Mark Wills is the debut studio album by American country music singer Mark Wills. Released in 1996 on Mercury Nashville Records, the album produced three hit singles on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks (now Hot Country Songs) charts: "Jacob's Ladder", "High Low and In Between", and "Places I've Never Been", which peaked at #6, #33, and #5, respectively. The album itself reached a peak of #38 on the Billboard Top Country Albums charts. "Look Where She Is Today" was previously cut by Doug Stone on his 1995 album Faith in Me, Faith in You. And "Ace of Hearts" was previously cut by Alan Jackson on his 1990 debut album Here in the Real World.

Mark Wills
Studio album by
ReleasedJune 11, 1996
GenreCountry
Length38:55
LabelMercury Nashville
ProducerCarson Chamberlain
Keith Stegall
Mark Wills chronology
Mark Wills
(1996)
Wish You Were Here
(1998)
Singles from Mark Wills
  1. "Jacob's Ladder"
    Released: May 27, 1996
  2. "High Low and In Between"
    Released: October 1996
  3. "Places I've Never Been"
    Released: February 17, 1997

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Entertainment WeeklyB+[1]
Country Standard Timenegative[2]

Alanna Nash of Entertainment Weekly rated the album "B+", stating in her review that the album "is full of rambunctious good-time songs teeming with sly wit and bittersweet ballads — all in a baritone that throbs with emotion."[1] Jeffrey B. Remz of Country Standard Time was largely unfavorable, praising "High Low and In Between" but otherwise saying that Wills "recalls David Lee Murphy vocally, but sings a bit too effortlessly throughout, never sounding all that convincing as if he's lived the songs". He also described the album as "competent, but never rising above".[2]

Track listing

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No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."High Low and In Between"Harley Campbell, David Kent3:16
2."Jacob's Ladder"Brenda Sweat, Cal Sweat, Tony Martin3:05
3."What's Not to Love"Trey Bruce, Max T. Barnes3:29
4."Any Fool Can Say Goodbye"Tim Mensy, Gary Harrison3:02
5."Ace of Hearts"Lonnie Wilson, Carson Chamberlain, Ron Moore3:02
6."Leavin' Comin' On"Skip Ewing, Jerry Kilgore3:42
7."Sudden Stop"Pat Bunch, Doug Johnson2:28
8."I Wonder If He Knows"Mensy, Roger Springer3:19
9."Places I've Never Been"Aimee Mayo, Reese Wilson, Martin3:25
10."Squeeze Box"Monty Criswell, Michael White3:35
11."What Love Is"Karen Taylor-Good, Roberta Schiller2:58
12."Look Where She Is Today"Billy Spencer, Ed Hill3:24

Personnel

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Production

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  • Produced By Carson Chamberlain & Keith Stegall
  • Engineers: John Kelton, Steve Lowery
  • Assistant Engineers: Steve Lowery, Paula Montondo
  • Mixing: John Kelton
  • Mastering: Hank Williams

Chart performance

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Chart (1996) Peak
position
U.S. Billboard Top Country Albums 38
U.S. Billboard Top Heatseekers 26

References

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  1. ^ a b Nash, Alanna (June 21, 1996). "Mark Wills review". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on April 27, 2009. Retrieved 7 April 2017.
  2. ^ a b Remz, Jeffrey B. "Mark Wills review". Country Standard Time. Retrieved 7 April 2017.