I Never Made a Record I Didn't Like
| I Never Made a Record I Didn't Like | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | June 1988[1] | |||
| Genre | Country, novelty | |||
| Label | MCA | |||
| Producer | Ray Stevens | |||
| Ray Stevens chronology | ||||
| ||||
I Never Made a Record I Didn't Like is Ray Stevens' twenty-fifth studio album and his fifth for MCA Records, released in 1988. Two singles were lifted from the album: "Surfin' U.S.S.R." and "The Day I Tried to Teach Charlene Mackenzie How to Drive." The "Surfin' U.S.S.R." single was accompanied by a music video (his second). The song blends the sound of the Beach Boys with the real world events of the Soviet Union. The second single tells the story of how Stevens attempts to teach a deaf woman how to drive. The character would play an important role several years later when Stevens filmed his direct-to-home video movie, Get Serious!. Connie Freeman portrayed Charlene Mackenzie in the movie.
The album cover shows Stevens as Will Rogers performing a rope trick. Rogers' most often quote is "I never met a man I didn't like" which served as the obvious inspiration for the album's title.
The third track, "Mama's in the Sky With Elvis," was previously featured on the second volume of the Greatest Hits package of Stevens' hits; it makes its first appearance on a studio album.
Track listing
[edit]| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Surfin' U.S.S.R." | William Martin | 3:04 |
| 2. | "The Booger Man" | Stevens, C.W. Kalb, Jr. | 4:34 |
| 3. | "Mama's in the Sky With Elvis" | Cinde Borup, Bruce Innes | 3:15 |
| 4. | "Language, Nudity, Violence & Sex" | Kalb | 3:19 |
| 5. | "Bad" | Michael Jackson | 3:41 |
| 6. | "The Day I Tried to Teach Charlene Mackenzie How to Drive" | Kalb | 3:49 |
| 7. | "Blood and Suede" | Martin | 2:59 |
| 8. | "Ethelene (The Truckstop Queen)" | Kalb | 2:39 |
| 9. | "I Don't Need None of That" | Kalb | 3:12 |
| 10. | "Old Hippie Class Reunion" | Stevens, Kalb | 5:16 |
Album credits
[edit]Compiled from liner notes.[2]
- Produced and Arranged by Ray Stevens
- Recorded at Ray Stevens Studio (Nashville, Tennessee).
- Engineer – Stuart Keathley
- Mastered by Glenn Meadows at Masterfonics (Nashville, Tennessee).
- Mastered using the JVC Digital Mastering System.
- Art Direction – Ray Stevens and Slick Lawson
- Design – Barnes & Company
- Photography – Slick Lawson
- Wardrobe and Styling – Susan Lawson
- Stage Manager – Bubba Crigler
Musicians
- Ray Stevens – vocals, synthesizers
- Gary Prim – keyboards
- Mark Casstevens – rhythm guitars, banjo
- Steve Gibson – electric guitars, dobro, mandolin
- Larry Sasser – steel guitar, dobro
- Stuart Keathley – bass
- Tommy Wells – drums
- Terry McMillan – harmonica
- Lisa Silver – fiddle, backing vocals
- Sheri Huffman – backing vocals
- Wendy Suits – backing vocals
- Diane Vanette – backing vocals
Chart performance
[edit]Album
[edit]| Chart (1987) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Top Country Albums | 52 |
Singles
[edit]| Year | Single | Peak positions |
|---|---|---|
| US Country | ||
| 1988 | "The Day I Tried to Teach Charlene Mackenzie How to Drive" | 88 |
References
[edit]- ^ "LP Discography: Ray Stevens". LP Discography. Retrieved October 29, 2011.
- ^ I Never Made a Record I Didn't Like (album cover). Ray Stevens. MCA Records. 1988. 42172.
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