Life Is Messy
Encyclopedia
Life Is Messy is the title of the seventh studio album released by American
country music
artist, Rodney Crowell
. It was released in May 1992 by Columbia Records
. It peaked at #30 on the Top Country Albums chart. The songs, "Lovin' All Night
", "What Kind of Love" and "Let's Make Trouble" were released as singles. The latter failed to chart. This album was seen by many as a return to form after his previous album, Keys to the Highway was not characteristic of Crowell's style. Many famous musicians contributed instruments or vocals to this album such as Linda Ronstadt
, Don Henley
, Booker T. Jones
and Steve Winwood
.
"The Answer Is Yes" was covered by Michelle Wright
on her 1996 album For Me It's You
, while "Lovin' All Night" was covered by Patty Loveless
on her 2003 album On Your Way Home
.
The album was reissued in 2000 under the Lucky Dog label with a different logo and the border cropped around the picture.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
country music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
artist, Rodney Crowell
Rodney Crowell
Rodney Crowell is a Grammy Award-winning musician, known primarily for his work as a singer and songwriter in country music....
. It was released in May 1992 by Columbia Records
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
. It peaked at #30 on the Top Country Albums chart. The songs, "Lovin' All Night
Lovin' All Night
"Lovin' All Night" is a song written and performed by Rodney Crowell. Crowell recorded the song for his 1992 album, Life Is Messy. It was released as the first single from the album and peaked at #10 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles and Tracks chart....
", "What Kind of Love" and "Let's Make Trouble" were released as singles. The latter failed to chart. This album was seen by many as a return to form after his previous album, Keys to the Highway was not characteristic of Crowell's style. Many famous musicians contributed instruments or vocals to this album such as Linda Ronstadt
Linda Ronstadt
Linda Ronstadt is an American popular music recording artist. She has earned eleven Grammy Awards, two Academy of Country Music awards, an Emmy Award, an ALMA Award, numerous United States and internationally certified gold, platinum and multiplatinum albums, in addition to Tony Award and Golden...
, Don Henley
Don Henley
Donald Hugh "Don" Henley is an American singer, songwriter and drummer, best known as a founding member of the Eagles before launching a successful solo career. Henley was the drummer and lead vocalist for the Eagles from 1971–1980, when the band broke up...
, Booker T. Jones
Booker T. Jones
Booker T. Jones is a multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, record producer and arranger, best known as the frontman of the band Booker T. and the MGs. He has also worked in the studios with many well-known artists of the 20th and 21st centuries, earning him a Grammy Award for lifetime...
and Steve Winwood
Steve Winwood
Stephen Lawrence "Steve" Winwood is an English international recording artist whose career spans nearly 50 years. He is a songwriter and a musician whose genres include soul music , R&B, rock, blues-rock, pop-rock, and jazz...
.
"The Answer Is Yes" was covered by Michelle Wright
Michelle Wright
Michelle Wright is a Canadian country music artist. She is one of the country's most widely recognized and awarded female country singers of the 1990s, winning the Canadian Country Music Association's Fans' Choice Award twice...
on her 1996 album For Me It's You
For Me It's You
For Me It's You is the fifth studio album by Canadian country music singer/songwriter Michelle Wright, and was released on August 27, 1996 on Arista Nashville...
, while "Lovin' All Night" was covered by Patty Loveless
Patty Loveless
Patty Loveless , is an American country music singer.Since her emergence on the country music scene in late 1986 with her first album, Loveless has been one of the most popular female singers of the Neotraditional country movement, although she has also recorded albums in the Country pop and...
on her 2003 album On Your Way Home
On Your Way Home
On Your Way Home is the thirteenth album of original recordings by Patty Loveless. Released in 2003 on Epic Records, the album produced only one Top 20 country single: the track "Lovin' All Night", a cover of a Rodney Crowell song from 1990 hit #18...
.
The album was reissued in 2000 under the Lucky Dog label with a different logo and the border cropped around the picture.
Track listing
All songs written By Rodney Crowell except when noted- "It's Not for Me to judge" - 4:01
- "What Kind of LoveWhat Kind of Love"What Kind of Love" is the title of a song co-written and recorded by American country music artist Rodney Crowell. It was released in June 1992 as the second single from the album Life Is Messy. The song reached number 11 on the U.S...
