Something Worth Leaving Behind
Encyclopedia
Something Worth Leaving Behind is a 2002 album from Lee Ann Womack
. It peaked on the Billboard 200
at #16 and the Top Country Albums at #2. Two singles were released from the album; the title-track (a Top 20 hit) and "Forever Everyday". This was also the first album of Womack's career not to produce a Top Ten country hit.
"It's very much in line with my last three. This is my fourth project. You know, I have the real traditional country songs on there, and then I have some things that are a little more contemporary and up-tempo. And--and, but I--you know, I try to find songs from the best songwriters that I can." Womack told Billboard, "Every album seems critical when you are making it. I have a lot of confidence in my team. You can't predict commercially what an album is going to do. I just have to make the best music I can and move on. I've never, ever felt like in my career that everything hinges on the next single. I don't worry about it."
In 2005, Womack told The Dallas Morning News
, "I didn't have that much fun making Something Worth Leaving Behind. Now that I look back on it, because of the success that I had prior, I was so worried that I was gonna not measure up to that, that I over-thought everything on that record. I tried...to please everybody with that record...myself, radio, the listeners, everybody who loved 'Never Again, Again' and everybody who loved 'I Hope You Dance.' And it just didn't work. It backfired."
Strings Arranged By Kristin Wilkinson & D. Bergen White
wrote, "Following such an album is a hard task, but someone of her newfound stature can avail herself of the best songwriters. This is solid, radio-friendly stuff. Brian Mansfield of USA Today
listed it as the tenth worst album of 2002 and wrote, "Womack's ill-advised crossover ploy and a makeover that made her look like Britney Spears' mother made one of Nashville's most respected singers the butt of jokes." Michael Paoletta of Billboard
wrote, "Womack is brilliant vocalist who is at a career crossroads; here's hoping she leans toward substance over style." Ralph Novak of People Magazine gave the album a mixed review and wrote, " Womack's voice, which can trickle off and become a wan instrument, gains noticeably in vigor when she approaches more energetic material."
Lee Ann Womack
Lee Ann Womack is an American country music singer and songwriter, who is best known for her old fashioned-styled country music songs that often discuss subjects such as cheating and lost love....
. It peaked on the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
at #16 and the Top Country Albums at #2. Two singles were released from the album; the title-track (a Top 20 hit) and "Forever Everyday". This was also the first album of Womack's career not to produce a Top Ten country hit.
Background
Womack told The Early ShowThe Early Show
The Early Show is an American television morning news talk show broadcast by CBS from New York City. The program airs live from 7 to 9 a.m. Eastern Time Monday through Friday; most affiliates in the Central, Mountain, and Pacific time zones air the show on tape-delay from 7 to 9 a.m. local time. ...
"It's very much in line with my last three. This is my fourth project. You know, I have the real traditional country songs on there, and then I have some things that are a little more contemporary and up-tempo. And--and, but I--you know, I try to find songs from the best songwriters that I can." Womack told Billboard, "Every album seems critical when you are making it. I have a lot of confidence in my team. You can't predict commercially what an album is going to do. I just have to make the best music I can and move on. I've never, ever felt like in my career that everything hinges on the next single. I don't worry about it."
In 2005, Womack told The Dallas Morning News
The Dallas Morning News
The Dallas Morning News is the major daily newspaper serving the Dallas, Texas area, with a circulation of 264,459 subscribers, the Audit Bureau of Circulations reported in September 2010...
, "I didn't have that much fun making Something Worth Leaving Behind. Now that I look back on it, because of the success that I had prior, I was so worried that I was gonna not measure up to that, that I over-thought everything on that record. I tried...to please everybody with that record...myself, radio, the listeners, everybody who loved 'Never Again, Again' and everybody who loved 'I Hope You Dance.' And it just didn't work. It backfired."
Track listing
- "Something Worth Leaving BehindSomething Worth Leaving Behind (song)"Something Worth Leaving Behind" is a song written by Brett Beavers and Tom Douglas and recorded by American country artist Lee Ann Womack. It was released in 2002 as the first single from her album of the same name; it peaked at #20 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks.-Background:Womack...
" (Brett BeaversBrett BeaversBrett Beavers, born in Waco, Texas, is an American country music songwriter and producer and the co-author of the book Something Worth Leaving Behind.-Background:...
, Tom DouglasTom Douglas (songwriter)Thomas Stevenson "Tom" Douglas is an American country music songwriter. Active since the early 1990s, he has written Top Ten hits for John Michael Montgomery, Martina McBride, Tim McGraw, Collin Raye and others....
) – 3:50 - "I Saw Your Light" (Gretchen PetersGretchen PetersGretchen Peters is a singer-songwriter in the folk/country genre. She was born in New York and raised in Boulder, Colorado, but moved to Nashville in the late 1980s...
) – 6:02 - "When You Gonna Run to Me" (Monty Powell, Jimmie Lee Sloas, Anna Wilson) – 3:58
- "Talk to Me" (David Grissom, Kevin Hunter) – 5:47
- "Forever Everyday" (Devon O'DayDevon O'DayDevon O'Day is an American radio personality, former plus-sized model for the Ford Modeling Agency, songwriter, and an author....
, Kim Patton-Johnston) – 3:51 - "Orphan Train" (Julie MillerJulie MillerJulie Miller is a songwriter, singer, and recording artist currently living in Nashville, Tennessee. She married Buddy Miller in 1981...
) – 4:05 - "I Need You" (Miller) – 4:55
- "You Should've Lied" (Angelo Petraglia, Matraca BergMatraca BergMatraca Maria Berg is an American country music singer and songwriter. She has released five albums: three for RCA Records, one for Rising Tide Records and one for Dualtone Records, and has charted in the top 40 of the U.S. Billboard country charts with "Baby, Walk On" and "The Things You Left...
) – 4:44 - "He'll Be Back" (Hank CochranHank CochranGarland Perry "Hank" Cochran was an American country music singer and songwriter. Starting during the 1960s, Cochran was a prolific songwriter in the genre, including major hits by Patsy Cline, Ray Price, Eddy Arnold and others...
, Red Lane, Dale Dodson) – 2:48 - "Surrender" (Sally Barris, Karyn RochelleKaryn RochelleKaryn Rochelle is an American country music songwriter. Her credits include several hit singles by country music artists, including "I Wonder", "Red High Heels", and "Don't You Know You're Beautiful" for Kellie Pickler, as well as "Georgia Rain" and "This Is Me You're Talking To" for Trisha Yearwood...
) – 4:24 - "Blame It on Me" (Bruce RobisonBruce RobisonBruce Robison is an Austin-based Texas country music singer-songwriter. Bruce and his brother, fellow singer-songwriter Charlie Robison, grew up in Bandera, Texas near San Antonio, and he currently resides in Austin, Texas...
) – 4:06 - "Closing This Memory Down" (Dave LogginsDave LogginsDavid Allen "Dave" Loggins is a singer, songwriter and musician. He is widely remembered for his 1974 composition "Please Come to Boston", which was a top-10 hit in the U.S. for him, and was subsequently covered by numerous other artists. He was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame...
, John BettisJohn BettisJohn Bettis is an American lyricist who has co-written many famous popular songs over the years. In 2011, John was inducted into both the Songwriters Hall of Fame as well as the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame....
) – 4:08 - "Something Worth Leaving Behind (International Version)" (Beavers, Douglas) – 4:34
Personnel
- Lee Ann Womack: Vocals
- Maxi Anderson, Lisa Cochran, Dan Colehour, Kim Fleming, Vicki Hampton, Bobby Huff, Marcus Hummon, Marabeth Jordan, Fleming McWilliams, Gene & Julie Miller, Bruce RobisonBruce RobisonBruce Robison is an Austin-based Texas country music singer-songwriter. Bruce and his brother, fellow singer-songwriter Charlie Robison, grew up in Bandera, Texas near San Antonio, and he currently resides in Austin, Texas...
, Chris Rodriguez, John Wesley Ryles, Keith Sewell, Lisa Silver, Harry Stinson, Oren Waters, Maxine Willard Waters: Vocal Backing - Kenny Greenburg, David Grissom, Colin Linden, B. James Lowry, Heitor Teixera Pereira, Tim Pierce, Randy ScruggsRandy ScruggsRandy Scruggs is a music producer, songwriter and guitarist. He had his first recording at the age of 13...
: Guitars - Jay Joyce: Guitars, ProgrammingProgramming (music)Programming is a form of music production and performance using electronic devices, often sequencers or computer programs, to generate music. Programming is used in nearly all forms of electronic music and in most hip hop music since the 1990s. It is also frequently used in modern pop and rock...
- Brent Rowan: Guitars, TipleTipleTiple is the Spanish word for treble or soprano, is often applied to specific instruments, generally to refer to a small chordophone of the guitar family. A tiple player is called a tiplista.-Colombian tiple:...
