Always Never the Same (George Strait album)

Always Never the Same is the nineteenth studio album released on March 2, 1999, by American country music singer George Strait. The album produced the singles "Meanwhile", "Write This Down", and "What Do You Say to That", which respectively reached #4, #1, and #4 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks (now Hot Country Songs) charts in 1999. The title track, "One of You" and "I Look at You" also charted in the lower regions of that chart from unsolicited airplay.

Always Never the Same
Studio album by George Strait
Released	March 2, 1999
Recorded	1998–1999
Studio	Ocean Way and Sound Stage Studios (Nashville, Tennessee).
Genre	Neotraditional country[1]
Length	32:00
Label	MCA Nashville
Producer	Tony Brown George Strait
George Strait chronology
One Step at a Time (1998) Always Never the Same (1999) Merry Christmas Wherever You Are (1999)
Singles from Always Never the Same
"Meanwhile" Released: January 4, 1999 "Write This Down" Released: March 18, 1999 "What Do You Say to That" Released: July 26, 1999

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Entertainment Weekly	B+ [2]
Q	[3]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Meanwhile"	Wayland Holyfield, J. Fred Knobloch	3:31
2.	"Write This Down"	Dana Hunt Black, Kent Robbins	3:39
3.	"That's the Truth"	Steve Leslie, Melba Montgomery	3:19
4.	"What Do You Say to That"	Jim Lauderdale, Montgomery	3:00
5.	"Peace of Mind"	Aaron Barker, Dean Dillon	3:13
6.	"That's Where I Wanna Take Our Love"	Hank Cochran, Dillon	3:14
7.	"Always Never the Same"	Marv Green, Terry McBride	2:58
8.	"One of You"	Kostas, Lauderdale	2:30
9.	"I Look at You"	Steve Bogard, Jeff Stevens	3:28
10.	"4 Minus 3 Equals Zero"	Lonnie Williams	3:08

Personnel

As listed in liner notes.^[4]

Musicians

• George Strait – lead vocals
• Steve Nathan – acoustic piano, Wurlitzer electric piano
• Steve Gibson – electric guitars, acoustic guitar
• Brent Mason – electric guitars, acoustic guitar
• Randy Scruggs – acoustic guitar (1, 4)
• Paul Franklin – steel guitar
• Glenn Worf – bass guitar
• Eddie Bayers – drums
• Stuart Duncan – fiddle
• Nashville String Machine – strings
• Bergen White – string arrangements and conductor
• Liana Manis – backing vocals
• Curtis Young – backing vocals

Production

• Tony Brown – producer
• George Strait – producer
• Chuck Ainlay – recording
• Mark Ralston – second engineer
• Russ Martin – overdubs
• Justin Niebank – overdubs
• Tony Green – second overdub engineer
• Tim Waters – second overdub engineer
• Don Cobb – digital editing
• Carlos Grier – digital editing
• Denny Purcell – mastering
• Georgetown Masters (Nashville, TN) – editing and mastering location
• Jessie Noble – project coordinator
• Erv Woolsey – management

Design

• Virginia Team – art direction
• Chris Ferrara – design
• Kevin Cruff – photography
• Mark Tucker – photography

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1999) Peak position Canadian Albums (RPM) 73 Canadian Country Albums (RPM) 2 US Billboard 200[5] 6 US Top Country Albums (Billboard)[6] 2

Year-end charts Chart (1999) Position US Billboard 200[7] 105 US Top Country Albums (Billboard)[8] 10

References

1. Always Never the Same at AllMusic
2. Entertainment Weekly review
3. Album reviews at CD Universe
4. Always Never the Same (CD). George Strait. MCA Records. 1999. 70050.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
5. "George Strait Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
6. "George Strait Chart History (Top Country Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
7. "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1999". Billboard. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
8. "Top Country Albums – Year-End 1999". Billboard. Retrieved May 31, 2021.