Ruthless (Gary Allan album)

Ruthless
Studio album by
Gary Allan
ReleasedJune 25, 2021 (2021-06-25)
Recorded2013–January 2020
StudiosBlackbird (Berry Hill, Tennessee)[1]
GenreCountry
Length46:18
LabelEMI Nashville
Producers
Gary Allan chronology
Set You Free
(2013)		 Ruthless
(2021)
Singles from Ruthless
  1. "Waste of a Whiskey Drink"
    Released: September 14, 2020

Ruthless is the tenth studio album by American country music artist Gary Allan, released on June 25, 2021, by EMI 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.[2]

Allan co-produced the album with Tony Brown, Mark Wright, Greg Droman, and Jay Joyce. He recorded over thirty songs across multiple sessions between 2013 and 2020 and selected thirteen of them to make up the album.[3][4] The last songs were done in January 2020, before the COVID-19 pandemic.[4] Many of the musicians who played on Allan's 1999 album, Smoke Rings in the Dark, also contributed.[5]

On the creation of the album, Allan said:

This is a montage of everything I have done since my last album. It's what I love. I remain influenced by the '90s—as well as the '80s. Twenty-six tracks were cut for this album. Then I went back to the studio and recorded three or four more tracks. Then I returned for two more. From each of these many sessions, I stripped out the cool stuff I wanted on the record.[3]

The album's lead single, "Waste of a Whiskey Drink", was released in digitally in July 2020, and impacted radio on September 14, 2020.[6][7]

The album was released on vinyl on October 22, 2021.[8]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusicStarStarStarHalf star[1]
Slant MagazineStarHalf star[9]

Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic gave Ruthless three and a half stars out of five and described the album as "steeped in the rocking country of the 1990s", while also pointing out Allan's "older...but not tired" sound.[1]

Jim Malec of Slant Magazine gave the album one and a half stars out of five.[9] Malec called the album a "casually sexist exercise in mediocrity" by criticizing his portrayal of women as nothing more than objects of the male gaze.[9]

Track listing

Ruthless track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Temptation"
2:55
2."Waste of a Whiskey Drink"
  • Brown
  • Wright
3:24
3."Till It Felt Like You"
3:41
4."Slide"
  • Ross Ellis
  • Alex Kline
  • Michael Whitworth
  • Brown
  • Wright
3:05
5."Pretty Damn Close"
  • Allan
  • Droman
3:45
6."High as I've Ever Been"
  • Allan
  • Droman
3:53
7."What I Can't Talk About"
  • Allan
  • Droman
4:02
8."SEX"
  • Brown
  • Wright
3:03
9."Trouble Knows Trouble"
  • Steve Bogard
  • Jason Sever
  • John Edwards
  • Brown
  • Wright
3:28
10."Ruthless"
  • Brown
  • Wright
3:37
11."Unfiltered"
Jay Joyce3:19
12."Little Glass of Wine"Jesse Winchester
  • Allan
  • Droman
4:06
13."The Hard Way"
  • M. Warren
  • Carey Ott
  • Allan
  • Droman
4:00
Total length:46:18

Personnel

Credits are adapted from Tidal.[10]

Musicians

  • 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)

Technical

  • Jay Joyce – production, mixing, recording
  • Greg Droman – production, mixing
  • Gary Allan – production
  • Tony Brown – production
  • Mark Wright – production
  • Steve Marcantonio – mixing, recording
  • Seth Morton – assistant engineer, assistant recording
  • Jimmy Mansfield – assistant engineer, assistant recording
  • Jason Hall – engineer

Charts

Chart performance for Ruthless
Chart (2021) Peak
position
US Billboard 200[11]86
US Top Country Albums (Billboard)[12]8
US Top Album Sales (Billboard)[13]6

Release history

Release dates and formats for Ruthless
Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref.
Various June 25, 2021 Digital download, CD EMI Nashville [1]
United States October 22, 2021 Vinyl EMI Nashville [8]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Ruthless - Gary Allan : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved September 1, 2025.
  2. ↑ "Gary Allan Previews New Album 'Ruthless' With Pulsing Song 'Temptation'". Rolling Stone Country. May 7, 2021. Retrieved June 21, 2021.
  3. 1 2 "Gary Allan Announces New Album 'Ruthless' Set For June". MusicRow. May 7, 2021. Retrieved June 21, 2021.
  4. 1 2 Ryan, Aaron (May 6, 2021). "Gary Allan Announces New Album, "Ruthless," His First Since 2013". Whiskey Riff. Retrieved April 12, 2026.
  5. ↑ "Allan gets "Ruthless"". Country Standard Time. May 5, 2021. Retrieved June 21, 2021.
  6. ↑ "Gary Allan Pours Doubles for Singles in 'Waste of a Whiskey Drink'". CMT. December 17, 2020. Archived from the original on December 17, 2020. Retrieved June 21, 2021.
  7. ↑ "Country Aircheck Weekly" (PDF). Country Aircheck. August 31, 2020. Retrieved May 12, 2026.
  8. 1 2 Sexton, Paul (October 18, 2021). "Country Star Gary Allan Announces Vinyl Edition Of 'Ruthless' Album". uDiscoverMusic. Retrieved April 12, 2026.
  9. 1 2 3 Malec, Jim (June 21, 2021). "Review: Gary Allan's Ruthless Is a Mercilessly Sexist Exercise in Mediocrity". Slant Magazine. Retrieved September 1, 2025.
  10. ↑ "Ruthless / Gary Allan / Credits". Tidal. Retrieved April 12, 2026.
  11. ↑ "Gary Allan Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved July 7, 2021.
  12. ↑ "Gary Allan Chart History (Top Country Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved July 7, 2021.
  13. ↑ "Gary Allan Chart History (Top Album Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved April 12, 2026.
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