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| cover = Highwaymen2.jpg
| cover = Highwaymen2.jpg
| alt =
| alt =
| released = {{Start date|1990|2|9}}
| released = {{Start date|1990|2|27}}
| recorded = March 6–9, 1989
| recorded = March 6–9, 1989
| venue =
| venue =
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| name = Highwayman 2
| name = Highwayman 2
| type = studio
| type = studio
| single1 = Silver Stallion
| single1 = [[Silver Stallion (song)|Silver Stallion]]" / "[[American Remains]]
| single1date = January 1990
| single1date = January 1990
| single2 = Born and Raised in Black and White
| single2 = [[Born and Raised in Black and White]]
| single2date = May 1990
| single2date = May 1990
| single3 = American Remains
| single3 = [[American Remains]]
| single3date = September 1990
| single3date = September 1990
}}}}
}}}}
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==Background==
==Background==
In the years since the first Highwaymen album, a new crop of younger stars, such as [[Randy Travis]], [[Steve Earle]], and [[Dwight Yoakam]] had emerged, and country radio shifted its focus accordingly. By 1989, only Nelson remained a commercial presence, having topped the charts with "Nothing I Can Do About It Now” and scored a Top 10 hit with “There You Are.” Cash's 1988 album, ''Classic Cash: Hall of Fame Series'', was a collection of old hits that was lambasted for its slick 80s instrumentation, including synthesizers, and his most recent LP, ''Boom Chicka Boom'', released around the same time as ''Highwaymen 2'', didn't even chart. Jennings’ previous album, 1988's ''Full Circle'', peaked at number 37, and Kristofferson's 1986 recording, the overtly political ''Repossessed'', also produced by Moman, stalled at number 31. With the massive success of the first Highwaymen album, and the fading interest from country radio, it made sense for the four legends to reform for an album and tour.
In the years since the first Highwaymen album, a new crop of younger stars, such as [[Randy Travis]], [[Steve Earle]], and [[Dwight Yoakam]] had emerged, and country radio shifted its focus accordingly. By 1989, only Nelson remained a commercial presence, having topped the charts with "[[Nothing I Can Do About It Now]]” and scored a Top 10 hit with “[[There You Are (Willie Nelson song)|There You Are]].” Cash's 1988 album, ''[[Classic Cash: Hall of Fame Series]]'', was a collection of old hits that was lambasted for its slick 80s instrumentation, including synthesizers, and his most recent LP, ''[[Boom Chicka Boom]]'', released around the same time as ''Highwaymen 2'', didn't even chart. Jennings’ previous album, 1988's ''[[Full Circle (Waylon Jennings album)|Full Circle]]'', peaked at number 37, and Kristofferson's 1986 recording, the overtly political ''[[Repossessed (album)|Repossessed]]'', also produced by Moman, stalled at number 31. With the massive success of the first Highwaymen album, and the fading interest from country radio, it made sense for the four legends to reform for an album and tour.


==Recording & tour==
==Recording and tour==
[[Chips Moman]] again resumed production duties for the second Highwaymen album. Moman, who had enjoyed tremendous success recording Nelson throughout the eighties, gave the album a contemporary sound for the time, although it may not have aged well; [[AllMusic]] contends the album “suffers from an overall homogenous and dated 1980s studio sound.” Kristofferson biographer Stephen Miller notes, “Moman produced in such a fashion – prominent drums, electric guitars, and organs – as to bring rock values to songs that, with a different approach, could just as easily have been pure country.”{{sfn|Miller, Stephen|p=202|2008}}
[[Chips Moman]] again resumed production duties for the second Highwaymen album. Moman, who had enjoyed tremendous success recording Nelson throughout the eighties, gave the album a contemporary sound for the time, although it may not have aged well; [[AllMusic]] contends the album "suffers from an overall homogenous and dated 1980s studio sound." Kristofferson biographer Stephen Miller notes, "Moman produced in such a fashion – prominent drums, electric guitars, and organs – as to bring rock values to songs that, with a different approach, could just as easily have been pure country."<ref name=miller>{{Cite book|title = Kristofferson: The Wild American|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=FILwohIvXCMC |publisher = Omnibus Press| year = 2009|isbn = 9780857121097|first = Stephen|last = Miller |pages=202–203}}</ref>