- Paul Franklin: SteelSteel guitarSteel guitar is a type of guitar or the method of playing the instrument. Developed in Hawaii in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a steel guitar is usually positioned horizontally; strings are plucked with one hand, while the other hand changes the pitch of one or more strings with the use...
- Greg Leisz: DobroDobroDobro is a registered trademark, now owned by Gibson Guitar Corporation and used for a particular design of resonator guitar.The name has a long and involved history, interwoven with that of the resonator guitar...
, Steel & Pedal Steel GuitarPedal steel guitarThe pedal steel guitar is a type of electric guitar that uses a metal bar to "fret" or shorten the length of the strings, rather than fingers on strings as with a conventional guitar. Unlike other types of steel guitar, it also uses pedals and knee levers to affect the pitch, hence the name "pedal"...
s - Aubrey Haynie, Gabe Witcher: FiddleFiddleThe term fiddle may refer to any bowed string musical instrument, most often the violin. It is also a colloquial term for the instrument used by players in all genres, including classical music...
- Bryan Sutton: BanjoBanjoIn the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new...
, MandolinMandolinA mandolin is a musical instrument in the lute family . It descends from the mandore, a soprano member of the lute family. The mandolin soundboard comes in many shapes—but generally round or teardrop-shaped, sometimes with scrolls or other projections. A mandolin may have f-holes, or a single... - Mickey Raphael: Harmonica
- Jim Cox, John Gilutin, Jeffrey Roach: Keyboards
- Chuck LeavellChuck LeavellChuck Leavell is an American pianist and keyboardist, who was a member of The Allman Brothers Band throughout the height of their popularity, a founding member of the jazz-rock combo Sea Level, a frequently-employed session musician, and later, the keyboardist for Eric Clapton and The Rolling...
: Piano - Steve Nathan: Piano, OrganOrgan (music)The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...
, SynthesizerSynthesizerA synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
s - Matt RollingsMatt RollingsMatt Rollings is an American composer, musician and record producer. He plays piano, organ, and keyboards.Known mainly for playing in Lyle Lovett's Large Band, he has worked with many artists, not all country...
: Piano, Hammond Organ, WurlitzerWurlitzerThe Rudolph Wurlitzer Company, usually referred to simply as Wurlitzer, was an American company that produced stringed instruments, woodwinds, brass instruments, theatre organs, band organs, orchestrions, electronic organs, electric pianos and jukeboxes.... - Spencer Campbell, Michael Rhodes, 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 - Kenny AronoffKenny AronoffKenny Aronoff is an American drummer. He has played drums for many musicians, including John Mellencamp, Bob Seger, Belinda Carlisle, Elton John, John Fogerty, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Meat Loaf, The BoDeans, Gregg Alexander, The Smashing Pumpkins, Tony Iommi, Jon Bon Jovi, Vasco Rossi, Cinderella and...
, Shannon Forrest, Chris McHugh: Drums - Eric Darken, Brad Dutz: Percusison
- Jeff Coffin, Jim Horn, Denis Solee: Horns
Strings Arranged By Kristin Wilkinson & D. Bergen White
-
- String Section (The Nashville String Section): David & Monisa Angell, Janet Askey, Carl Gorodetsky, Connie Heard, Anthony LaMarchina, Lee Larrison, Robert Mason, Cate Myer, Lynn Peithmann, Pamela Sixfin, Elisabeth K. Small, Christian Teal, Alan Catherine Olmstead, Mary Katheryn & Gary VanOsdale, Kristin Wilkinson
Reception
Tim Perry of The IndependentThe Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
wrote, "Following such an album is a hard task, but someone of her newfound stature can avail herself of the best songwriters. This is solid, radio-friendly stuff. Brian Mansfield of USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
listed it as the tenth worst album of 2002 and wrote, "Womack's ill-advised crossover ploy and a makeover that made her look like Britney Spears' mother made one of Nashville's most respected singers the butt of jokes." Michael Paoletta of Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
wrote, "Womack is brilliant vocalist who is at a career crossroads; here's hoping she leans toward substance over style." Ralph Novak of People Magazine gave the album a mixed review and wrote, " Womack's voice, which can trickle off and become a wan instrument, gains noticeably in vigor when she approaches more energetic material."
Chart performance
| Chart (2002) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Top Country Albums | 2 |
| U.S. Billboard 200 | 16 |