Tougher Than Leather (Willie Nelson album)

Tougher Than Leather is the twenty-eighth studio album by country singer Willie Nelson. It was his first album of original material since Red Headed Stranger eight years before.[1][2]

Tougher Than Leather
Studio album by Willie Nelson
Released	1983
Genre	Country
Length	33:40
Label	Columbia
Producer	Willie Nelson, Bee Spears
Willie Nelson chronology
The Winning Hand (1982) Tougher Than Leather (1983) Without a Song (1983)
Singles from Tougher Than Leather
"Little Old Fashioned Karma" Released: March 12, 1983

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]

Crispin Sartwell of Record panned the album, calling it "country music in name only." He elaborated that whereas Nelson's earlier songs were honest ballads about concrete situations which listeners could relate to, Tougher Than Leather is built around high-handed philosophical preaching. He also criticized the lack of variety in the music, describing it as "utterly bland and homogeneous."[2]

Track listing

All tracks composed by Willie Nelson, except where indicated

1. "My Love for the Rose" - 0:37
2. "Changing Skies" - 3:03
3. "Tougher Than Leather" - 4:53
4. "Little Old Fashioned Karma" - 3:18
5. "Somewhere in Texas (Part I)" - 0:53
6. "The Beer Barrel Polka" (Traditional, arranged and played by Bobbie Nelson) - 2:43
7. "Summer of Roses" - 3:12
8. "Somewhere in Texas (Part II)" - 0:55
9. "My Love for the Rose" - 0:37
10. "The Convict and the Rose" (Robert King, Ballard MacDonald) - 3:52
11. "Changing Skies" - 0:54
12. "I Am the Forest" - 4:17
13. "Nobody Slides, My Friend" - 1:39

Personnel

• Willie Nelson - guitar, arranger, vocals
• Grady Martin - guitar
• Jody Payne - guitar
• Bee Spears - bass guitar
• Paul English - drums
• Bobbie Nelson - piano
• Johnny Gimble - fiddle, mandolin
• Mickey Raphael - harmonica

Chart performance

Chart (1983)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Top Country Albums	4
U.S. Billboard 200	39
Canadian RPM Top Albums	48

References

1. Tougher Than Leather at AllMusic
2. Sartwell, Crispen (June 1983). "Tougher Than Leather review". Record. 2 (8): 24–25.