“Silver Stallion” was released as the first single from the album (with an accompanying music video) and reached number 25 on the charts. The album did better, rising to number 4, but it was not the success the first Highwaymen album was. Unlike that LP, there were more writing contributions from the members, with Nelson and Kristofferson providing two songs, Cash offering one, and Jennings bringing in a song he co-wrote with Roger Murrah. (Kristofferson's two contributions were recycled from previous albums: “Anthem ’84” from 1986's ''Repossessed'' and “Living Legend” from 1978's ''Easter Island''.)
"[[Silver Stallion (song)|Silver Stallion]]" was released as the first single from the album (with an accompanying music video) and reached number 25 on the charts. The album did better, rising to number 4, but it was not the success the first Highwaymen album was. Unlike that LP, there were more writing contributions from the members, with Nelson and Kristofferson providing two songs, Cash offering one, and Jennings bringing in a song he co-wrote with Roger Murrah. (Kristofferson's two contributions were recycled from previous albums: “Anthem ’84” from 1986's ''Repossessed'' and “Living Legend” from 1978's ''Easter Island''.)


The Highwaymen tour to promote the album was a success, playing to over 55,000 fans at the opening gig at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, and the rest of the tour attracted near sell-out audiences despite Cash suffering from a broken jaw.{{sfn|Miller, Stephen|p=202|2008}} There were rumours of clashing egos and flare-ups, in part fuelled by Kristofferson's penchant for sounding off on his political views and opposition to American foreign policy. While Kristofferson was honoured to be among The Highwaymen's ranks, he didn't shy away from expressing his political views on occasion – even though this risked displeasing the audience, not to mention members of the band and crew who reputedly held up signs saying, “That doesn’t go for me.”{{sfn|Miller, Stephen|p=203|2008}} It rankled Jennings in particular, who revealed in the A&E's Kristofferson episode of ''Biography'', “We came very close a couple of time to punching it out. I didn’t say he was all wrong, the main thing I was sayin’ was he shouldn't’ve been doin’ it onstage, especially with three other people on there who didn't share all of his thoughts.” In his 2015 autobiography ''My Life'', Nelson dismisses the idea of rancour, writing “Rumours spread that Waylon, Johnny, Kris, and I were having ego problems and fighting like cats an dogs. The rumours were bullshit. We saw it as one nonstop transcontinental party…I don’t mean that we didn’t get a little cranky from time to time…For the most part, though, it was smooth sailing.”{{sfn|nelson, Willie, Ritz, David|p=202|2015}}
The Highwaymen tour to promote the album was a success, playing to over 55,000 fans at the opening gig at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, and the rest of the tour attracted near sell-out audiences despite Cash suffering from a broken jaw.<ref name=miller/> There were rumours of clashing egos and flare-ups, in part fuelled by Kristofferson's penchant for sounding off on his political views and opposition to American foreign policy. While Kristofferson was honoured to be among The Highwaymen's ranks, he didn't shy away from expressing his political views on occasion – even though this risked displeasing the audience, not to mention members of the band and crew who reputedly held up signs saying, “That doesn’t go for me.”<ref name=miller/> It rankled Jennings in particular, who revealed in the A&E's Kristofferson episode of ''Biography'', “We came very close a couple of time to punching it out. I didn’t say he was all wrong, the main thing I was sayin’ was he shouldn't’ve been doin’ it onstage, especially with three other people on there who didn't share all of his thoughts.” In his 2015 autobiography ''My Life'', Nelson dismisses the idea of rancour, writing “Rumours spread that Waylon, Johnny, Kris, and I were having ego problems and fighting like cats an dogs. The rumours were bullshit. We saw it as one nonstop transcontinental party…I don’t mean that we didn’t get a little cranky from time to time…For the most part, though, it was smooth sailing.”<ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/itslongstorymyli0000nels |url-access=registration |first1=Willie |last1=Nelson |first2= David |last2=Ritz |date= 2015|title= It's A Long Story: My Life|publisher= Little, Brown and Company| isbn= 9780316339315 |page=[https://archive.org/details/itslongstorymyli0000nels/page/202 202]}}</ref>


