The album was co-produced with Jack Clement and recorded at Glaser Sound Studios in Nashville, Tennessee, between February and July 1974.

He changed his image to reflect the emerging outlaw movement which himself and other like-minded artists were driving in rebellion against the powerful and controlling Nashville recording establishment.

Jennings recorded the critically acclaimed Lonesome, On'ry and Mean and Honky Tonk Heroes, and the commercial success This Time.

It was certified gold by the RIAA and Jennings won the Male Vocalist of the Year Country Music Association award.

The same year he released the critically acclaimed album Honky Tonk Heroes, composed mainly of songs by then unknown songwriter Billy Joe Shaver.

[5] In a September 1973 interview with The Tennessean, Neil Reshen said RCA Records had violated Jennings' contract and talked about the possibility of signing the singer to another label.

"[11] Co-producing with Jack Clement, Jennings was backed by session musicians and his band members; drummer Richie Albright, bassist Duke Goff and steel-guitarist Ralph Mooney.

They decided to use the original on the album, and this explains the abrupt fade at the end of the song - to cover up Jennings storming out of the studio.

During breaks from the Midnight Jamboree, moving from Tubb's Record Shop to the air-conditioned bus, the musicians would ask if "Hank done it this way".

[15] In the book Outlaw: Waylon, Willie, Kris, and the Renegades of Nashville, Clement told author Michael Streissguth, "That was one of the key tracks.

In his autobiography Jennings recalls, "I felt chills all over me the first time I heard Hank Williams sing 'Lost Highway.'

"[17] Clement provided backing vocals to his original composition "Let's All Help the Cowboys (Sing the Blues)" and Autry Inman's "She's Looking Good".

The liner notes, that stated that "the human voice is the only instrument that manages to give a glimpse of [Jennings'] soul", were written by Neil Diamond.

[22] The 2001 reissue features the bonus tracks "All Around Cowboy" and Billy Joe Shaver's "Ride Me Down Easy" from the film Mackintosh and T.J. starring Roy Rogers.

The review said "...the show belongs to Jennings' powerfully distinctive voice and the excellent production of the artist and Jack Clement."

It called the recordings a "solid mix of ballad and rockers, some straight country and lots that cannot be classified," and said Jennings is "one of the few artists whose voice is immediately recognizable.