Never Could Toe the Mark
Never Could Toe the Mark | ||||
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Studio album by Waylon Jennings | ||||
Released | June 1984 | |||
Genre |
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Length | 27:01 | |||
Label | RCA Victor | |||
Producer |
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Waylon Jennings chronology | ||||
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Source | Rating |
Allmusic | [1] |
Never Could Toe the Mark is a studio album by American country music artist Waylon Jennings, released on RCA Victor in 1984.
Background
Never Could Toe the Mark was released at a pivotal time for Jennings, who was trying to get sober after over twenty years of drug abuse, beginning with amphetamines in the late 1960s and early 1970s and cocaine into the mid-1980s. In the audio version of his autobiography Waylon, he recalled that he was in such bad physical shape that he decided to take off April 1984 so he could clean up and get his health back, although he still intended to use: "I told Jessi [Colter, Waylon's wife] I'd always be a drug addict and I'd always do cocaine, and that this was just temporary, to slow it down." Jennings rented a house in Arizona and went cold turkey, and it was largely because of his young son Shooter that he decided to quit drugs for good.
Recording and composition
Never Could Toe the Mark would be the singer's next-to-last studio album for RCA and sounds like a stop-gap release as Jennings was in the midst of his rehabilitation. The album's lone hit single was the title track, which peaked at #6. Jennings also made a music video for the song which features him playing a mandolin. For the most part the mood of the album is light, with the singer composing four of the album's ten tracks that celebrate his home state ("People Up in Texas"), outlaw bravado ("Never Could Toe the Mark," "Gemini Song"), and sobriety ("Talk Good Boogie"). A Dixie band makes an appearance on "If She'll Leave Her Mama," a rarity for a Jennings' record. Jennings continued his longstanding practice of remaking rock and pop songs in his own style as well, covering Billy Joel's "The Entertainer." He also records his own version of Dire Straits' country-tinged rocker "Setting Me Up." "Sparkling Brown Eyes" is a remake of Bill Cox & Cliff Hobbs song from 1937 that was popularized by Webb Pierce with The Wilburn Brothers in 1954, and by George Jones in 1960.
"Where Would I Be" is the only ballad on the album. Although written by Paul Kennerley, it is most certainly Waylon's tribute to his wife Jessi Colter, who stuck with him throughout his cocaine addiction and remained a pillar of strength in his recovery. In the authorized video documentary Renegade Outlaw Legend, the singer recalls, "The look I saw on her face, that drawn look from worry, and just going through hell livin' with me. I wasn't mean to her but I was never home, I was never there. And the only time she'd see me is when I'd come in and crash and sleep for days, and she didn't know when I'd sleep if I'd ever wake up."
Never Could Toe the Mark peaked at #20 on the Billboard country albums chart, Jennings' lowest showing since 1971's Cedartown, Georgia.
Track listing
All tracks composed by Waylon Jennings; except where indicated
- "Never Could Toe the Mark" – 2:55
- "Talk Good Boogie" - 2:19
- "People Up in Texas" - 2:23
- "Sparkling Brown Eyes" (Bill Cox) - 2:39
- "If She'll Leave Her Mama" (Mack Vickery, Lamar Morris) - 2:41
- "Settin' Me Up" (Mark Knopfler) - 2:24
- "The Gemini Song (When I'm Bad, I'm Bad)" - 2:30
- "Where Would I Be" (Paul Kennerley) - 2:47
- "Whatever Gets You Through the Night" (Bob McDill) - 3:38
- "The Entertainer" (Billy Joel) - 2:45
Production
- Producer: Waylon Jennings, Alan Cartee, Brent Cartee, Don Cartee
- Art Direction: Hogan Entertainment Design
- Photography: Mark Tucker
Personnel
Pickers
- Waylon Jennings
- Ralph Mooney
- Jerry Bridges
- Gary Scruggs
- Floyd Domino
- Dan Mustoe
- Tony Joe White
- Jerry Gropp
- J. I. Allison
- Roger "Rock" Williams & Co.