==Reception==
==Reception==
''Highwaymen 2'' spent 40 weeks on the country chart, peaking at number 4. AllMusic: “Country music's version of the [[Traveling Wilburys]], the Highwaymen's second album clocks in at just under a mere 33 minutes and covers little new territory for the group of country legends. Sadly, of the ten tracks, only six were penned by any of the members…Overall, Highwayman 2 features a decent set of rather uneventful songs, but only the most dedicated fan will find this album a necessity.”
''Highwayman 2'' spent 40 weeks on the country chart, peaking at number 4. AllMusic: “Country music's version of the [[Traveling Wilburys]], the Highwaymen's second album clocks in at just under a mere 33 minutes and covers little new territory for the group of country legends. Sadly, of the ten tracks, only six were penned by any of the members…Overall, Highwayman 2 features a decent set of rather uneventful songs, but only the most dedicated fan will find this album a necessity.”


==Track listing==
==Track listing==
{{track listing |title1 = Silver Stallion |writer1 = [[Lee Clayton]] |length1 = 3:12
{{track listing |title1 = [[Silver Stallion (song)|Silver Stallion]] |writer1 = [[Lee Clayton (musician)|Lee Clayton]] |length1 = 3:12
|title2 = Born and Raised in Black and White |writer2 = [[Don Cook]], [[John Barlow Jarvis]] |length2 = 4:01
|title2 = [[Born and Raised in Black and White]] |writer2 = [[Don Cook]], [[John Barlow Jarvis]] |length2 = 4:01
|title3 = Two Stories Wide |writer3 = [[Willie Nelson]] |length3 = 2:35
|title3 = Two Stories Wide |writer3 = [[Willie Nelson]] |length3 = 2:35
|title4 = We're All in Your Corner |writer4 = [[Bobby Emmons]], [[Troy Seals]] |length4 = 3:04
|title4 = We're All in Your Corner |writer4 = [[Bobby Emmons]], [[Troy Seals]] |length4 = 3:04
|title5 = American Remains |writer5 = [[Rivers Rutherford]] |length5 = 4:07
|title5 = [[American Remains]] |writer5 = [[Rivers Rutherford]] |length5 = 4:07
|title6 = Anthem '84 |writer6 = [[Kris Kristofferson]] |length6 = 2:43
|title6 = Anthem '84 |writer6 = [[Kris Kristofferson]] |length6 = 2:43
|title7 = Angels Love Bad Men |writer7 = [[Waylon Jennings]], [[Roger Murrah]] |length7 = 3:33
|title7 = Angels Love Bad Men |writer7 = [[Waylon Jennings]], [[Roger Murrah]] |length7 = 3:33
Line 74: Line 74:
*Kris Kristofferson - vocals
*Kris Kristofferson - vocals
*[[Gene Chrisman]] - drums
*[[Gene Chrisman]] - drums
*Mike Leech - bass
*[[Mike Leech]] - bass
*[[Reggie Young]], Johnny Christopher, [[Chips Moman]], [[Shawn Lane]] - guitar
*[[Reggie Young]], Johnny Christopher, [[Chips Moman]], [[Shawn Lane]] - guitar
*[[Bobby Emmons]], Bobby Wood - keyboards
*[[Bobby Emmons]], Bobby Wood - keyboards
Line 90: Line 90:
*Art Direction by: Bill Johnson and Rollow Welch
*Art Direction by: Bill Johnson and Rollow Welch
*Photography by: Jim McGuire
*Photography by: Jim McGuire

==Charts==
{{col-start}}
{{col-2}}

===Weekly charts===
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|-
! scope="col"| Chart (1990–1991)
! scope="col"| Peak<br />position
|-
{{album chart|Australia|9|artist=Waylon Jennings / Willie Nelson / Johnny Cash / Kris Kristofferson|album=Highwayman 2|rowheader=true|accessdate=June 5, 2021}}
|-
{{album chart|Billboard200|79|artist=Kris Kristofferson|rowheader=true|accessdate=June 5, 2021}}
|-
{{album chart|BillboardCountry|4|artist=Kris Kristofferson|rowheader=true|accessdate=June 5, 2021}}
|}
{{col-2}}

