Lee Ann Womack will make her debut for ATO Records on October 27 with the release of The Lonely, The Lonesome & The Gone. Produced by husband Frank Liddell, The Lonely, The Lonesome & The Gone features fourteen tracks, mostly co-written by Womack all mixing her country, soul, gospel and blues influences.
“With this particular record, because of what I wanted to accomplish with the whole country blues vibe, it was important to write, since those songs are not necessarily just laying around everywhere,” Womack told NPR’s Jewly Hight.
NPR first announced the project, with a first listen of “All The Trouble,” co-written with her band mates Adam Wright and Waylon Payne.
The album was mostly recorded at the legendary SugarHill Studios in Houston, TX, excluding some acoustic cuts. Formerly known as Gold Star, the studio is home to early recordings that influenced Womack, including George Jones’ “Take the Devil Out of Me” (1959), which is one of three cover songs on The Lonely, The Lonesome & The Gone.
“I wanted to get out of Nashville, and tap the deep music and vibe of East Texas,” says Womack. “I wanted to make sure this record had a lot of soul in it, because real country music has soul. I wanted to remind people of that.”
The Lonely, The Lonesome & The Gone features musicians Glenn Worf (bass), guitarists Wright, Payne and Ethan Ballinger, and Jerry Roe (drums).
“…these guys are reckless players,” Womack continued with Hight. “That’s what Frank wanted, and what I wanted: ‘Don’t be afraid to make a mistake, and we might leave it on there, because that’s what happened in the moment.’ That’s when you’re making music, not when you’re isolating everything, so that you can go back and fix things, go back and perfect and perfect. That’s obviously not what we were after here on this record.
“It was more about capturing a group of musicians who are standing right next to each other, looking in each other’s eyes, going, ‘What are you about to do? Should I lay back here? Should I step up?’ All of that energy and angst is on there, and you can hear that. At least I thought so.”
Womack is on the road with Alan Jackson through November after recently wrapping a seven date tour with Patty Griffin.
The Lonely, The Lonesome & The Gone Track List:
1. All The Trouble
2. The Lonely, The Lonesome & The Gone
3. He Called Me Baby
4. Hollywood
5. End of the End of the World
6. Bottom of the Barrel
7. Shine On Rainy Day
8. Mama Lost Her Smile
9. Wicked
10. Long Black Veil
11. Someone Else’s Heartache
12. Sunday
13. Talking Behind Your Back
14. Take The Devil Out Of Me
Lee Ann Womack Upcoming Tour Dates:
Aug. 25 – Ford Center – Evansville, IN*
Aug. 26 – State Farm Center – Champaign, IL*
Aug. 27 – Plaza Theatre – Glasgow, KY
Sept. 8 – The Family Arena – St. Charles, MO*
Sept. 9 – U.S. Cellular Center – Cedar Rapids, IA
Sept. 10 – St. Croix Casino – Turtle Lake, WI
Sept. 14 – AmericanaFest – Nashville, TN
Sept. 22 – Charleston Civic Center – Charleston, WV*
Sept. 23 – Erie Insurance Center – Erie, PA*
Sept. 28 – Trans-Pecos Festival – Marfa, TX
Oct. 7 – Museum of Appalachia – Clinton, TN
Oct. 20 – Music In The Mill – Hickory, NC
Oct. 27 – Resch Center – Green Bay, WI
Oct. 28 – Target Center – Minneapolis, MN*
Oct. 29 – Bridge View Center – Ottumwa, IA
Nov. 3 – Lafayette Cajundome – Lafayette, LA*
Nov. 4 – Bell County Expo – Belton, TX*
Jan. 5 – The MusicFest at Steamboat – Steamboat, CO
Jan. 23 – Kent State Universtiy at Tuscarawas – New Philadelphia, PA
Feb. 4 – Cayamo Cruise – New Orleans, LA
Feb. 16 – Arizona Musicfest – Scottsdale, AZ
* denotes show w. Alan Jackson
About the Author
Eric T. Parker oversees operations and contributes editorial for MusicRow's print magazine, MusicRow.com, the RowFax tip sheet and the MusicRow CountryBreakout chart. He also facilitates annual events for the enterprise, including MusicRow Awards, CountryBreakout Awards and the Rising Women on the Row. eparker@musicrow.com | @EricTParkerView Author Profile