Sleepless Nights (Patty Loveless album)


Sleepless Nights is the fifteenth album by American country music artist Patty Loveless. The album was released on September 9, 2008. Her first album for the Sagauaro Road Records label, it is also her first studio album since Dreamin' My Dreams in 2005. Sleepless Nights comprises cover versions of traditional classic country music songs. "Why Baby Why", a song originally recorded by George Jones which has also been a chart hit for several other artists, was released in September 2008 as the first single from the album.

Critical reception

critic Thom Jurek gave Sleepless Nights a four-star rating out of five, saying "Loveless takes each of these cuts deep into the well of her heart and let's them rip." Jurek also said that Emory Gordy, Jr., Loveless' husband and producer, "showers in emotion and Loveless simply needs to open her mouth to tell the story behind the words to get it across to the listener, where it resonates deeply."
Matt C., a critic for Engine 145, also gave the album a four-out-of-five rating. He described Sleepless Nights as "a thoroughly arresting listening experience, as Loveless lays twenty-first century gloss, if not sensibilities, on a few songs that haven’t been dusted off in quite some time." Although he criticized the album's lack of up-tempo songs and felt that some of the covers were "uncomfortable", he nonetheless commended Loveless for "find her wheelhouse on songs that are no-less classic but nonetheless haven’t achieved corner bar ubiquity", also saying "The success of these songs is equal testament to Loveless’ outstanding country voice and the timeless quality of the material she’s selected."
Slant Magazine critic Jonathan Keefe also criticized the album for its lack up-tempo material, but gave it four-and-a-half stars out of five, saying "Loveless has offered another unqualified masterpiece with Sleepless Nights and reasserted her place as one of the premier artists not just of the country genre but of contemporary popular music."
Sleepless Nights received a nomination for Best Country Album at the 51st Annual Grammy Awards.

Track listing

Source:
TrackSong TitleWriterOriginal ArtistOriginal ReleaseLength
1"Why Baby Why"Darrell Edwards, George JonesGeorge Jones19552:18
2"The Pain of Loving You"Dolly Parton, Porter WagonerPorter Wagoner & Dolly Parton19712:46
3"He Thinks I Still Care"Dickey LeeGeorge Jones19622:59
4"Sleepless Nights"
Boudleaux Bryant, Felice BryantEverly Brothers19604:21
5"Crazy Arms"Ralph Mooney, Chuck SealsRay Price19564:00
6"There Stands the Glass"Audrey Greisham, Russ Hull, Mary Jean ShurtzWebb Pierce19532:35
7"That's All It Took"
Darrell Edwards, Carlos Grier, JonesGeorge Jones & Gene Pitney19662:35
8"Color of the Blues"Jones, Lawton WilliamsGeorge Jones19583:06
9"I Forgot More Than You'll Ever Know"Cecil NullThe Davis Sisters19533:30
10"Next in Line"Wayne Kemp, Curtis WayneConway Twitty19683:06
11"Don't Let Me Cross Over"Penny JayCarl Butler and Pearl19623:23
12"Please Help Me I'm Falling"Hal Blair, Don RobertsonHank Locklin19602:40
13"There Goes My Everything"Dallas FrazierJack Greene19662:50
14"Cold, Cold Heart"Hank WilliamsHank Williams19512:53
15*"We'll Sweep out the Ashes in the Morning"Joyce Ann AllsupCarl Butler & Pearl19693:14
16*"If Teardrops Were Pennies"Carl ButlerCarl Smith19512:38

.* Bonus Track, only available via download

Personnel