- Don Cartee
Singers
- Waylon Jennings
- Jessi Colter
- Jerry Bridges
- Gary Scruggs
- Debbie Smith
- Kay Milete
- Crystal Milete
- Angel Milete
Chart performance
Chart (1984) | Peak position |
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U.S. Billboard Top Country Albums | 20 |
References
- ^ Never Could Toe the Mark at AllMusic
- v
- t
- e
- Waylon at JD's
- Folk-Country
- Leavin' Town
- Nashville Rebel
- Waylon Sings Ol' Harlan
- Love of the Common People
- The One and Only
- Hangin' On
- Only the Greatest
- Jewels
- Just to Satisfy You
- Waylon
- Singer of Sad Songs
- The Taker/Tulsa
- Cedartown, Georgia
- Good Hearted Woman
- Ladies Love Outlaws
- Lonesome, On'ry and Mean
- Honky Tonk Heroes
- This Time
- The Ramblin' Man
- Dreaming My Dreams
- Are You Ready for the Country
- Ol' Waylon
- I've Always Been Crazy
- What Goes Around Comes Around
- Music Man
- Black on Black
- It's Only Rock + Roll
- Waylon and Company
- Never Could Toe the Mark
- Turn the Page
- Sweet Mother Texas
- Will the Wolf Survive
- Hangin' Tough
- A Man Called Hoss
- Full Circle
- The Eagle
- Too Dumb for New York City, Too Ugly for L.A.
- Ol' Waylon Sings Ol' Hank
- Cowboys, Sisters, Rascals & Dirt
- Waymore's Blues (Part II)
- Right for the Time
- Closing In on the Fire
- Waylon Forever
- Goin' Down Rockin': The Last Recordings
- Waylon Live
- Never Say Die: Live
- Live from Austin, TX
- Never Say Die: The Final Concert
- "Stop the World (And Let Me Off)"
- "The Chokin' Kind"
- "Only Daddy That'll Walk the Line"
- "The Days of Sand and Shovels"
- "Brown Eyed Handsome Man"
- "Under Your Spell Again" with Jessi Colter
- "Good Hearted Woman"
- "Sweet Dream Woman"
- "You Can Have Her"
- "We Had It All"
- "You Ask Me To"
- "This Time"
- "I'm a Ramblin' Man"
- "Rainy Day Woman"
- "Dreaming My Dreams with You"
- "Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way"
- "Bob Wills Is Still the King"
- "Can't You See"
- "Are You Ready for the Country"
- "Luckenbach, Texas (Back to the Basics of Love)"
- "I've Always Been Crazy"
- "Don't You Think This Outlaw Bit's Done Got Out of Hand"
- "Amanda"
- "Come With Me"
- "I Ain't Living Long Like This"
- "Clyde"
- "Good Ol' Boys"
- "Shine"
- "Just to Satisfy You" with Willie Nelson
- "Women Do Know How to Carry On"
- "Lucille (You Won't Do Your Daddy's Will)"
- "Hold On, I'm Comin'" with Jerry Reed
- "The Conversation" with Hank Williams Jr.
- "I May Be Used (But Baby I Ain't Used Up)"
- "Never Could Toe the Mark"
- "America"
- "Waltz Me to Heaven"
- "Drinkin' and Dreamin'"
- "Working Without a Net"
- "Will the Wolf Survive"
- "What You'll Do When I'm Gone"
- "The Broken Promise Land"
- "Rose in Paradise"
- "My Rough and Rowdy Days"
- "If Ole Hank Could Only See Us Now"
- "How Much Is It Worth to Live in L.A."
- "Which Way Do I Go (Now That I'm Gone)"
- "Wrong"
- "Where Corn Don't Grow"
- "The Eagle"
Waylon & Willie | |
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Other collaborations | |
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Collaboration singles | |
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- The Best of Waylon Jennings
- Don't Think Twice
- Heartaches by the Number
- Greatest Hits
- Waylon's Greatest Hits, Vol. 2
- The Best of Waylon
- 20th Century Masters – The Millennium Collection: The Best of Waylon Jennings
- RCA Country Legends
- Ultimate Waylon Jennings
- 16 Biggest Hits
- Nashville Rebel