''Cheater's Game'' is a 2013 studio album by American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

ians

Bruce Robison Bruce Ben Robison (born June 11, 1966) is an American Texas country music singer-songwriter. Bruce and his brother, fellow singer-songwriter Charlie Robison, grew up in Bandera, Texas, near San Antonio. His self-titled debut album was released ...

and

Kelly Willis Kelly Diane Willis (born October 2, 1968) is an American country music singer-songwriter. Her music has been described as being new traditionalist and alternative country. Early life Born in Lawton, Oklahoma, Willis was the youngest of three ...

, released on Robison's Premium Records label. The work was the second of four recordings released by the couple and received positive reviews from critics and commercial success on several ''Billboard'' charts.

Reception

Editors at

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

rated this album 3.5 out of 5 stars, with critic Thom Jurek writing that the musicians' "organic, relaxed, unforced approach is deceptively high in performance skill, yet resonates with an emotional depth that rings true throughout". Jim Caligiuri of ''

The Austin Chronicle ''The Austin Chronicle'' is an alternative weekly newspaper published every Thursday in Austin, Texas, United States. The paper is distributed through free news-stands, often at local eateries or coffee houses frequented by its targeted demogra ...

'' rated this album 3.5 out of 5 stars, writing that the singers "prove themselves greater together than apart on ''Cheater's Game''". In '' No Depression'', Jim Moulton praised the singing and song selection but criticized the mixing as being too loud. Steve Horowitz of ''

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, ...

'' gave this release an 8 out of 10, stating that "the duo also have good taste in other people’s songs, which they make their own through their distinctive interpretations"; editors at the site named this the 10th best

Americana Americana may refer to: *Americana music, a genre or style of American music * Americana (culture), artifacts of the culture of the United States Film, radio and television * ''Americana'' (1981 film), an American drama film * ''Americana'' (20 ...

album of the year. In ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'', Jeff Wisser called ''Cheater's Game'' an album of "breezy harmonies, subtle shadings of acoustic sounds and Robison’s knowing story-songs blended with expertly chosen covers make for a winning country formula".

Track listing

#"Cheater's Game" ( Liz Foster,

, and

Savannah Welch Savannah Rose Welch (born August 4, 1984) is an American actress, musician and podcast host. She is best known for her work in the feature films '' Boyhood'', '' The Tree of Life'', the ABC series '' The Good Doctor'', and the History Channel d ...

) – 3:30 #"Border Radio" (

Dave Alvin David Albert Alvin (born November 11, 1955) is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist and producer. He is a former and founding member of the roots rock band the Blasters. Alvin has recorded and performed as a solo artist since the late 1980s ...

) – 2:50 #"We're All the Way" (

Don Williams Donald Ray Williams (May 27, 1939 – September 8, 2017) was an American country music singer, songwriter, and 2010 inductee into the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, Country Music Hall of Fame. He began his solo career in 1971, singing p ...

) – 3:48 #"Long Way Home" (

Hayes Carll Joshua Hayes Carll (born January 9, 1976), known professionally as Hayes Carll, is an American singer-songwriter. A native of Houston, Texas, his style of country, folk, and roots-oriented songwriting is noted for his plain-spoken poetry and se ...

) – 3:41 #"9,999,999 Tears" (

Razzy Bailey Rasie Michael Bailey (February 14, 1939 – August 4, 2021), better known as Razzy Bailey, was an American country music singer, songwriter and musician. In the early 1980s, he scored 5 No. 1s on the ''Billboard'' country music charts. Early l ...

) – 3:55 #"Leavin'" (Robison) – 2:51 #"But I Do" (

Jedd Hughes Jedd Hughes (born in Quorn, Australia) is an Australian singer, songwriter, session musician, and record producer. Early life Hughes grew up in Quorn, where he grew up listening to his father's country records. He won a local country music co ...

and Robison) – 3:29 #"No Kinda Dancer" (

Robert Earl Keen Robert Earl Keen (born January 11, 1956) is an American country singer and songwriter from Houston, Texas. Early life and education Keen was born and grew up in Houston, Texas. As a teenager, he was an avid reader who excelled in writing an ...

) – 3:24 #"Lifeline" (Robison) – 4:17 #"Ordinary Fool" (Robison) – 4:11 #"Born to Roll" ( Lawrence Shoberg) – 3:08 #"Waterfall" (Robison) – 3:02 #"Dreamin'" (Robison and Miles Zuniga) – 3:49

Personnel

– acoustic guitar, vocals *

– vocals, package concept *Mike Crowley – package concept *Fred Eltringham – drums on "Cheater's Game", "Border Radio", "We're All the Way", "Long Home Way", "9,999,999 Tears", "Lifeline", "Ordinary Fool", "Born to Roll", "Waterfall", and "Dreamin'" *Pete Finney – banjo on "Cheater's Game", "Border Radio", "We're All the Way", "Long Home Way", "9,999,999 Tears", "Lifeline", "Ordinary Fool", "Born to Roll", "Waterfall", and "Dreamin'";

steel guitar A steel guitar () is any guitar played while moving a steel bar or similar hard object against plucked strings. The bar itself is called a "steel" and is the source of the name "steel guitar". The instrument differs from a conventional guitar i ...

on "Cheater's Game", "Border Radio", "We're All the Way", "Long Home Way", "9,999,999 Tears", "Lifeline", "Ordinary Fool", "Born to Roll", "Waterfall", and "Dreamin'" *Mickey Grimm – percussion on "Leavin'", "But I Do", and "No Kinda Danger" *Cody Hamilton – photography *Dave Jacques – bass guitar on "Leavin'", "But I Do", and "No Kinda Danger"; tuba "Leavin'", "But I Do", and "No Kinda Danger" *Brad Jones – acoustic guitar, bass guitar on "We're All the Way", keyboards on "Leavin'", piano on "Leavin'", looping on "Leavin'", mixing;

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stat ...

*Fats Kaplan – fiddle on "Leavin'", "But I Do", and "No Kinda Danger"; accordion on "Leavin'", "But I Do", and "No Kinda Danger" *Chris Kro – graphic design, illustrations *Eamon McLaughlin – cello on "Cheater's Game", "Border Radio", "We're All the Way", "Long Home Way", "Lifeline", "Ordinary Fool", "Born to Roll", "Waterfall", and "Dreamin'"; fiddle on "Cheater's Game","Border Radio", "We're All the Way", "Long Home Way", "Lifeline", "Ordinary Fool", "Born to Roll", "Waterfall", and "Dreamin'"; mandolin on "Cheater's Game", "Border Radio", "We're All the Way", "Long Home Way", "Lifeline", "Ordinary Fool", "Born to Roll", "Ordinary Fool", "Born to Roll", "Waterfall", and "Dreamin'" *Al Perkins – steel guitar on "Leavin'", "But I Do", and "No Kinda Danger" *Lex Price – bass guitar on "Cheater's Game", "Long Home Way", "9,999,999 Tears", "Lifeline", "Ordinary Fool", "Born to Roll", "Waterfall", and "Dreamin'" *Chris Scruggs – drums on "Leavin'", "But I Do", and "No Kinda Danger" *Yes Master –

audio mastering Mastering is a form of audio post production which is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device called a master recording, the source from which all copies will ...

Chart performance

''Cheater's Game'' placed on several ''Billboard'' charts: reaching 29 on the

Top Country Albums Top Country Albums is a chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine in the United States. The 50-position chart lists the most popular country music albums in the country, calculated weekly by Broadcast Data Systems based on physical sales ...

, 3 on

Top Heatseekers The Heatseekers charts were "Breaking and Entering" music charts issued weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. The Heatseekers Albums and the Heatseekers Songs charts were introduced by ''Billboard'' in 1991 with the purpose of highlighting the sales b ...

, and 31 on

Independent Albums The Independent Albums chart (previously titled Top Independent Albums) ranks the highest-selling independent music albums and extended plays (EPs) in the United States, as compiled by Nielsen SoundScan and published weekly by '' Billboard'' mag ...

References

External links