" (Crowell, Will JenningsWill JenningsWilbur H. "Will" Jennings is an American songwriter who is popularly known for writing the lyrics for "My Heart Will Go On", the theme for the film Titanic .-Life and education:...
, Roy OrbisonRoy OrbisonRoy Kelton Orbison was an American singer-songwriter, well known for his distinctive, powerful voice, complex compositions, and dark emotional ballads. Orbison grew up in Texas and began singing in a rockabilly/country & western band in high school until he was signed by Sun Records in Memphis...
) - 3:58 - "Lovin' All NightLovin' All Night"Lovin' All Night" is a song written and performed by Rodney Crowell. Crowell recorded the song for his 1992 album, Life Is Messy. It was released as the first single from the album and peaked at #10 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles and Tracks chart....
" - 3:50 - "Life is Messy" - 4:34
- "I Hardly Know How to Be Myself" (Rosanne CashRosanne CashRosanne Cash is an American singer-songwriter and author. She is the eldest daughter of the late country music singer Johnny Cash and his first wife, Vivian Liberto Cash Distin....
, Crowell) - 4:45 - "It Don't Get Better Than This" (Crowell, John LeventhalJohn LeventhalJohn Leventhal is a Grammy Award-winning musician, producer, songwriter, and recording engineer who has produced albums for Michelle Branch, Rosanne Cash, Marc Cohn, Shawn Colvin, Rodney Crowell, Jim Lauderdale, Joan Osborne, Loudon Wainwright, The Wreckers and many others...
) - 2:44 - "Alone But Not Alone" (Crowell, Larry KleinLarry KleinLarry Klein is a music producer, songwriter and bass guitar player, commonly known for being the frequent musical collaborator, and ex-husband, of Joni Mitchell....
) - 5:08 - "Let's Make Trouble" - 4:27
- "The Answer Is Yes" - 4:19
- "Maybe Next Time" (Crowell, Leventhal) - 4:58
Personnel
- Alex AcuñaAlex AcuñaAlejandro Neciosup Acuña aka Alex Acuña is a Peruvian drummer and percussionist, in the Afro-Cuban jazz style.Born in Pativilca, Peru, Acuña played in local bands from the age of ten, and moved to Lima as a teenager. At the age of eighteen he joined the band of Perez Prado, and in 1967 he moved...
- percussion - Eddie Bayers - percussion, drums
- Barry BeckettBarry BeckettBarry Edward Beckett was a keyboardist who worked as a session musician with several notable artists on their studio albums...
- organ, electric pianoElectric pianoAn electric piano is an electric musical instrument.Electric pianos produce sounds mechanically and the sounds are turned into electrical signals by pickups. Unlike a synthesizer, the electric piano is not an electronic instrument, but electro-mechanical. The earliest electric pianos were invented... - Larry Byrom - background vocals
- Marc CohnMarc CohnMarc Craig Cohn is an American folk rock singer-songwriter and musician.- Personal life :Cohn was born in Cleveland, Ohio. He graduated from Beachwood High School in Beachwood, a Cleveland suburb. He then attended Oberlin College....
- harmony vocals - Vinnie ColaiutaVinnie ColaiutaVincent Colaiuta is an American drummer based in Los Angeles. Originally from Republic, Pennsylvania, he began playing drums as a child and received his first full drum kit from his parents at the age of 14...
- percussion - Shawn ColvinShawn ColvinShawn Colvin is an American singer-songwriter and musician.-Childhood and early career:Colvin was born in Vermillion, South Dakota. Her formative years were spent in the town of Carbondale, Illinois, where she attended Southern Illinois University Carbondale. She learned to play guitar at the age...
- background vocals - Rodney Crowell - vocals, guitar
- Mickey CurryMickey CurryMichael Timothy Curry is an American drummer. He is best known for his long-term collaboration with the singer-songwriter Bryan Adams, although he has also worked with Hall & Oates, Cher, Tina Turner, Alice Cooper, David Bowie, Elvis Costello, Sam Phillips, Tom Waits, The Cult, Steve Jones and...
- drums - Vicki Hampton - background and harmony vocals
- Don HenleyDon HenleyDonald Hugh "Don" Henley is an American singer, songwriter and drummer, best known as a founding member of the Eagles before launching a successful solo career. Henley was the drummer and lead vocalist for the Eagles from 1971–1980, when the band broke up...
