Everything I Love (CD - 1996)

Personnel includes: Alan Jackson (vocals); Bruce Watkins (acoustic guitar); Paul Franklin (steel guitar); Brent Mason (electric guitar, electric 6-string bass); Stuart Duncan (mandolin, fiddle); Wayne Toups (accordion); Hargus "Pig" Robbins (piano); Roy Huskey, Jr. (acoustic bass); Glenn Worf (electric bass); Eddie Bayers, Lonnie Wilson (drums).

Dixieland Band: Keith Stegall (banjo); George Tidwell (trumpet); Barry Green (trombone); Ernie Collins (tuba); Denis Solee (clarinet).

Recorded at Sound Stage Studio, Nashville, Tennessee; The Castle Recording Studio, Franklin, Tennessee; Cayman Moon Recorders, Berry Hill, Tennessee.

All tracks have been digitally mastered using HDCD technology.

EVERYTHING I LOVE was nominated for a 1998 Grammy Award for Best Country Album.

Personnel: Alan Jackson (vocals, guitar); Danny Groah (guitar); Bruce Watkins (acoustic guitar); Brent Mason (electric guitar, electric bass, 6-string bass); J.T. Corenflos (electric guitar); Robbie Flint, Paul Franklin (steel guitar); Keith Stegall (banjo); Stuart Duncan (mandolin, fiddle); Mark McClurg, Larry Franklin, Joe Spivey (fiddle); Tony Stephens (harmonica); Wayne Toups (accordion); Denis Solee (clarinet); George Tidwell (trumpet); Barry Green (trombone); Ernie Collins (tuba); Monty Parkey, Gary Prim, Hargus "Pig" Robbins (piano); Roy M. "Junior" Husky (acoustic bass); Glenn Worf (electric bass); Bruce Rutherford, Lonnie Wilson, Eddie Bayers (drums); John Wesley Ryles (background vocals).

Audio Mixer: John Kelton.

Recording information: Castle Recording Studios, Franklin, TN; Sound Stage Studios, Nashville, TN.

Photographer: Pamela Springsteen.

Unknown Contributor Roles: Dixieland Band; Brent Mason .

It's hard not to think of the title of Alan Jackson's fifth album, 1996's Everything I Love, as a reference to the music he makes, since it is so deeply felt and so deeply rooted in country tradition. Everything I Love is no exception to the rule, but there's a wry sardonic streak to the title track here, where everything Jackson loves -- "cigarettes, Jack Daniels, and caffeine" -- is killing him. It's a classic country sentiment on an album that feels like a classic country album to its bone, from that barroom weeper to the sly novelty of "Buicks to the Moon," the swaggering cheating song "Who's Cheatin' Who," and the terrific cover of Tom T. Hall's "Little Bitty," which tips its hat to the past without being overly reverential. And that's one of the keys to the success of Everything I Love. It is surely rooted in the past, and although a bit of post-Garth bombast may be present when Jackson touches on the anthemic sounds of modern country on "Between the Devil and Me," he still gives it true country spin and heart. Plus, that's balanced by the laid-back Bakersfield shuffle of "There Goes," the Western swing of "Must've Had a Ball" (complete with horns and clarinet), and the classic honky tonk ballad "A House with No Curtains" -- a co-written original from Jackson that's worthy of early George Jones -- all of which gives this album diversity, highlighting several eras of classic country, all the eras that Jackson loves. But the appealing thing about Everything I Love is the ease of Jackson's writing and delivery -- he makes it all seem natural, and it's an album to savor because of that. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

As long as there are whiskey, temptation and heartache, there will be country songs to be sung, and artists like Alan Jackson to sing them. Jackson may be a pop star by this point in his career, but he is a traditionalist at heart. The songs on EVERYTHING I LOVE, several of which he wrote himself, could easily have been sung by George Jones 20 years ago, and it is to Jackson's credit that he doesn't try to remold country music in his own image. Rather, he works within the strictures of the genre, preferring to push the envelope from the inside out.

Toward this end, Jackson employs the services of some longtime Nashville session staples, including pianist Hargus "Pig" Robbins and hotshot fiddler/mandolinist Stuart Duncan. From the existential bounce of the Tom T. Hall-penned opener, "Little Bitty," to the heart-on-a-flannel-sleeve romantic despair of the title cut, EVERYTHING I LOVE offers new perspectives on the things that have made good ol' boys laugh, cry and shoot their television sets since time immemorial. minimize