===Year-end charts===
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|-
! scope="col"| Chart (1990)
! scope="col"| Position
|-
! scope="row"| US Top Country Albums (''Billboard'')<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.billboard.com/charts/year-end/1990/top-country-albums|title=Top Country Albums – Year-End 1990|magazine=Billboard|date=2 January 2013|accessdate=June 5, 2021|archive-date=September 6, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150906023805/https://www.billboard.com/charts/year-end/1990/top-country-albums|url-status=live}}</ref>
| 26
|}
{{col-end}}

==Certifications==
{{certification Table Top}}
{{Certification Table Entry|title= The Highwaymen 2|artist=The Highwaymen|type=album|relyear=1991|certyear=1992|region=Australia|award=Platinum|access-date=27 November 2021}}
{{Certification Table Bottom|nosales=true}}


==References==
==References==
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[[Category:Albums produced by Chips Moman]]
[[Category:Albums produced by Chips Moman]]
[[Category:The Highwaymen (country supergroup) albums]]
[[Category:The Highwaymen (country supergroup) albums]]
[[Category:Waylon Jennings albums]]
[[Category:Willie Nelson albums]]

Latest revision as of 16:55, 28 July 2023

Highwayman 2
Studio album by
The Highwaymen
ReleasedFebruary 27, 1990 (1990-02-27)
RecordedMarch 6–9, 1989
GenreCountry
Length32:48
LabelColumbia Nashville
ProducerChips Moman
The Highwaymen chronology
Highwayman
(1985) 		Highwayman 2
(1990) 		The Road Goes on Forever
(1995)
Johnny Cash chronology
Boom Chicka Boom
(1990) 		Highwayman 2
(1990) 		The Man in Black 1954-1958
(1990)
Singles from Highwayman 2
  1. "Silver Stallion" / "American Remains"
    Released: January 1990
  2. "Born and Raised in Black and White"
    Released: May 1990
  3. "American Remains"
    Released: September 1990
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]

Highwayman 2 is the second studio album released by American country supergroup The Highwaymen. This album was released in 1990 on the Columbia Records label. Johnny Cash had left Columbia several years earlier, making this a "homecoming", and ultimately his final work for Columbia as the next Highwaymen album would be issued on another label.

Background[edit]

In the years since the first Highwaymen album, a new crop of younger stars, such as Randy Travis, Steve Earle, and Dwight Yoakam had emerged, and country radio shifted its focus accordingly. By 1989, only Nelson remained a commercial presence, having topped the charts with "Nothing I Can Do About It Now” and scored a Top 10 hit with “There You Are.” Cash's 1988 album, Classic Cash: Hall of Fame Series, was a collection of old hits that was lambasted for its slick 80s instrumentation, including synthesizers, and his most recent LP, Boom Chicka Boom, released around the same time as Highwaymen 2, didn't even chart. Jennings’ previous album, 1988's Full Circle, peaked at number 37, and Kristofferson's 1986 recording, the overtly political Repossessed, also produced by Moman, stalled at number 31. With the massive success of the first Highwaymen album, and the fading interest from country radio, it made sense for the four legends to reform for an album and tour.

Recording and tour[edit]

Chips Moman again resumed production duties for the second Highwaymen album. Moman, who had enjoyed tremendous success recording Nelson throughout the eighties, gave the album a contemporary sound for the time, although it may not have aged well; AllMusic contends the album "suffers from an overall homogenous and dated 1980s studio sound." Kristofferson biographer Stephen Miller notes, "Moman produced in such a fashion – prominent drums, electric guitars, and organs – as to bring rock values to songs that, with a different approach, could just as easily have been pure country."[2]

"Silver Stallion" was released as the first single from the album (with an accompanying music video) and reached number 25 on the charts. The album did better, rising to number 4, but it was not the success the first Highwaymen album was. Unlike that LP, there were more writing contributions from the members, with Nelson and Kristofferson providing two songs, Cash offering one, and Jennings bringing in a song he co-wrote with Roger Murrah. (Kristofferson's two contributions were recycled from previous albums: “Anthem ’84” from 1986's Repossessed and “Living Legend” from 1978's Easter Island.)

