Ballads of the Broken

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]

A staff review on AllMusic called it "short and surprising" due to the "evolution" in Jelly Roll's sound and his taking "a different stylistic approach than his usual countrified rap on almost every track, going from country-adjacent hooks [on] 'Son of a Sinner' to eerie, remorse-filled pop tunes [on] 'Over You'." The review also highlighted Jelly Roll's "soulful vocals and the twangy backing [as] the main points of interest here", and felt that to longtime fans, the slight shift in his sound "shouldn't be too much of a jolt" after Self Medicated (2020).[1]

Musicians

• Jelly Roll – vocals
• Jayden Panesso – additional programming
• Shannon Forrest – drums
• Justin Abraham – drums
• Cole Clark – drums
• Craig Young – bass guitar
• Rob McNelley – electric guitar
• Gabe Baker – cello
• Ilya Toshinskiy – acoustic guitar, electric slide guitar
• Stu Stapleton – additional keyboards
• Jack Fowler – additional guitar
• David Ray Stevens – additional vocals
• Michael Whitworth – additional vocals

Technical

• Andrew Baylis – production (1, 2, 4–10), mixing (9, 10), engineering (all tracks)
• Ernest K. – production (3, 10)
• Ilya Toshinskiy – production (3), additional engineering (all tracks)
• David Ray Stevens – production (9); additional production, engineering (all tracks)
• Eric "Wee Wee" Flemming – additional production
• Joe LaPorta – mastering (1–6, 8–10)
• Still Matthews – mastering (7)
• F. Reid Shippen – mixing (1, 2, 4–8)
• Buckley Miller – mixing (3)
• Joe Trentacosti – engineering
• Lowell Reynolds – engineering
• Jason Mott – engineering
• Myle Manner – engineering
• Aaron Chmielewski – additional engineering
• Brad Winters – additional engineering
• Shannon Forrest – additional engineering

Visuals

• Don Henson – art direction, design, photography
• Meme Shahan – art direction, design
• Lou Miceli Jr. – art direction, design