Carolina (Eric Church album)
| Carolina | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by Eric Church | ||||
| Released | March 24, 2009 | |||
| Recorded | 2008–09 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 43:21 | |||
| Label | Capitol Nashville | |||
| Producer | Jay Joyce | |||
| Eric Church chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Carolina | ||||
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Carolina is the second studio album by American country music artist Eric Church. It was released on March 24, 2009 via Capitol Records Nashville. "Love Your Love the Most", the album's lead-off single, became Church's first Top 10 hit on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. This song follows the non-album single "His Kind of Money (My Kind of Love)", which peaked outside the top 40 in mid-2008. As of November 29, 2013, the album has sold 715,000 copies in the US.[1]
Singles
"Love Your Love the Most"
"Love Your Love the Most" was released as the album's lead-off single. It entered the top 40 on the Hot Country Songs in April 2009, becoming his first top 40 hit since "Guys Like Me" in early 2007, as well as his first top ten country hit peaking at #10 in October 2009.
"Hell on the Heart"
"Hell on the Heart" was released as the second single in October, and entered the top 40 in November.
"Smoke a Little Smoke"
"Smoke a Little Smoke" was released as the album's third single in June 2010.
Critical reception
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Aggregate scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 76/100[2] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    |
| The 9513 | |
| Slant Magazine | |
Upon its release, Carolina received generally positive reviews from most music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 76, based on 4 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews".[2]
Stephen Thomas Erlewine reviewed the album for AllMusic and gave it three-and-a-half stars out of five. He said that "Church sings like a manicured model, striking all the poses and hitting all the notes, but missing that essential grit. Of course, he isn't helped out by the production of his second album Carolina, a recording that gleams pristine, designed for two drinks at an after-work smokeless bar, not a long booze-filled night at a honky tonk dive. It's a commercial sound, one that puts Carolina firmly within the mainstream, and it also fits the contours of Church's voice."[3]
Jonathan Keefe of Slant Magazine was less favorable, calling it "a strident stab at the mainstream commercial acceptance that has thus far eluded the singer-songwriter." He cited the production of "Smoke a Little Smoke" and "Longer Gone" for "that actually reinforc[ing] the tones of those songs," giving the album two stars out of five.[5] As of April 25, 2013 the album has sold 682,624 copies.
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Ain't Killed Me Yet" |
| 3:22 |
| 2. | "Lotta Boot Left to Fill" |
| 3:24 |
| 3. | "Young and Wild" |
| 3:15 |
| 4. | "Where She Told Me to Go" |
| 4:48 |
| 5. | "Longer Gone" |
| 3:08 |
| 6. | "Love Your Love the Most" |
| 2:50 |
| 7. | "Smoke a Little Smoke" |
| 3:11 |
| 8. | "Without You Here" |
| 2:42 |
| 9. | "You Make It Look So Easy" | Church | 4:15 |
| 10. | "Carolina" | Church | 4:39 |
| 11. | "Hell on the Heart" |
| 2:44 |
| 12. | "Those I've Loved" |
| 5:03 |
| 13. | "My Heart's Got A Memory (Bonus Track)" |
| 2:52 |
| 14. | "Faster Than My Angels Can Fly (Bonus Track)" |
| 3:49 |
| 15. | "His Kind Of Money (My Kind Of Love) (Bonus Track)" |
| 3:42 |
| Total length: | 46:57 | ||
Personnel
- Bruce Bouton – dobro, pedal steel guitar
- Luke Bulla – fiddle
- Mark Casstevens – banjo, acoustic guitar
- Nathan Chapman – acoustic guitar, background vocals
- Stephanie Chapman – background vocals
- Eric Church – acoustic guitar, electric guitar, lead vocals
- J. T. Corenflos – electric guitar
- Steve Fishell – dobro, pedal steel guitar
- Lee Hendricks – bass guitar
- Jedd Hughes – acoustic guitar, mandolin
- Jeff Hyde – acoustic guitar
- Jay Joyce – drum programming, Fender Rhodes, electric guitar, Hammond B-3 organ
- Gary Morse – dobro, pedal steel guitar
- Russ Pahl – dobro, pedal steel guitar
- Mike Severs – acoustic guitar
- Ed Smoak – electric guitar
- Bryan Sutton – banjo, acoustic guitar, mandolin
- Russell Terrell – background vocals
- Ilya Toshinsky – banjo, acoustic guitar
- Kenny Vaughan – electric guitar
- Driver Williams – electric guitar
- Craig Wright – drums, percussion
- Jonathan Yudkin – fiddle
Chart performance
Album
| Chart (2009) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Top Country Albums | 4 |
| U.S. Billboard 200 | 17 |
End of year charts
| Chart (2010) | Year-end 2010 |
|---|---|
| US Billboard Top Country Albums | 44[6] |
Singles
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | |
|---|---|---|---|
| US Country | US | ||
| 2009 | "Love Your Love the Most" | 10 | 63 |
| "Hell on the Heart" | 10 | 67 | |
| 2010 | "Smoke a Little Smoke" | 16 | 78 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification |
|---|---|
| United States (RIAA)[7] | Platinum |
References
- ↑ Price, Deborah Evans (November 29, 2013). "Eric Church: The Billboard Cover Story". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved December 3, 2013.
- 1 2 Metacritic (March 24, 2009). "Critic Reviews for Carolina". CBS Interactive. Retrieved March 24, 2009.
- 1 2 Erlwine, Stephen Thomas. "Carolina - Eric Church". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved September 21, 2018.
- ↑ Wilcox, C.M. (March 20, 2009). "Eric Church - Carolina". The 9513. Archived from the original on March 22, 2009. Retrieved May 7, 2009.
- 1 2 Keefe, Jonathan (March 20, 2009). "Eric Church - Carolina". Slant Magazine. Retrieved March 10, 2010.
- ↑ "Best of 2010 - Top Country Albums". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Retrieved 2010-12-31.
- ↑ "American album certifications – Eric Church – Carolina". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH.