On the Rocks (Midland album)
On the Rocks is the debut studio album by American country music band Midland. It was released on September 22, 2017 via Big Machine Records.[2] In 2019 it was certified Gold by RIAA for selling 500,000 units.
On the Rocks | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | September 22, 2017 | |||
Genre | Neotraditional country | |||
Length | 45:26 | |||
Label | Big Machine | |||
Producer | ||||
Midland chronology | ||||
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Singles from On the Rocks | ||||
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Content
The album features 13 songs, including the singles "Drinkin' Problem", "Make a Little", and "Burn Out". At least one band member wrote every song on the album. Josh Osborne, Shane McAnally, and Dann Huff served as producers.[1]
Critical reception
Allmusic reviewer Stephen Thomas Erlewine rated the album 4 out of 5 stars, comparing its sound favorably to Alabama and Dwight Yoakam. He also stated that "the three members construct sturdy songs with a shimmering surface to match."[3] Chris Richards of The Washington Post described the album as "the year's best country album".[4] Exclaim! writer Marlo Ashley gave the album a 9 out of 10, comparing "Lonely For You Only" to Sonny James. She also called the album "charming".[5]
Commercial performance
The album debuted at No. 1 on the Top Country Albums chart, selling 17,000 copies (20,000 units including streams and tracks) in the first week.[6] It has sold 112,500 copies in the United States as of March 2019.[7] In November 2019 it was certified Gold by RIAA for selling 500,000 units.[8]
Track listing
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
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1. | "Lonely for You Only" | Jess Carson, Cameron Duddy, Mark Wystrach, Rhett Akins, Josh Osborne | 3:51 |
2. | "Make a Little" | Carson, Duddy, Wystrach, Shane McAnally, Osborne | 3:02 |
3. | "Drinkin' Problem" | Carson, Duddy, Wystrach, McAnally, Osborne | 3:41 |
4. | "At Least You Cried" | Carson, Duddy, Wystrach, Jonathan Singleton | 2:39 |
5. | "Burn Out" | Carson, Duddy, Wystrach, McAnally, Osborne | 3:10 |
6. | "Out of Sight" | Carson, Duddy, Wystrach, Luke Laird, McAnally | 4:23 |
7. | "More Than a Fever" | Carson, Duddy, Wystrach, McAnally, Osborne | 3:43 |
8. | "Check Cashin' Country" | Carson | 3:50 |
9. | "Nothin' New Under the Neon" | Carson, Duddy, Wystrach, McAnally, Osborne | 3:47 |
10. | "This Old Heart" | Carson, Wystrach, David Lee Murphy, Singleton | 3:14 |
11. | "Altitude Adjustment" | Carson, Duddy, Wystrach, Akins, Rodney Clawson | 3:27 |
12. | "Electric Rodeo" | Carson, Duddy, Wystrach, McAnally, Osborne | 3:20 |
13. | "Somewhere on the Wind" | Carson, Duddy, Wystrach, Akins, Osborne | 3:20 |
Personnel
Adapted from On the Rocks liner notes.[9]
- Midland
- Jess Carson - acoustic guitar (all tracks), background vocals (all tracks)
- Cameron Duddy - bass guitar (all tracks), background vocals (all tracks)
- Mark Wystrach - lead vocals (all tracks)
- Additional musicians
- Vinnie Ciesielski - trumpet (track 4)
- Dan Dugmore - steel guitar (tracks 3, 8, 9, 12)
- Ian Fitchuk - piano (tracks 3, 9)
- Paul Franklin - steel guitar (tracks 1–7, 9-11, 13), steel guitar solo (track 3)
- Dann Huff - acoustic guitar (tracks 2, 5, 7, 8, 10, 12), electric guitar (all tracks except 12), guitar solo (tracks 6, 8, 9), gut string guitar (track 1), 12-string acoustic guitar (track 3), wire choir guitar solo (track 10), high-strung guitar (track 12), ganjo (track 13), mandolin (tracks 2, 8), Hammond B-3 organ (track 3)
- David Huff - tambourine (track 1), percussion (tracks 2, 6, 7, 13)
- Charlie Judge - accordion (track 13), keyboards (tracks 1, 2, 4-13)
- Rob McNelley - electric guitar (tracks 9, 12)
- Gordon Mote - piano (track 10)
- Greg Morrow - drums (all tracks), percussion (track 7)
- Danny Rader - acoustic guitar (track 3), mandolin (track 3), bouzouki (track 3)
- Mickey Raphael - echo harp (track 7), harmonica (track 13)
- Ilya Toshinsky - acoustic guitar (track 12)