- harmony vocals - Jim HornJim HornJim Horn is an American saxophonist and woodwind player. He was born in Los Angeles, and after replacing saxophonist Steve Douglas in 1959, he toured with member Duane Eddy for five years, playing sax and flute on the road, and in the recording studio...
- saxophoneSaxophoneThe saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846... - Booker T. JonesBooker T. JonesBooker T. Jones is a multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, record producer and arranger, best known as the frontman of the band Booker T. and the MGs. He has also worked in the studios with many well-known artists of the 20th and 21st centuries, earning him a Grammy Award for lifetime...
- organ - Larry KleinLarry KleinLarry Klein is a music producer, songwriter and bass guitar player, commonly known for being the frequent musical collaborator, and ex-husband, of Joni Mitchell....
- bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, guitar, keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments... - Jim Lauderdale - harmony vocals
- Albert LeeAlbert LeeAlbert William Lee, born 21 December 1943 in Leominster, Herefordshire, England, is an English guitarist known for his fingerstyle and hybrid picking technique. Lee has worked both in the studio and on tour with some of the most famous musicians which stretch through a very wide of genres...
- harmony vocals - John Leventhal - bass guitar, guitar, percussion, piano, keyboards, harmony vocals
- Larrie LondinLarrie LondinRalph Gallant, better known by his stage name Larrie Londin , was an American drummer and session musician. Londin played with a wide range of artists including Journey and Steve Perry....
- percussion, drums - Jonell Mosser - background vocals
- Sam Phillips - background vocals
- Jeff PorcaroJeff PorcaroJeffrey Thomas "Jeff" Porcaro was an American session drummer and a founding member of the Grammy Award winning band Toto. Porcaro was one of the most recorded drummers in history, working on hundreds of albums and thousands of sessions...
- drums - Michael Rhodes - bass guitar
- Linda Rondstadt - harmony vocals
- Reginal Sales - drums
- Vince Santoro - harmony and background vocals
- Leland SklarLeland SklarLeland "Lee" Bruce Sklar is an American musician, singer-songwriter and film score composer. A prominent bass guitarist, Sklar has contributed to thousands of albums as a session musician...
- bass guitar - Steuart SmithSteuart SmithSteuart Smith is a guitarist and multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, writer and producer currently working with American rock band the Eagles. Smith is from Arlington, VA.]].-Current work:...
- acoustic and electric guitarElectric guitarAn electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker... - Jeffrey Vanston - keyboards
- Lari WhiteLari WhiteLari Michele White is an American country music artist and actress. She first gained national attention in 1992 as a winner on You Can Be a Star, a talent competition which aired on The Nashville Network...
- background vocals - Steve WinwoodSteve WinwoodStephen Lawrence "Steve" Winwood is an English international recording artist whose career spans nearly 50 years. He is a songwriter and a musician whose genres include soul music , R&B, rock, blues-rock, pop-rock, and jazz...
- background and harmony vocals
Album
| Chart (1992) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Top Country Albums | 30 |
| U.S. Billboard 200 | 155 |
| Canadian RPM Country Albums | 9 |
Singles
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales... |
US AC | CAN Country RPM (magazine) RPM was a Canadian music industry publication that featured song and album charts for Canada. The publication was founded by Walt Grealis in February 1964, supported through its existence by record label owner Stan Klees. RPM ceased publication in November 2000.RPM stood for "Records, Promotion,... |
CAN RPM (magazine) RPM was a Canadian music industry publication that featured song and album charts for Canada. The publication was founded by Walt Grealis in February 1964, supported through its existence by record label owner Stan Klees. RPM ceased publication in November 2000.RPM stood for "Records, Promotion,... |
CAN AC RPM (magazine) RPM was a Canadian music industry publication that featured song and album charts for Canada. The publication was founded by Walt Grealis in February 1964, supported through its existence by record label owner Stan Klees. RPM ceased publication in November 2000.RPM stood for "Records, Promotion,... |
||
| 1992 | "Lovin' All Night" | 10 | — | 9 | — | — |
| "What Kind of Love" | 11 | 9 | 2 | 47 | 5 | |
| "Let's Make Trouble" | — | — | 78 | — | — |