Smoke Rings in the Dark

Smoke Rings in the Dark
Studio album by Gary Allan
Released October 26, 1999
Genre Country
Length 40:10
Label MCA Nashville
Producer Mark Wright
Tony Brown
Byron Hill
Gary Allan chronology

It Would Be You
(1998)		 Smoke Rings in the Dark
(1999)		 Alright Guy
(2001)
Singles from Smoke Rings in the Dark
  1. "Smoke Rings in the Dark"
    Released: August 9, 1999
  2. "Lovin' You Against My Will"
    Released: May 2, 2000
  3. "Right Where I Need to Be"
    Released: September 11, 2000
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [1]
Entertainment Weekly A−[2]

Smoke Rings in the Dark is the third studio album from American country music singer Gary Allan. It was released on October 26, 1999 as his first album for MCA Nashville after the closure of Decca Records Nashville, his previous label. It was certified platinum by the RIAA and it produced three singles: the title track, "Lovin' You Against My Will", and "Right Where I Need to Be", which respectively reached number 12, number 34 and number 5 on the Hot Country Songs charts. "Right Where I Need to Be" was also Allan's first Top Five country hit.

"Don't Tell Mama" was previously recorded by Ty Herndon on his 1996 album Living in a Moment, and later by Doug Stone on his 2007 album My Turn. Also, "Runaway" is a cover of a Del Shannon song. Allan's cover also charted at number 74 on the country charts in 2000 based on unsolicited airplay.

Track listing

No. TitleWriter(s) Length
1. "Smoke Rings in the Dark"  Rivers Rutherford, Houston Robert 4:18
2. "Right Where I Need to Be"  Casey Beathard, Kendell Marvel 3:02
3. "Don't Tell Mama"  Buddy Brock, Kim Williams, Jerry Laseter 3:56
4. "Lovin' You Against My Will"  Jamie O'Hara 3:59
5. "Sorry"  Shawn Camp, Brice Long, Wynn Varble 3:06
6. "Cryin' for Nothin'"  Kevin Welch 4:17
7. "Bourbon Borderline"  John Wiggins, Harley Allen, Jennifer Bibeau 2:47
8. "Runaway"  Del Shannon, Max Crook 2:45
9. "Learning to Live with Me"  Gary Burr, Allen 2:35
10. "Cowboy Blues"  George McCorkle, Mike Geiger, Mike Huffman 2:57
11. "I'm the One"  Gary Allan, Odie Blackmon, O'Hara 3:17
12. "Greenfields"  Camp, Frank Dycus 3:11
Total length:
 40:10

Chart performance

Album

Chart (1999) Peak
position
U.S. Billboard Top Country Albums 9
U.S. Billboard 200 84
Canadian RPM Country Albums 13

Singles

Year Single Peak chart positions
US Country US CAN Country
1999 "Smoke Rings in the Dark" 12 76 5
2000 "Lovin' You Against My Will" 34 — 30
"Right Where I Need to Be" 5 42 *
"—" denotes releases that did not chart
* denotes unknown peak positions

Certifications

Region Certification
United States (RIAA)[3] Platinum

Personnel

All strings performed by the Nashville String Machine.

References

  1. ↑ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Smoke Rings in the Dark review". Allmusic. Retrieved July 15, 2011.
  2. ↑ Nash, Alanna (November 5, 1999). "Smoke Rings in the Dark review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved July 15, 2011.
  3. ↑ "American album certifications – Gary Allan – Smoke Rings in the Dark". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH