Tough All Over (2005) The music of California honky-tonker Gary Allan has always set itself apart with a dark, dreamy vibe and an edge of hypnotic danger. Yet Tough… Gary Allan Country
Music Review

Tough All Over (2005)

Gary Allan
Reviewed by Alanna Nash | Oct 17, 2005
EW's GRADE
A

Details Release Date: Oct 11, 2005; Lead Performance: Gary Allan; Genre: Country

The music of California honky-tonker Gary Allan has always set itself apart with a dark, dreamy vibe and an edge of hypnotic danger. Yet Tough All Over, which deals with his wife's 2004 suicide, plunges deeper. ''I Just Got Back From Hell'' is a swirl of anger and anguish. Still, the jangly pop of ''Ring'' buoys the mood, and Allan finds peace with the ballad ''Life Ain't Always Beautiful.'' Tough is a bold album of soul-piercing beauty.

Originally posted Oct 14, 2005 Published in issue #846 Oct 21, 2005 Order article reprints