Lessons Learned (CD - 2000)

Personnel: Tracy Lawrence (vocals); Brent Rowan (acoustic & electric guitars); Rick Huckaby (acoustic guitar, background vocals); John Willis (acoustic & acoustic gut-string guitars, mandolin); B. James Lowry (acoustic guitar); Sonny Garrish (steel guitar); Joe Spivey (mandolin, fiddle); Rob Hajacos (fiddle); Kristin Wilkinson, David Davidson, David Angell, John Catchings (strings); Tony Harrell (keyboards); Gary Lunn (bass); Jack Gavin (drums, percussion); Liana Manis (background vocals).

Producers: Tracy Lawrence, Flip Anderson, Butch Carr.

Recorded at Emerald Entertainment, Rocky Comfort, The Music Mill, Bayou Recording, Recording Arts, and Soundshop Recording Studios, Nashville, Tennessee.

Personnel: Liana Manis (vocals); Brent Rowan (guitar, electric guitar); Sonny Garrish (guitar, lap steel guitar); Rick Huckaby, John Willis, B. James Lowry (acoustic guitar); Joe Spaivey, Rob Hajacos, Joe Spivey (fiddle); Tony Harrell (keyboards); Jack Gawin, Jack Gavin (snare drum, percussion).

Recording information: Bayou Recording; Emerald Entertainment; Music Mill; Recording Arts; Rocky Comfort; Soundshop Recording Studios, Na.

Photographers: Matthews Burns; Matthew Barnes.

It's no surprise that Tracy Lawrence titled his eighth album LESSONS LEARNED. The disc was his first CD of new material since some nasty personal problems--a divorce and accusations of domestic abuse among them--brought him a boatload of bad publicity in the late '90s. But Lawrence's turbulent private life didn't affect his talent one iota. LESSONS LEARNED is a solid, and at times terrific, country album for two reasons: Lawrence's fine vocal performance, and some brilliantly-written material.

Lawrence uses the CD to put his past behind him, choosing and co-writing a number of songs that seem to be directly influenced by his personal demons. The title track is self-explanatory, while the opening cut, "The Holes That He Dug," begs the listener not to judge someone too quickly. In the standout "The Man I Was," the miserable narrator can't believe he was ever as happy as he looks in an old photograph. In another standout, "Unforgiven," the narrator begs his woman for forgiveness, citing the fact that great men like JFK and Thomas Jefferson have had their past sins forgiven. If Lawrence meant LESSONS LEARNED to be a public apology, he's succeeded--and made a great CD in the process. minimize