Strong Stuff

Strong Stuff
Studio album by
ReleasedFebruary 1983 (1983-02)
GenreSouthern rock[1]
Length36:44
LabelElektra/Curb
ProducerJimmy Bowen
Hank Williams Jr.
Hank Williams Jr. chronology
Hank Williams Jr.'s Greatest Hits
(1982)
Strong Stuff
(1983)
Man of Steel
(1983)
Singles from Strong Stuff
  1. "Gonna Go Huntin' Tonight"
    Released: January 10, 1983
  2. "Leave Them Boys Alone"
    Released: May 1983

Strong Stuff is the thirty-fifth studio album by American musician Hank Williams Jr. It was released by Elektra/Curb Records in February 1983. "Gonna Go Huntin' Tonight" and "Leave Them Boys Alone" were released as singles. The album peaked at number 7 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart[2] and has been certified Gold by the RIAA.[3]

Music

The music of Strong Stuff is predominantly Southern rock, such as the cover of ZZ Top's John Lee Hooker-esque song "La Grange".[1]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]

While he praised the closing cut ("In this stately ballad about a lover's struggle with drugs, Hank's baritone coos, breaks, and flutters like a wounded butterfly as spare accompaniment by piano, harmonica and guitar pushes but never intrudes"), Lee Ballinger of Record gave the album an overall negative review. He was especially critical of "A Whole Lot of Hank", describing it as "a recitation of unconnected cliches ... carried bumpily along by a plodding instrumental track". He found some of the other songs overly similar to "A Whole Lot of Hank", and referred to "Leave Them Boys Alone" as "the obligatory song about other Southern musicians".[4]

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Gonna Go Huntin' Tonight"Hank Williams Jr.2:36
2."La Grange"Frank Beard, Billy Gibbons, Dusty Hill5:21
3."A Whole Lot of Hank""Wild" Bill Emerson, Jody Emerson, Williams2:55
4."Made in the Shade"Ronnie Van Zant4:35
5."Leave Them Boys Alone" (with Waylon Jennings and Ernest Tubb)Dean Dillon, Gary Stewart, Tanya Tucker, Williams3:36
6."The Girl on the Front Row at Fort Worth"Williams2:38
7."The Homecoming Queen"Williams4:22
8."Blue Jean Blues"Beard, Gibbons, Hill4:07
9."Twodot Montana"Williams2:39
10."In the Arms of Cocaine"Flash Gordon, Buzz Rabin, Williams4:08

Personnel

Chart performance

Chart (1983) Peak
position
U.S. Billboard Top Country Albums 7
U.S. Billboard 200 64

References

  1. ^ a b c "Strong Stuff review". Allmusic. Retrieved 16 February 2011.
  2. ^ "Strong Stuff Charts". Allmusic. Retrieved 16 February 2011.
  3. ^ RIAA - Gold & Platinum
  4. ^ Ballinger, Lee (June 1983). "Strong Stuff review". Record. 2 (8): 25.