On The Record

"Think It Over"

This series, “On the Record,” will be a weekly Substack exclusive in which I’ll go through my recorded catalog song by song starting with my first album, Alabama Song, which was released on MCA Records in 1998. Photos will be attached if available and tolerable.

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“Think It Over,” is a bit of a rarity in my catalog — an uptempo number. I’ve always known that I needed more uptempo tunes to keep the balance, but coming up with great ones has always been a challenge. Maybe it’s my limitations as a musician and as a singer, but I’ve always felt more comfortable in the languid zone. However, I do like to rock when it feels natural. And “Think It Over,” felt natural from the beginning. It’s one of my favorite songs on The Hardest Part.

Butch and I wrote this lyric together, and what sticks out to me is the bridge:

I know why you cheat on me/Every time I turn my back

Every woman loves a bit differently/That’s what keeps you going, that’s what keeps you trapped

Butch had always been a big Charles Bukowski fan. And those lines came from his reading of either a Bukowski poem or maybe even the book Women, I can’t remember which. There was a time when I appreciated Bukowski more than I do now. I used to be able to look past his dark and violent attitudes toward women and on a deeper level, the world, but I can’t really do that anymore now that I’ve matured to a point that allows me to admit what he really was: a drunk and abusive misogynist who was a good writer, yes, but who also, whether directly or indirectly, perpetuated the idea that women are subhuman and undeserving of respect. That’s all to say that I love how we used his concept about what keeps a man who is addicted to the chase of lust and love addicted to it. We sort of turned the fingers back on the guy. Ha!

Musically, I love this track. I got to play acoustic guitar on it — that little bit of me talking at the front — “Let me get the sweat off my fingers” was not rehearsed! The air conditioning had broken at Woodland Studios because a tornado blew through East Nashville a few months earlier. We had portable units but couldn’t run them while we were tracking because of the noise, so it got hot and sweaty in there. You can almost feel it on the track. I love the Pretenders vibe it has — super solid rhythm and great guitar parts. And those background parts on the bridge! That’s Harry Stinson and Rick Schell, who was my drummer in my band at the time and is an incredible background singer.

Personnel:

Acoustic Guitar: me

Electric Guitars: Kenny Greenberg

Pedal Steel: Russ Pahl

Bass: Michael Rhodes

Drums: Chad Cromwell

Background vocals: Harry Stinson & Rick Schell

Percussion: Eric Darken

Recorded by Don Smith at Woodland Studios, Nashville, TN

Overdubs by Peter Coleman at Treasure Isle, Nashville, TN

Mixed by Justin Niebank at Masterfonics, Nashville, TN

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I’m sorry for being a day late on this week’s On The Record. Americana week is going on and yesterday was a full day, plus I got a really disturbing hate letter in my home mailbox which threw me off and made me incredibly sad and honestly, a bit scared. It’s hard to stay open and vulnerable when the efforts to be such are met with rage. Thanks to y’all for not being like whoever wrote that threatening letter.

More to come next week with “Bring Me All Your Lovin’.”

And I’m looking forward to being with some of you on Sunday for the livestream — if you haven’t gotten tickets yet there is a link below.

Onward,

AM