Rodriguez noted, "So much of this album was inspired by coming home to Austin. I had been living in New York City for almost a decade when I moved back to my hometown. One of the first things that I realized I had been missing was waking up to the sounds of the birds...The peace and quiet here allowed me to reflect on life in a way that I couldn't do in New York. The pace is so fast there, it can be hard to be fully aware and in the present...you are always having to think of the next thing or you will be left behind. A lot of the tunes on this record are reflections of life from a slightly more relaxed vantage point." When TODO Austin interviewed Rodriguez, she explained that the origins of ""Sad Joy"... arose from a conversation with Taylor about a loved one who was maintaining a, "bright, beautiful attitude," while dealing with Lou Gehrig's disease. "Chip and I were talking about how, when we are faced with those kinds of things, as sad and difficult as they are, they can also bring about a type of joy. The simple joy of people loving each other and holding each other up — in times of both celebration and in mourning. We started strumming some chords, and there it was, a song that lays out those raw emotions without being shy about it. Celebrating them, in fact."" They wrote it "in about 10 minutes," she said to Michael Bialas of the Huffington Post.
Critical reception
Hal Horowitz of American Songwriter rated the album 80/100 on Metacritic, saying "Her violin skills are world class but play second fiddle — pun intended — to potent songwriting and vocals. Emotional lyrics rooted in letting go of attachments and propping others up are wonderfully communicated with low boil intensity. Old cohort Chip Taylor writes or co-composes a handful of songs including the opening "Devil in Mind" that combines Rodriguez's Austin rustic roots with the urban influences she has acquired through a decade of living in Brooklyn... The result is her finest, most poignant and accomplished album in an already impressive seven year solo career." Lee Zimmerman of Blurt gave her a 7 out of 10, saying "Even on a song like "Devil In Mind," which seemingly pays such heed to moss-covered Gothic-like environs, she still manages to exude some saucy spunk and spark... Give Me All You Got is as seductive and enticing as its name implies because clearly, Rodriguez is giving all she has as well." Cara Tillman of the Austin Chronicle noted that the album Give Me All You Got "plays out as a hymn to the free-spirited sinner who embraces the compulsion for adventure, as well as the need toput down roots."
