Call Me Crazy is the seventh studio album by American country music singer Lee Ann Womack, released on October 21, 2008 via MCA Nashville Records. It is her first studio release in three years, as her previous album (2006's Finding My Way Back Home) was not released. The lead-off single to this album is "Last Call" which in late 2008 became Womack's first Top 20 country hit in three years. The album's second single, "Solitary Thinkin", was released in April 2009 and reached the Top 40 of the country charts, peaking at #39 in June 2009. The album was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Country Album on December 2, 2009."The 52nd Annual Grammy Awards Nominees List" , Grammy.com, December 2, 2009
Background Womack told The Early Show, "Well, I always like to tell people, really, a lot of the songs just come from real life, whether I wrote them or other writers. You know, that's the beauty of country music, it's about real-life situations. And so I look for songs that really mean something to me, either I've been through it or I know somebody that's been through it. And something that really touches me."The Early Show - Lee Ann Womack discusses her new CD, "Call Me Crazy," and performs "Last Call" (October 22, 2008)
Content "Last Call" is the first single release from this album. Written by Shane McAnally and Erin Enderlin, the song is Womack's first chart entry since "Finding My Way Back Home" in mid-2006.
The album was produced by Tony Brown. One track, "The Bees", features background vocals from Keith Urban, and "Everything but Quits" is a duet with George Strait. "The King of Broken Hearts," from Jim Lauderdale's 1991 album Planet of Love, was also previously recorded by Strait on the soundtrack to the 1993 film Pure Country. Additionally, the track "Either Way" was later recorded by its co-writer Chris Stapleton for his 2017 album From A Room: Volume 1, from which it was released as the first single.
Critical reception
According to the music review aggregator Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has received an average score of 73 out of 100, indicating "generally favorable reviews".
Carrie Pitzer of the Norfolk Daily News gave the album a positive review and wrote, "Slightly better (it's hard to improve upon an album of the year) than her last, Womack sounds more mature this time around as she offers advice and explanation."Pitzer, Carrie. Norfolk Daily News Album Review (October 28, 2008) Glenn Gamboa of Newsday gave the album a B+ rating and wrote, "Womack takes her love of traditional country in a whole new direction. It simply makes you wish for more where that came from."Gamboa, Glenn. Newsday Lee Ann's newest: 'Crazy' like a fox (October 21, 2008 Ken Tucker of Billboard gave the album a favorable review and wrote, "Just when you thought she couldn’t get any better, Lee Ann Womack surprises in a big way. The first-time combination of Womack and producer Tony Brown is overdue and magical.“Solitary Thinkin’” proves Womack has more soul than just about any other country female vocalist out there. All hail the queen of country.Tucker, Ken. Billboard album review (October 27. 2008) Editors at Performing Songwriter said, "This is a pure, full-on country album filled with tales of heartache and regret. How can any country music fan not fall under Womack’s spell? If you’ve ever been lamenting that pop crossover is infecting country music, this collection of mostly downbeat tales sung by one of country’s most glorious voices will, ironically, give you hope."Performing Songwriter Album Review (October 27, 2008) Nick Cristiano of The Philadelphia Inquirer gave the album a three and a half star rating and wrote, "The only real misfire is "I Found It in You," the kind of generic power ballad that throws the power and beauty of the rest of Call Me Crazy into even greater relief"Cristiano. Nick. The Philadelphia Inquirer Album Reviews (October 27, 2008) Dave Heaton of PopMatters gave the album a rating of 7 and wrote, "Call Me Crazy is best when Womack conveys the understanding that we’re all sinners, when musically she doesn’t try too hard to isolate herself from the sins. After all, in the world of country music, sin is never that far away."Heaton, Dave. PopMatters Lee Ann Womack Call Me Crazy
Editors at No Depression wrote, "But it's not the poignant themes that set this album apart; Womack has tackled them before, if never so relentlessly. It is, naturally, Womack's voice, full of personality, clarity and caressing warmth, and so agile she could turn a melody inside-out and still wind up with a hook.No Depression album review Editors at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram gave the album four stars and wrote, "Womack remains one of Music City’s most underrated talents. Crazy, her seventh record, is an often gloomy assortment of broken-hearted love songs ideal for consuming on some lonely, overcast fall day."Fort Worth Star-Telegram album review Cathalena E. Burch of the Arizona Daily Star wrote, "Crazy puts Womack through those trenches and then some, with songs that dip into the well from which Loretta, Patsy, Barbara, Dolly and Tammy drank so freely a generation or two ago. "Crazy" dances through all the emotions country music is supposed to embrace — sorrow, heartbreak, starting over, getting over and renewal."Burch, Cathalena E. Arizona Daily Star Lee Ann Womack's strengths shine through (October 23, 2008) Michael McCall of Nashville Scene wrote, Womack "And her veteran producer combine traditional and contemporary ideas into spare, breathing arrangements that add nuance to the real-life dramas of Womack's well-chosen material. Call Me Crazy certainly succeeds creatively—let's hope radio sees the potential for these songs to bring a needed depth to the format as well."McCall, Michael Nashville Scane Crazy for Trying (October 23, 2008) Werner Trieschmann of The Village Voice gave the album a mixed review and wrote, "There’s a palpable melancholy in Womack’s delivery, a resignation that makes you believe—all right, hope—that there’s a little more where that came from, and a little less of everything else."Trieschmann, Warner. The Village Voice Review (Oct 8 2008)
