| The Ramblin' Man | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | September 1974 | |||
| Recorded | February – July 1974 | |||
| Studio | Glaser Sound (Nashville, Tennessee) | |||
| Genre | Outlaw Country | |||
| Length | 32:21 41:50(with bonus tracks) | |||
| Label | RCA Victor | |||
| Producer | Waylon Jennings | |||
| Waylon Jennings chronology | ||||
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| Singles from The Ramblin' Man | ||||
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| Review scores | |
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| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [1] |
The Ramblin' Man is The 21st studio album by Americancountry music artistWaylon Jennings, released onRCA Victor in1974.
With a slightly more commercial sound than some of his recent records,The Ramblin' Man remained true to Jennings'outlaw country image and uncompromising musical vision. The album, which was recorded atGlaser Sound Studios, was released at what was still considered to be the height of the outlaw movement in country music, and this was reflected in its chart success, with the LP peaking at #3 on the country charts, Jennings best showing sinceLove of the Common People in 1967. Jennings produced it himself, althoughTompall Glaser co-produced "Rainy Day Woman" andRay Pennington co-produced "Oklahoma Sunshine" and "I'm a Ramblin' Man," the latter of which he also wrote. Pennington recorded "I'm a Ramblin' Man" in 1967 forCapitol Records and took it to #29 on the country charts.[2] Jennings' version would be his second #1 on the country chart and also appeared on Australian charts.[3] "Rainy Day Woman" was released in December 1974 as the second single from the album and reached #2 on theBillboardHot Country Singles & Tracks chart.[4] Curiously, theBob McDill ballad "Amanda" was not released as a single at this time; more than 4½ years later, new overdubs were added to the original track and placed on his first greatest hits album. The song was issued as a single and it became one of the biggest country hits of 1979.
The album also includes a gutsy cover of theAllman Brothers' "Midnight Rider," cementing Jennings' fearless reputation as a leader of the "progressive" country sound. The photo on the album cover was shot at Muhlenbrink's (formerly the Red Dog Saloon).
AllMusic: "If he had created a sketch of outlaw onHonky Tonk Heroes, he perfected the marketable version of it here, making it a little slicker, a little more commercial, and a whole lot more unstoppable. If the songs aren't the equal ofHonky Tonk Heroes or evenThis Time,The Ramblin' Man has a wilder sound and a greater diversity of songs that make it seem more unruly than its immediate predecessor and more blatantly outlaw...There are moments of reflection, yet even those feed into the outlaw picture."
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "I'm a Ramblin' Man" | Ray Pennington | 2:49 |
| 2. | "Rainy Day Woman" | Jennings | 2:31 |
| 3. | "Cloudy Days" | Billy Ray Reynolds | 2:41 |
| 4. | "Midnight Rider" | Gregg Allman, Robert Kim Payne | 3:24 |
| 5. | "Oklahoma Sunshine" | Hal Bynum, Bud Reneau | 3:29 |
| 6. | "The Hunger" | Lee Fry | 3:31 |
| 7. | "I Can't Keep My Hands Off of You" | Bobby Borchers,Mack Vickery | 3:38 |
| 8. | "Memories of You and I" | Lee Clayton | 4:16 |
| 9. | "It'll Be Her" | Reynolds | 3:03 |
| 10. | "Amanda" | Bob McDill | 2:56 |
