Living Hard

Living Hard
Studio album by Gary Allan
Released October 23, 2007
Genre Country
Length 41:01
Label MCA Nashville
Producer Mark Wright
Gary Allan
Gary Allan chronology
Greatest Hits
(2007)		 Living Hard
(2007)		 Get Off On The Pain
(2010)
Singles from Living Hard
  1. "Watching Airplanes"
    Released: July 23, 2007
  2. "Learning How to Bend"
    Released: March 17, 2008
  3. "She's So California"
    Released: October 6, 2008
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [1]
Slant Magazine [2]
This table needs to be expanded using prose. See the guideline for more information.

Living Hard is the seventh studio album by American country music singer Gary Allan. It was released on October 23, 2007 on the MCA Nashville label.

The album debuted at number three on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart, selling approximately 69,000 copies in its first week.[3] Its lead-off single, "Watching Airplanes", reached number 2 on the country charts, while "Learning How to Bend" reached number 13. The album's third single, "She's So California" reached number 24. "Half of My Mistakes" was originally recorded Radney Foster on his album This World We Live In, and by Jace Everett on his self-titled debut album, both released in 2005. "Like It's a Bad Thing" was later recorded by Danny Gokey on his 2010 debut album, My Best Days.

Contents

Track listing

No. Title Writer(s) Length
1. "Watching Airplanes"   Jim Beavers, Jonathan Singleton 4:03
2. "We Touched the Sun"   Gary Allan, Odie Blackmon, Jim Lauderdale 3:42
3. "She's So California"   Allan, Jaime Hanna, Jon Randall 3:21
4. "Like It's a Bad Thing"   Wendell Mobley, Tony Martin, Neil Thrasher 3:23
5. "Learning How to Bend"   Allan, James LeBlanc, Matt Warren 3:27
6. "As Long as You're Looking Back"   Aaron Barker, Dean Dillon, Scotty Emerick 3:29
7. "Wrecking Ball"   Audley Freed, Keith Gattis 3:49
8. "Yesterday's Rain"   Allan, LeBlanc, Warren 3:55
9. "Trying to Matter"   Allan, Casey Beathard, Blackmon 3:27
10. "Half of My Mistakes"   Radney Foster, Bobby Houck 4:31
11. "Living Hard"   Allan, Blackmon, Bob DiPiero 3:54

Singles

"Watching Airplanes"

Main article: Watching Airplanes

"Watching Airplanes" was the lead-off single. His twentieth chart single overall, the song reached a peak of number 2 on the Billboard country charts in early 2008. It was written by Jim Beavers and Jonathan Singleton.

The music video for this song was shot during live concerts at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison, Colorado, the Red Dirt Roundup '07 in Fort Worth, Texas, the Nutty Brown Cafe in Austin, Texas, and in Saint George, Utah.

"Learning How to Bend"

Main article: Learning How to Bend

"Learning How to Bend" peaked at number 13 in the United States. Written by Gary Allan, James LeBlanc, and Matt Warren. The song debuted at number 51 on the Hot Country Songs chart dated April 5, 2008.

"She's So California"

"She's So California" was the third and final single, written by Allan along with Jon Randall and Jaime Hanna of Hanna-McEuen. It peaked at number 24.

The song is an up-tempo in which the narrator uses various California-themed imagery to describe his lover, whom he says is "so California." Blake Boldt of CountryUniverse.net gave it a B- rating, saying it waas "little more than album filler", calling the production both "modest" and "a bit sterile", but saying that Allan's "gravelly vocal" was of note.[4]

Chart performance

Album

Chart (2007) Peak
position
U.S. Billboard Top Country Albums 3
U.S. Billboard 200 3

Singles

Year Single Peak chart positions
US Country US CAN
2007 "Watching Airplanes" 2 43 72
2008 "Learning How to Bend" 13 96 —
"She's So California" 24 — —
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

Certifications

Region Certification
United States (RIAA)[5] Gold

References

  1. ^ Jurek, Thom. "Living Hard review". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/album/r1213678. Retrieved July 15, 2011. 
  2. ^ Keefe, Jonathan. "Gary Allan: Living Hard". Slant Magazine. http://www.slantmagazine.com/music/review/gary-allan-living-hard/1207. Retrieved July 15, 2011. 
  3. ^ Katie Hasty, "Underwood Leads Three Country Debuts Onto Chart", Billboard.com, October 31, 2007.
  4. ^ http://www.countryuniverse.net/2008/9/26/review-gary-allan-shes-so-california-3/
  5. ^ "American album certifications – Gary Allan – Living Hard". Recording Industry Association of America. http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?artist=%22Living+Hard%22.  If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH
Gary Allan
Studio albums
Compilation albums
Notable singles
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