We Weren't Crazy is the second studio album by American country music artist Josh Gracin. Originally titled All About Y'all, the album was slated for release in mid-2006 after the release of its debut single "Favorite State of Mind". However the album release was delayed when the debut single failed to perform strongly on radio.4/18: Finally— the Josh Gracin interview! A second single, "I Keep Coming Back", was issued in early 2007, and the album's name was changed to I Keep Coming Back. This single similarly failed to perform well. The album was finally issued on April 1, 2008, as a limited release, following the release of its title track which was a top 10 hit.
Overall, the album's five singles have all charted in the Top 40 on the Hot Country Songs charts, including the number ten title track. Next came "Unbelievable (Ann Marie)" (a song that Josh Gracin wrote about his then-wife Ann Marie), which peaked at number 36, his least successful single to date, and "Telluride", which was previously recorded by Tim McGraw on his 2001 album Set This Circus Down, which peaked at number 34. "I Don't Want to Live" was recorded as "I Don't Wanna Live" by Chris Cagle on his 2008 album My Life's Been a Country Song. The album debuted at number four on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart.[ Billboard website]
Sales of We Weren't Crazy failed to meet those of Gracin's debut, with 18,000 units sold on its first week. He parted company with Lyric Street in April 2009 after the poor chart performance of "Telluride".
Critical reception
AllMusic editor Thom Jurek called the album's content "formulaic contemporary country", but gave praise to tracks like the title track and "Telluride" as highlights and Gracin's vocal delivery for carrying the material effortlessly, concluding that "if anyone has a chance of making lightning strike twice it's him." The 9513's Jim Malec also gave praise to Gracin's performance on tracks that were "considerably substantive and surprisingly emotionally complex" on "a near flawless set of contemporary country material," but felt that it relied too heavily on tempo and lacked songs that contained emotional depth and intimacy for the listeners, concluding that "it is a solid effort that would greatly benefit from one or two standout ballads, and which, despite its many strengths, ultimately falls short of artistically exceptional." Ken Tucker of Billboard called it a "solid follow-up" based on the title track, "Favorite State of Mind", "Livin' It Up" and "Unbelievable (Ann Marie)". Rick Bell of Country Standard Time was critical of the album's production being "cluttered and uneven" throughout the track listing but called it "a safe, pleasant follow-up."
Track listing
Chart performance Album Chart (2008)PeakpositionUS SalesU.S. Billboard Top Country Albums485,000U.S. Billboard 20033[ Billboard - We Weren't Crazy - Josh Gracin]
Singles Year Single Chart Positions US Country US2006 "Favorite State of Mind" 19 119 "I Keep Coming Back" 28 — 2007 "We Weren't Crazy" 10 82 2008 "Unbelievable (Ann Marie)" 36 — "Telluride" 34 —
Personnel Adapted from the We Weren't Crazy liner notes.
Vocals
Josh Gracin – lead vocals Russell Terrell – background vocals Brett James – background vocals
Perry Coleman – background vocals Tom Bukovac – background vocals Jerry McPherson – background vocals
Instrumentation
Larry Beaird – acoustic guitar Bryan Sutton – acoustic guitar Ilya Toshinsky – acoustic guitar Kelly Back – electric guitar Tom Bukovac – electric guitar J. T. Corenflos – electric guitar Troy Lancaster – electric guitar Mike Brignardello – bass guitar Glenn Worf – bass guitar Jimmie Lee Sloas – bass guitar Dan Dugmore – steel guitar Paul Franklin – steel guitar
Russ Pahl – steel guitar Rob Hajacos – fiddle Steve Nathan – Hammond B-3 , piano Jonathan Yudkin – banjo , fiddle , mandolin Michael Rojas – keyboards , organ, piano Matt Rollings – keyboards Tim Akers – keyboards Larry Harden – drums Chris McHugh – drums Brian Pruitt – drums Lonnie Wilson – drums Jim Hoke – harmonica
Technical
Marty Williams – mixing Luke Wooten – associate producer, mixing Bart Morris – assistant engineer, additional recording, digital editing Kyle Manner – assistant engineer
Leslie Richter – assistant engineer Mike "Frog" Griffith – production coordination Donna Winklmann – production coordination Leon Zervos – mastering
Imagery Sherri Halford, Ashley Heron, Glenn Sweitzer – art direction Glenn Sweitzer/Fresh Design – package design Margaret Malandrucculo – photography Melody Malloy – wardrobe Crystal Tesinksy – grooming
References