Ruthless (Gary Allan album)

Ruthless is the tenth studio album by American country music artist Gary Allan, released on June 25, 2021, by MCA Nashville. It is Allan's first album of new material in over eight years since Set You Free was released in 2013.

History

Between 2015 and 2020, Allan released a number of singles that did not appear on albums due to their poor chart performance. In May 2021, he previewed the track "Temptation" online, and announced that his new album would be coming out in June.

Allan co-produced the album with Tony Brown, Mark Wright, Greg Droman, and Jay Joyce. He recorded over thirty songs in multiple sessions and selected thirteen songs from these sessions to make up the album. Many of the musicians who played on Allan's 1999 album Smoke Rings in the Dark also contributed. The album's lead single, "Waste of a Whiskey Drink", was released in December 2020.

Track listing

Personnel

• Gary Allan – vocals, acoustic guitar (11)
• John Lancaster – acoustic piano (1, 3, 5), synthesizers (1, 2, 7, 9, 13), Hammond B3 organ (3, 5–7), Wurlitzer electric piano (4, 6, 10, 12), organ (13)
• Steve Nathan – keyboards (1), acoustic piano (2), Hammond B3 organ (4, 10), synthesizers (8), Wurlitzer electric piano (9)
• David Huff – programming (1)
• Jay Joyce – keyboards (11), programming (11), electric guitar (11), tambourine (11)
• Tom Bukovac – electric guitar (1, 3–9, 13), acoustic guitar (2, 7)
• Rob McNelley – electric guitar (1, 4, 8), acoustic guitar (2, 9)
• David Steele – electric guitar (3, 5, 6, 12, 13)
• Tim Galloway – acoustic guitar (3, 5, 12, 13)
• Greg Droman – acoustic 12-string guitar (3), electric bass (3)
• Ryan Warner – electric guitar (7, 11), slide guitar (7)
• Anthony Rankin – acoustic guitar (11), electric guitar (11), backing vocals (11)
• Dan Dugmore – steel guitar (1, 2, 4–6, 8–10, 12), acoustic guitar (2, 8), dobro (4, 10), lap steel guitar (6), pedal steel guitar (6)
• C.J. Udeen – pedal steel guitar (11)
• Michael Rhodes – bass guitar (1–6, 8–10, 13)
• Brian Arsenault – bass guitar (7, 11, 12)
• Chad Cromwell – drums (1–6, 8–10, 13), percussion (6)
• Larry Babb – drums (7, 11, 12)
• Steve Marcantonio – tambourine (2, 10), percussion (4)
• Eric Darken – percussion (3, 13)
• Levi Dennis – fiddle (6, 12), acoustic guitar (7), viola (7)
• Carole Rabinowitz – cello (1)
• Kristin Wilkinson – viola (1), string arrangements and direction (1)
• David Angell – violin (1)
• David Davidson – violin (1)
• Conni Ellisor – violin (1)
• Alicia Enstrom – violin (1)
• Jim Hoke – horns (10), horn direction (10)
• Steve Herrman – horns (10)
• Sarah Buxton – backing vocals (1, 2, 4, 8–10)
• Perry Coleman – backing vocals (1, 2, 4, 8–10)
• Jaime Hanna – backing vocals (3, 5–7)
• Marilyn Martin – backing vocals (3, 12)
• Ron Ellis – backing vocals (4)

Charts

References