Personnel: Collin Raye (vocals); Biff Watson, Paul Worley (acoustic guitar); Dan Dugmore, Larry Byrom (electric guitar); Paul Franklin (steel guitar); Rob Hajacos (fiddle); Carl Gorodetzky and the Nashville String Machine (strings); John Hobbs (piano, synthesizer, background vocals); Joe Chermay (bass, background vocals); Eddie Bayers, Lonnie Wilson, Paul Leim (drums), Gene Le Sage, Scotty Wray, Sammy Wray, John Wesley Ryles, Curtis Young, Anthony Martin, Dennis Wilson (background vocals).
Producers: Ed Seay, Paul Worley, John Hobbs.
Recorded at the Money Pit and Javelina Recording Studios, Nashville, Tennessee.
Personnel: Collin Raye (vocals, background vocals); Biff Watson (acoustic guitar); Billy Joe Walker, Jr., Larry Byrom, Paul Worley, Billy Joe Walker (electric guitar); Dan Dugmore (steel guitar, lap steel guitar, fiddle); Paul Franklin (steel guitar); Rob Hajacos (fiddle); Robert Charles, The Nashville String Machine, Carl Gorodetzky (strings); John Hobbs (piano, synthesizer, background vocals); Lonnie Wilson, Eddie Bayers, Paul Leim (drums); Curtis Young, Sammy Wray, Joe Chernay, Scotty Wray, John Wesley Ryles, Anthony Martin, Dennis Wilson (background vocals).
Collin Raye is considered one of Nashville's top balladeers, so its a sure sign when listening to the rousing Lee Roy Parnell-penned opening track--the faux-repenting "That's My Story"--that this album will be true to its title. Covering the EXTREMES of country music, from traditional heart-melting ballads ("I'll always love you, I'm a man of my word...") to greasy R&B-tinged country rockers ("I said `how 'bout some music,' you said 'you got any Merle?'/That's when I knew you were my kind of girl"), this album has much to offer.
EXTREMES employs R&B choruses, swaggering horn lines, fiddle, and steel guitar--that's quite a collection. The themes cover the range of everyday experience. Collin stretches as a vocalist, offering some of the best singing of his career. "If I Were You" sounds like it was culled from a Vince Gill album. And in a field where most artists hope for one signature song, Raye adds another to his already-brimming treasure chest: The powerful, poetic ballad "Little Rock," which deals with alcoholism and attempts at sobriety, can now be added to the list of Collin classics like "Love, Me" and "That Was A River."
Professional Reviews
Stereo Review (7/94, p.84) - Performance: Not Extreme, But Not Tame / Recording: Very Good - "...an across-the-board mainstream country performer, as at home with full-tilt, Fifties-style rockers as with ballads. Now, on EXTREMES, he shows he's not afraid to experiment with songs that push the envelope a tad as well...."