- Derek Wells - electric guitar (except track 12), guitar solo (tracks 2, 11, 12), 12-string electric guitar (track 12), baritone guitar (track 12)
- Technical
- Ryan Gore - recording (track 9)
- Dann Huff - producer
- David Huff - digital editing (except track 3)
- Steve Marcontonio - recording (except track 3)
- Shane McAnally - producer
- Andrew Mendelson - mastering
- Seth Morton - recording (track 3)
- Sean Neff - digital editing (track 3)
- Justin Niebank - recording (track 3), mixing
- Josh Osborne - producer
- Chris Small - digital editing (except track 3)
Charts
Weekly charts
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Year-end charts
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Singles
Year | Single | Peak positions | Sales | Certifications | ||||
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US Country [18] |
US Country Airplay [19] |
US [20] |
CAN [21] |
CAN Country [22] | ||||
2017 | "Drinkin' Problem" | 4 | 3 | 45 | 98 | 1 |
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"Make a Little" | 23 | 15 | —[lower-alpha 1] | — | 12 | |||
2018 | "Burn Out" | 11 | 3 | 63 | — | 36 |
Notes
- "Make a Little" did not enter the Hot 100, but peaked at number 21 on Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles, which acts as a 25-song extension of the Hot 100.[25]
Certifications
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
United States (RIAA)[26] | Gold | 500,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. |
References
- Carr, Courtney. "Midland's Debut Album Coming Sept. 22". The Boot. Retrieved September 5, 2017.
- "Midland's New Album: Release Date & Details | Billboard" 6/23/2017 by Taylor Weatherby
- Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "On the Rocks review". Allmusic. Retrieved 24 September 2017.
- Richards, Chris (September 28, 2017). "An underwear model and his pals just dropped the year's best country album". Washington Post.
- Ashley, Marlo (September 20, 2017). "Midland On the Rocks". Exclaim!. Retrieved January 2, 2018.
- Asker, Jim (October 3, 2017). "'Pretty' Good: Kenny Chesney Scores 28th Country Airplay No. 1; Midland, Home Free And Chris Janson Make Top 10 Debuts On Country Albums". Billboard.
- Bjorke, Matt (March 5, 2019). "Top 10 Country Albums: March 5, 2019". Roughstock. Retrieved April 13, 2019.
- "American certifications – Midland – On the Rocks". Recording Industry Association of America. November 12, 2019. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
- On the Rocks (CD backing card). Midland. Big Machine Records. 2017. BMRML0100H.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - "Midland Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved October 3, 2017.
- "Swisscharts.com – Midland – On the Rocks". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 19, 2018.
- "Official Country Artists Albums Chart Top 20". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 24, 2018.
- "Midland Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved October 3, 2017.
- "Midland Chart History (Top Country Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved October 3, 2017.
- "Top Country Albums – Year-End 2017". Billboard. Retrieved December 5, 2021.
- "Top Country Albums – Year-End 2018". Billboard. Retrieved July 11, 2020.
- "Top Country Albums – Year-End 2019". Billboard. Retrieved July 11, 2020.
- "Midland – Chart history (Country Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved April 17, 2018.
- "Midland – Chart history (Country Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved April 17, 2018.
- "Billboard Hot 100 results for Midland". Billboard. Retrieved September 4, 2017.
- "Midland – Chart history Canadian Hot 100". Billboard.
- "Canada Country results for Midland". Billboard. Retrieved September 4, 2017.
- Bjorke, Matt (April 30, 2018). "Top 30 Digital Country Singles: April 30, 2018". Roughstock. Retrieved April 30, 2018.
- "American single certifications – Midland – Drinkin' Problem". Recording Industry Association of America.
- "Bubbling Under Hot 100 peaks". Billboard. Retrieved 14 March 2018.
- "American album certifications – Midland – On the Rocks". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved August 12, 2022.