| What I Do | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | September 7, 2004 | |||
| Genre | Country | |||
| Length | 44:42 | |||
| Label | Arista Nashville | |||
| Producer | Keith Stegall | |||
| Alan Jackson chronology | ||||
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| Singles from What I Do | ||||
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What I Do is the twelfth studio album by American country music artist Alan Jackson. It was released on September 7, 2004, and produced four singles for Jackson on the Hot Country Songs charts: "Too Much of a Good Thing" and "Monday Morning Church" both reached #5, while "The Talkin' Song Repair Blues" and "USA Today" both reached #18, making this album the first of Jackson's career not to produce any #1 hits.
The Wrights, a duo composed of Adam and Shannon Wright (the former of whom is Jackson's nephew) are featured as background vocalists on "If Love Was a River", which they also co-wrote. Adam Wright also wrote the track "Strong Enough".
Critical reception
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | (80/100) [1] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [2] |
| BBC Music | (favorable) [3] |
| Blender | [1] |
| Entertainment Weekly | B+ [4] |
| Los Angeles Times |  [1] |
| The New York Times | (favorable) [5] |
| People | [6] |
| Robert Christgau |  [7] |
| Rolling Stone | [8] |
| The Village Voice | (positiv) [9] |
Giving the album all four stars, People magazine said on the album that Jackson "continues to sound more and more like Merle Haggard, which is tantamount to approaching perfection."[6]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Too Much of a Good Thing" | Alan Jackson | 3:08 |
| 2. | "Rainy Day in June" | Jackson | 4:40 |
| 3. | "USA Today" | Jackson | 3:26 |
| 4. | "If Love Was a River" (background vocals: The Wrights) | Adam Wright, Shannon Wright | 3:54 |
| 5. | "If French Fries Were Fat Free" | Jackson | 4:16 |
| 6. | "You Don't Have to Paint Me a Picture" | Jackson | 3:45 |
| 7. | "There Ya Go" | Dan Hill, Keith Stegall | 3:13 |
| 8. | "The Talkin' Song Repair Blues" | Dennis Linde | 2:58 |
| 9. | "Strong Enough" | A. Wright | 4:04 |
| 10. | "Monday Morning Church" (background vocals: Patty Loveless) | Brent Baxter, Erin Enderlin | 3:23 |
| 11. | "Burnin' the Honky Tonks Down" (background vocals: Richard Sterban of The Oak Ridge Boys) | Billy Burnette, Shawn Camp | 4:53 |
| 12. | "To Do What I Do" (Live) | Tim Johnson | 3:00 |
Personnel
- Monty Allen – background vocals
- Eddie Bayers – drums
- Stuart Duncan – fiddle, mandolin
- Mark Fain – bass guitar
- Robbie Flint – steel guitar
- Paul Franklin – steel guitar, lap steel guitar
- Dave Gaylord – fiddle
- Lloyd Green – steel guitar
- Danny Groah – electric guitar
- Alan Jackson – acoustic guitar, lead vocals, background vocals
- Kirk "Jelly Roll" Johnson – harmonica
- Dave Kelley – mandolin
- Patty Loveless – background vocals on "Monday Morning Church"
- Brent Mason – electric guitar, six-string bass guitar
- Monty Parkey – piano
- Hargus "Pig" Robbins – piano
- Matt Rollings – piano
- Bruce Rutherford – drums
- Tom Rutledge – acoustic guitar
- John Wesley Ryles – background vocals
- Tony Stephens – acoustic guitar
- Richard Sterban – background vocals on "Burnin' the Honky Tonks Down"
- Bruce Watkins – acoustic guitar, banjo
- Roger Wills – bass guitar
- Glenn Worf – bass guitar
- Adam Wright – background vocals on "If Love Was a River"
- Shannon Wright – background vocals on "If Love Was a River"
Chart performance
What I Do debuted at #1 on the U.S. Billboard 200 selling 139,000 copies, becoming his third #1 album, and #1 on the Top Country Albums, becoming his seventh #1 country album. The album was certified Platinum by the RIAA in October 2004.
Weekly charts
| Chart (2004) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums (ARIA)[10] | 7 |
| Canadian Albums (Billboard)[11] | 2 |
| Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[12] | 10 |
| US Billboard 200[13] | 1 |
| US Top Country Albums (Billboard)[14] | 1 |
Year-end charts
| Chart (2004) | Position |
|---|---|
| US Billboard 200[15] | 157 |
| US Top Country Albums (Billboard)[16] | 28 |
| Chart (2005) | Position |
| US Top Country Albums (Billboard)[17] | 35 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United States (RIAA)[18] | Platinum | 1,000,000^ |
|
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
References
- Critic reviews at Metacritic
- What I Do at AllMusic
- BBC Music review
- Marino, Nick (September 17, 2004). "What I Do Review". Entertainment Weekly. p. 78. Archived from the original on July 8, 2013. Retrieved April 26, 2013.
- "Mamas, Trains, Prisons and a Wink (Published 2004)". The New York Times. September 20, 2004.
- Novak, Ralph (September 28, 2004). "Picks and Pans Review: Alan Jackson (What I Do)". People. 62 (12):51. Retrieved April 26, 2013.
- Robert Christgau Consumer Guide
- "Rolling Stone review". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on July 23, 2008. Retrieved February 3, 2008.
{{cite magazine}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - The Village Voice review
- "Australiancharts.com – Alan Jackson – What I Do". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 8, 2020.
- "Alan Jackson Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved November 8, 2020.
- "Norwegiancharts.com – Alan Jackson – What I Do". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 8, 2020.
- "Alan Jackson Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved November 8, 2020.
- "Alan Jackson Chart History (Top Country Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved November 8, 2020.
- "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2004". Billboard. Retrieved November 8, 2020.
- "Top Country Albums – Year-End 2004". Billboard. Retrieved November 8, 2020.
- "Top Country Albums – Year-End 2005". Billboard. Retrieved November 8, 2020.
- "American album certifications – Alan Jackson – What I Do". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved June 26, 2026.