The Highwaymen tour to promote the album was a success, playing to over 55,000 fans at the opening gig at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, and the rest of the tour attracted near sell-out audiences despite Cash suffering from a broken jaw.[2] There were rumours of clashing egos and flare-ups, in part fuelled by Kristofferson's penchant for sounding off on his political views and opposition to American foreign policy. While Kristofferson was honoured to be among The Highwaymen's ranks, he didn't shy away from expressing his political views on occasion – even though this risked displeasing the audience, not to mention members of the band and crew who reputedly held up signs saying, “That doesn’t go for me.”[2] It rankled Jennings in particular, who revealed in the A&E's Kristofferson episode of Biography, “We came very close a couple of time to punching it out. I didn’t say he was all wrong, the main thing I was sayin’ was he shouldn't’ve been doin’ it onstage, especially with three other people on there who didn't share all of his thoughts.” In his 2015 autobiography My Life, Nelson dismisses the idea of rancour, writing “Rumours spread that Waylon, Johnny, Kris, and I were having ego problems and fighting like cats an dogs. The rumours were bullshit. We saw it as one nonstop transcontinental party…I don’t mean that we didn’t get a little cranky from time to time…For the most part, though, it was smooth sailing.”[3]

Reception[edit]

Highwayman 2 spent 40 weeks on the country chart, peaking at number 4. AllMusic: “Country music's version of the Traveling Wilburys, the Highwaymen's second album clocks in at just under a mere 33 minutes and covers little new territory for the group of country legends. Sadly, of the ten tracks, only six were penned by any of the members…Overall, Highwayman 2 features a decent set of rather uneventful songs, but only the most dedicated fan will find this album a necessity.”

Track listing[edit]

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Silver Stallion"Lee Clayton3:12
2."Born and Raised in Black and White"Don Cook, John Barlow Jarvis4:01
3."Two Stories Wide"Willie Nelson2:35
4."We're All in Your Corner"Bobby Emmons, Troy Seals3:04
5."American Remains"Rivers Rutherford4:07
6."Anthem '84"Kris Kristofferson2:43
7."Angels Love Bad Men"Waylon Jennings, Roger Murrah3:33
8."Songs That Make a Difference"Johnny Cash2:55
9."Living Legend"Kristofferson3:59
10."Texas"Nelson2:39

Personnel[edit]

Additional personnel[edit]

  • Produced by: Chips Moman
  • Recorded at Emerald Sound Studio, Nashville, TN, Three Alarm Recording Studio, Memphis, TN, and Pedernales Recording Studio, Speicewood, TX
  • Mixed at 3-Alarms Recording Studio, Memphis, TN
  • Engineers: Chips Moman and David Cherry
  • Assistant Engineers: David Parker, Larry Greenhill, Howard Irving, Skip McQuinn, David Edney, and Eric Paul
  • Additional Overdubs: Bobby Emmons, Chips Moman, Rivers Rutherford, Robbie Turner, Jack Powell, David Edney and Johnny Barringer
  • Mastered by: Denny Purcell of Georgetown Masters, Nashville, TN
  • Art Direction by: Bill Johnson and Rollow Welch
  • Photography by: Jim McGuire

Charts[edit]

Certifications[edit]

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[8] Platinum 70,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References[edit]

  1. ^ Highwayman 2 at AllMusic
  2. ^ a b c Miller, Stephen (2009). Kristofferson: The Wild American. Omnibus Press. pp. 202–203. ISBN 9780857121097.
  3. ^ Nelson, Willie; Ritz, David (2015). It's A Long Story: My Life. Little, Brown and Company. p. 202. ISBN 9780316339315.
  4. ^ "Australiancharts.com – Waylon Jennings / Willie Nelson / Johnny Cash / Kris Kristofferson – Highwayman 2". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 5, 2021.
  5. ^ "Kris Kristofferson Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved June 5, 2021.
  6. ^ "Kris Kristofferson Chart History (Top Country Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved June 5, 2021.
  7. ^ "Top Country Albums – Year-End 1990". Billboard. 2 January 2013. Archived from the original on September 6, 2015. Retrieved June 5, 2021.
  8. ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 1992 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 27 November 2021.

External links[edit]

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Highwayman_2&oldid=1167582851"