What I Do
What I Do is the twelfth studio album by American country music artist Alan Jackson. It was released on September 7, 2004, and produced four singles for Jackson on the Hot Country Songs charts: "Too Much of a Good Thing" and "Monday Morning Church" both reached #5, while "The Talkin' Song Repair Blues" and "USA Today" both reached #18, making this album the first of Jackson's career not to produce any #1 hits.
| What I Do | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | September 7, 2004 | |||
| Genre | Country | |||
| Length | 44:42 | |||
| Label | Arista Nashville | |||
| Producer | Keith Stegall | |||
| Alan Jackson chronology | ||||
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| Singles from What I Do | ||||
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The Wrights, a duo composed of Adam and Shannon Wright (the former of whom is Jackson's nephew) are featured as background vocalists on "If Love Was a River", which they also co-wrote. Adam Wright also wrote the track "Strong Enough".
Critical reception
    
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating | 
| Metacritic | (80/100) [1] | 
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating | 
| Allmusic | |
| BBC Music | (favorable) [3] | 
| Blender | |
| Entertainment Weekly | B+ [4] | 
| Los Angeles Times | |
| The New York Times | (favorable) [5] | 
| People | |
| Robert Christgau | |
| Rolling Stone | |
| The Village Voice | (positiv) [9] | 
Giving the album all four stars, People magazine said on the album that Jackson "continues to sound more and more like Merle Haggard, which is tantamount to approaching perfection."[6]
Track listing
    
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length | 
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Too Much of a Good Thing" | Alan Jackson | 3:08 | 
| 2. | "Rainy Day in June" | Jackson | 4:40 | 
| 3. | "USA Today" | Jackson | 3:26 | 
| 4. | "If Love Was a River" (background vocals: The Wrights) | Adam Wright, Shannon Wright | 3:54 | 
| 5. | "If French Fries Were Fat Free" | Jackson | 4:16 | 
| 6. | "You Don't Have to Paint Me a Picture" | Jackson | 3:45 | 
| 7. | "There Ya Go" | Dan Hill, Keith Stegall | 3:13 | 
| 8. | "The Talkin' Song Repair Blues" | Dennis Linde | 2:58 | 
| 9. | "Strong Enough" | A. Wright | 4:04 | 
| 10. | "Monday Morning Church" (background vocals: Patty Loveless) | Brent Baxter, Erin Enderlin | 3:23 | 
| 11. | "Burnin' the Honky Tonks Down" (background vocals: Richard Sterban of The Oak Ridge Boys) | Billy Burnette, Shawn Camp | 4:53 | 
| 12. | "To Do What I Do" (Live) | Tim Johnson | 3:00 | 
Personnel
    
- Monty Allen – background vocals
 - Eddie Bayers – drums
 - Stuart Duncan – fiddle, mandolin
 - Mark Fain – bass guitar
 - Robbie Flint – steel guitar
 - Paul Franklin – steel guitar, lap steel guitar
 - Dave Gaylord – fiddle
 - Lloyd Green – steel guitar
 - Danny Groah – electric guitar
 - Alan Jackson – acoustic guitar, lead vocals, background vocals
 - Kirk "Jelly Roll" Johnson – harmonica
 - Dave Kelley – mandolin
 - Patty Loveless – background vocals on "Monday Morning Church"
 - Brent Mason – electric guitar, six-string bass guitar
 - Monty Parkey – piano
 - Hargus "Pig" Robbins – piano
 - Matt Rollings – piano
 - Bruce Rutherford – drums
 - Tom Rutledge – acoustic guitar
 - John Wesley Ryles – background vocals
 - Tony Stephens – acoustic guitar
 - Richard Sterban – background vocals on "Burnin' the Honky Tonks Down"
 - Bruce Watkins – acoustic guitar, banjo
 - Roger Wills – bass guitar
 - Glenn Worf – bass guitar
 - Adam Wright – background vocals on "If Love Was a River"
 - Shannon Wright – background vocals on "If Love Was a River"
 
Chart performance
    
What I Do debuted at #1 on the U.S. Billboard 200 selling 139,000 copies, becoming his third #1 album, and #1 on the Top Country Albums, becoming his seventh #1 country album. The album was certified Platinum by the RIAA in October 2004.
Weekly charts
    
| Chart (2004) | Peak position  | 
|---|---|
| Australian Albums (ARIA)[10] | 7 | 
| Canadian Albums (Billboard)[11] | 2 | 
| Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[12] | 10 | 
| US Billboard 200[13] | 1 | 
| US Top Country Albums (Billboard)[14] | 1 | 
Sales and Certifications
    
| Region | Provider | Certification | Sales/Shipments | 
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | RIAA | Platinum[18] | 1,000,000+ | 
References
    
- Critic reviews at Metacritic
 - What I Do at AllMusic
 - BBC Music review
 - Marino, Nick (September 17, 2004). "What I Do Review". Entertainment Weekly: 78. Retrieved April 26, 2013.
 - The New York Times review
 - Novak, Ralph (September 28, 2004). "Picks and Pans Review: Alan Jackson (What I Do)". People. 62 (12):51. Retrieved April 26, 2013.
 - Robert Christgau Consumer Guide
 -  "Rolling Stone review". Archived from the original on July 23, 2008. Retrieved February 3, 2008.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - The Village Voice review
 - "Australiancharts.com – Alan Jackson – What I Do". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 8, 2020.
 - "Alan Jackson Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved November 8, 2020.
 - "Norwegiancharts.com – Alan Jackson – What I Do". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 8, 2020.
 - "Alan Jackson Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved November 8, 2020.
 - "Alan Jackson Chart History (Top Country Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved November 8, 2020.
 - "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2004". Billboard. Retrieved November 8, 2020.
 - "Top Country Albums – Year-End 2004". Billboard. Retrieved November 8, 2020.
 - "Top Country Albums – Year-End 2005". Billboard. Retrieved November 8, 2020.
 - "Gold & Platinum - February 16, 2010". RIAA. Retrieved February 16, 2010.
 