Thom Jurek of AllMusic gave the album three and a half stars and wrote, "Call Me Crazy continues Womack's journey of creating her own sonic brand. Perhaps next time she will flex her star power more and insist on more production control."Jurek, Thom. All Music Call Me Crazy - Review Sarah Rodman of the Boston Globe gave the album a favorable review and wrote,"In addition to the timeless-sounding tracks, "Crazy" includes a few olive branches to contemporary country radio. The best thing about those tunes is that even though they seem like bids for hits, they don't sound remotely like compromises. We'll take that kind of "Crazy" any day.Rodman, Sarah. Boston Globe 'Crazy' for feeling so lonely (October 21, 2008) Johnathon Keefe of Slant Magazine gave the album three and a half stars and said, "Of course, at this point in her career, there is little lingering doubt as to Womack's talent, so Crazy doesn't prove any new points regarding her strengths as a hard-country vocalist. "The Bees," which is given a progressive, new wave-inflected production that drives its lilting, familiar melody with a slap bass and a muffled drum loop. While traditionalists will inevitably bristle at the track, its relative subtlety makes it one of the album's sonic experiments that actually work.Keefe, John. Slant Magazine Lee Ann Womack - Call Me Crazy (October 19, 2008) Chris Willman of Entertainment Weekly gave the album an A− rating and wrote, "This overdue follow-up Call Me Crazy brings in a new producer (Tony Brown) but has Lee Ann Womack in much the same traditionalist mode, sounding like a distaff version of George Jones at his finest."Willman, Chris. Entertainment Weekly Call Me Crazy Review (October 15, 2008) Thomas Kintner of the Hartford Courant gave the album a positive review and wrote, "The Texas-bred singer returns with "Call Me Crazy," a similar assortment of tunes that are modern and accessible, but with a classic sensibility. Her singing pretty and poised, Womack caresses each song as she extracts its core emotions."Kitner, Thomas. Hartford Courant (October 21, 2008)
Matt Bjorke of Roughstock gave the album a favorable review and wrote, "At the end of the day, Call Me Crazy is an album that should please fans of both the traditional and contemporary sides of Lee Ann Womack. It's a well-written, sung, played and recorded album that only helps to prove why Lee Ann Womack is one of modern country music's most treasured artists."Bjorke, Matt. Roughstock Lee Ann Womack - Call Me Crazy (October 25, 2008) Jack Lowe of About.com gave the album four and a half stars and wrote, "Call Me Crazy has been 3 years in the making, and has been well worth the wait. Very smooth and easy to listen to from start to finish."Lowe, Jack. About.com Lee Ann Womack - 'Call Me Crazy' Jasper Jones of 411 Mania gave the album a rating of 7 and said, "For all the gold contained in Call Me Crazy, there seems to be just as much garbage."Jones, Jasper 411 Mania Lee Ann Womack - Call Me Crazy Review (October 27, 2008) Christian Hoard of Rolling Stone gave the album three stars and said, "The album sounds way more professional than crazy, but tunefulness this pleasant works out just fine."Hoard, Christian. Rolling Stone (Nov 13, 2008) Kevin J. Coyne of Country Universe gave the album three and a half stars and said, "Womack is such a talented performer that the album still satisfies in many ways, but it’s not quite up to the bar she has set so high with her best work."Coyne, Kevin J. Country Universe Album Review: Lee Ann Womack, Call Me Crazy Editors at ACountry gave the album a positive review and wrote, "It's apparent this is music lovingly created by an artist who is reveling in what she was born to do."ACountry Review Brian Mansfield of USA Today gave the albums three and a half stars and wrote, "Womack rarely pushes the tempo of her sweet countrypolitan and dusty Southern soul, but the emotional dynamic is always intense.""Mansfield, Brian. Listen Up." USA Today n.d.: Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 6 June 2011.
Track listing
Personnel Credits adapted from liner notes.
Lee Ann Womack – vocals, backing vocals (2, 4, 12) John Barlow Jarvis – acoustic piano (1, 2, 5–8, 10–12), Hammond B3 organ (3, 9) Steve Nathan – Hammond B3 organ (1, 5, 6, 8, 11), Wurlitzer electric piano (2), Rhodes electric piano (3), synthesizers (3), keyboards (4, 10, 12), synth accordion (7), acoustic piano (9) Brent Mason – electric guitars, electric guitar solo (3), gut-string guitar (6) Bryan Sutton – acoustic guitar (1, 3, 4, 8, 11, 12) Randy Scruggs – acoustic guitar (2, 5–7, 9, 10) Ilya Toshinsky – electric guitar solo (2), electric guitars (5) Paul Franklin – steel guitar Aubrey Haynie – mandolin (1, 8), fiddle (3, 4, 11, 12) Michael Rhodes – bass (1–10, 12), upright bass (11) Greg Morrow – drums, bongos (10) Eric Darken – percussion (2, 5) Larry Franklin – fiddle (1, 2, 7, 9, 10), mandolin (5, 6) The Nashville String Machine – strings (10) Bergen White – string arrangements (10) Curtis Young – backing vocals (1) Chris Stapleton – backing vocals (2) Kim Keyes – backing vocals (3, 5) Judson Spence – backing vocals (3) Jason Sellers – backing vocals (4, 10, 12) Perry Coleman – backing vocals (5) Morgane Hayes – backing vocals (6) Melissa Hayes – backing vocals (7) Keith Urban – backing vocals (7) Wes Hightower – backing vocals (8, 11) George Strait – vocals (10) Aubrie Sellers – backing vocals (12)
Production Joe Fisher – A&R Brian Wright – A&R Stephanie Wright – A&R Tony Brown – producer Chuck Ainlay – recording, mixing, additional recording Brian Calhoon – recording assistant, mix assistant