The Way I Should

The Way I Should
Studio album by Iris DeMent
Released	October 8, 1996
Genre	Country Folk
Length	50:07
Label	Warner
Producer	Randy Scruggs
Iris DeMent chronology
My Life (1993)My Life1993 The Way I Should (1996) Lifeline (2004)Lifeline2004

The Way I Should is the third album released by singer-songwriter Iris DeMent. It peaked at number 22 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart.

Guests include guitarist Mark Knopfler and Delbert McClinton, who duets with DeMent on "Trouble".

The album was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album at the 40th Annual Grammy Awards.

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Chicago Tribune	[2]
Christgau's Consumer Guide	A[3]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[4]
Entertainment Weekly	A–[5]
Los Angeles Times	[6]
The New Rolling Stone Album Guide	[7]
Orlando Sentinel	[8]
Spin	4/10[9]

Track listing

All songs by Iris DeMent except as indicated.

1. "When My Mornin' Comes Around" – 3:49
2. "There's a Wall in Washington" – 5:19
3. "Wasteland of the Free" – 5:13
4. "I'll Take My Sorrow Straight" (DeMent, Elmer McCall) – 3:24
5. "This Kind of Happy" (DeMent, Merle Haggard) – 3:43
6. "The Way I Should" – 4:24
7. "Letter to Mom" – 3:15
8. "Keep Me God" – 3:46
9. "Quality Time" – 4:03
10. "Walkin' Home" – 5:39
11. "Trouble" (DeMent, McCall) – 7:32

Personnel

• Iris DeMent – vocals, guitar, piano
• Mark Knopfler – National guitar (track 6)
• Chuck Leavell – organ, piano, accordion
• Lonnie Mack - electric guitar (track 11)
• Brent Mason - electric guitar solo (track 5)
• Paul Franklin – steel guitar
• John Jennings – guitar, EBow, 6-string bass
• Bekka Bramlett – background vocals (track 3)
• Billy Burnette – background vocals (track 3)
• Melodie Crittenden – background vocals (tracks 6, 9)
• Delbert McClinton – harmonica, vocals (track 11)
• Dave Pomeroy – bass
• Tom Roady – tambourine
• Tammy Rogers – fiddle, mandolin, violin, cello, viola
• Harry Stinson – drums
• Russ Taff – background vocals (track 3)
• Earl Scruggs – banjo (track 9)
• Randy Scruggs – guitar
• Stuart Smith – guitar, slide guitar

Production notes

• Produced by Randy Scruggs
• Engineered and mixed by Chuck Ainlay
• Mastered by Denny Purcell
• Assistant Engineers – Chris Rua and Graham Lewis
• Photography by Debbie Spinelli and Rocky Schenck
• Art direction and design by Stephen Walker and Terry Robertson

References