH.