Keep On Loving You (album): Difference between revisions
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Thom Jurek of ''[[Allmusic]]'' praised the album's production, saying, "Despite its release on an indie, the production and approach are anything but, with the album being produced by [[Tony Brown (record producer)|Tony Brown]] and Mark Bright. The cream of country music's current chart crop wrote its 13 songs; it is certainly a radio-friendly collection that is supposed to showcase McEntire's adaptability and that she's still "got it," and can still score in the contemporary marketplace."<ref name="allmusicreview"/> Thom Jurek also found ''Keep On Loving You'' to radio friendly, calling the title track, "I'll Keep on Lovin' You" be "a midtempo ballad that is saturated in compressed guitars and Hammond B-3, big repetitive choruses, and a chorus of fiddles and backing vocals. McEntire's voice hasn't lost even a touch of its range and power; she's a belter who can hang with the best of them." He also felt the opening track, "[[Strange (Reba McEntire song)|Strange]]" to follow the same format. He gave ''Keep On Loving You'' three out of five stars. Although the album was given a slightly less rating than ''The 9513'' had given it, Jurek reviewed the album with a more positive responsse in general. In concluding his review, Jurek said, "The bottom line here is that ''Keep on Loving You'' may jar some longtime Reba fans on first listen, but despite the record's sound it's all her in this mix, and they will more than likely celebrate this. As far as the new fans this set clearly hopes to gain, it's got the right elements; if country music's finicky youth-obsessed radio and video machine can hear this set for what it is, listeners will connect in droves."<ref name="allmusicreview"/> |
Thom Jurek of ''[[Allmusic]]'' praised the album's production, saying, "Despite its release on an indie, the production and approach are anything but, with the album being produced by [[Tony Brown (record producer)|Tony Brown]] and Mark Bright. The cream of country music's current chart crop wrote its 13 songs; it is certainly a radio-friendly collection that is supposed to showcase McEntire's adaptability and that she's still "got it," and can still score in the contemporary marketplace."<ref name="allmusicreview"/> Thom Jurek also found ''Keep On Loving You'' to radio friendly, calling the title track, "I'll Keep on Lovin' You" be "a midtempo ballad that is saturated in compressed guitars and Hammond B-3, big repetitive choruses, and a chorus of fiddles and backing vocals. McEntire's voice hasn't lost even a touch of its range and power; she's a belter who can hang with the best of them." He also felt the opening track, "[[Strange (Reba McEntire song)|Strange]]" to follow the same format. He gave ''Keep On Loving You'' three out of five stars. Although the album was given a slightly less rating than ''The 9513'' had given it, Jurek reviewed the album with a more positive responsse in general. In concluding his review, Jurek said, "The bottom line here is that ''Keep on Loving You'' may jar some longtime Reba fans on first listen, but despite the record's sound it's all her in this mix, and they will more than likely celebrate this. As far as the new fans this set clearly hopes to gain, it's got the right elements; if country music's finicky youth-obsessed radio and video machine can hear this set for what it is, listeners will connect in droves."<ref name="allmusicreview"/> |
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Bobby Peacock of Roughstock also gave a generally positive review, saying that some songs such as "Consider Me Gone" and "Maggie Creek Road" recalled her early-1990s work. He criticized the lyrics and "sometimes-sterile production" of some songs but added, "Despite the flaws, the album has more than enough redeeming qualities, and with any luck, the right single choices should reverse the long, slow decline that her musical career has been on since the beginning of the decade, and prove that age should not be a factor in an artist's success."<ref name="roughstock">{{cite web|url=http://www.roughstock.com/reviews/reba-mcentire-keep-on-loving-you-|title=''Keep on Loving You'' review|last=Peacock|first=Bobby|date=2009-08-17|work=Roughstock|accessdate=2009-10-25}}</ref> |
Bobby Peacock of Roughstock also gave a generally positive review, saying that some songs such as "Consider Me Gone", the second single, and "Maggie Creek Road", the fourth single, recalled her early-1990s work. He criticized the lyrics and "sometimes-sterile production" of some songs but added, "Despite the flaws, the album has more than enough redeeming qualities, and with any luck, the right single choices should reverse the long, slow decline that her musical career has been on since the beginning of the decade, and prove that age should not be a factor in an artist's success."<ref name="roughstock">{{cite web|url=http://www.roughstock.com/reviews/reba-mcentire-keep-on-loving-you-|title=''Keep on Loving You'' review|last=Peacock|first=Bobby|date=2009-08-17|work=Roughstock|accessdate=2009-10-25}}</ref> |
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Revision as of 20:01, 17 June 2010
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Keep On Loving You is the twenty-ninth studio album by American country artist, Reba McEntire. The album was released August 18, 2009 on Starstruck/Valory and on Humphead Records in the UK, and was produced by Tony Brown, Mark Bright, and McEntire.
Keep On Loving You is McEntire's first solo studio album in six years, since the release of 2003's Room to Breathe[1] and her first for the Valory label (in conjunction with her company, Starstruck Entertainment). In 2008, she exited her label of twenty five years, MCA Nashville after the release of Reba: Duets (2007).[2] The album contains "Strange," which is the highest-debuting single of McEntire's career, as well as the hit single "Consider Me Gone," McEntire's first Number One hit since "Somebody" in August 2004. The album's third single, the title track, was released in February 2010 and has become a Top Ten hit on the country charts.
Background
Keep On Loving You was recorded in Nashville, Tennessee in early 2009 and consists of thirteen tracks. The eighth track, "She's Turning 50 Today" was co-written by McEntire herself, as well as Liz Hengber and Tommy Lee James.[2] Many of the album's songs had previously been recorded by other country music artists. "I Want a Cowboy", was originally recorded by Katrina Elam on her self-titled debut album and "Pink Guitar" was recorded by Jasmine Rae on her debut album Look It Up. "Eight Crazy Hours" was recorded by Shelly Fairchild on her debut album Ride,[3] and "Nothing to Lose" was recorded by Trisha Yearwood in 2007 on her Greatest Hits release.
Critical reception
Thom Jurek of Allmusic praised the album's production, saying, "Despite its release on an indie, the production and approach are anything but, with the album being produced by Tony Brown and Mark Bright. The cream of country music's current chart crop wrote its 13 songs; it is certainly a radio-friendly collection that is supposed to showcase McEntire's adaptability and that she's still "got it," and can still score in the contemporary marketplace."[2] Thom Jurek also found Keep On Loving You to radio friendly, calling the title track, "I'll Keep on Lovin' You" be "a midtempo ballad that is saturated in compressed guitars and Hammond B-3, big repetitive choruses, and a chorus of fiddles and backing vocals. McEntire's voice hasn't lost even a touch of its range and power; she's a belter who can hang with the best of them." He also felt the opening track, "Strange" to follow the same format. He gave Keep On Loving You three out of five stars. Although the album was given a slightly less rating than The 9513 had given it, Jurek reviewed the album with a more positive responsse in general. In concluding his review, Jurek said, "The bottom line here is that Keep on Loving You may jar some longtime Reba fans on first listen, but despite the record's sound it's all her in this mix, and they will more than likely celebrate this. As far as the new fans this set clearly hopes to gain, it's got the right elements; if country music's finicky youth-obsessed radio and video machine can hear this set for what it is, listeners will connect in droves."[2]
Bobby Peacock of Roughstock also gave a generally positive review, saying that some songs such as "Consider Me Gone", the second single, and "Maggie Creek Road", the fourth single, recalled her early-1990s work. He criticized the lyrics and "sometimes-sterile production" of some songs but added, "Despite the flaws, the album has more than enough redeeming qualities, and with any luck, the right single choices should reverse the long, slow decline that her musical career has been on since the beginning of the decade, and prove that age should not be a factor in an artist's success."[3]
The 9513's Jim Malec viewed the album different, giving the production a negative response. Malec found Keep On Loving You to be long and feel "even longer due to its wordiness, its disappointing lack of focus, and its inability to capitalize on the momentum of a number of exemplary tracks."[4] Jim Malec of The 9513 gave the album three-and-a-half out of five stars, with a less positive response. While Malec did call the title track a "beautifully subtle title track that she handles with an appropriately gentle touch," he was mainly displeased with the release. Concluding his review, Malec stated, "Keep on Loving You contains some of the most worthwhile Reba music released in a very long time, with compelling performances making up the bulk of the disc. But as an album it’s an absolute mess, and while it’s wonderful to hear Reba making an effort to reclaim some of her artistic credo–which she does here, make no mistake of that—the project is almost unlistenable in succession and would have significantly benefited from more specific and focused creative direction."[4]
Whitney Pastorek of Entertainment Weekly gave Keep On Loving You a "B-" rating, stating, "Though her voice has aged well, few of these tunes provide it enough of a challenge, and the ones that do often sound like something she's already done better."[5]
Release
The album's lead single, "Strange" was released April 6, 2009 to radio and was first performed at the Academy of Country Music Awards a few days before. The song became McEntire's highest-debuting single of her career, debuting at #39 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. Within a week, the song rose eleven spaces to #28[6], eventually peaking at #11 on the chart by summer 2009, while also reaching #10 on the Mediabase country chart around the same time[7]. McEntire released the album's second single, "Consider Me Gone," to radio the day of the album's official release [8]. Keep On Loving You was released August 18, 2009, becoming McEntire's second album to debut at #1 on both the Billboard Top Country Albums and Billboard 200 charts, with 96,000 copies sold its first week [9]. This is lower than the 300,000 first-week sales for her album Reba: Duets. With the release, McEntire currently holds the record for being the female country artist with the most Billboard #1 albums. The record had previously been held by Loretta Lynn[1]. As of June 2010 the album has sold over 515,000 copies in the US alone, and is certified gold by the RIAA.This album continued her reign as the most certified female country artist.[10]
Worldwide the album was fairly successful peaking at #16 on the ARIA, #5 on the UK Country Album Charts, and #98 on the Japan Oricon Top 100.
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Strange" | Wendell Mobley, Jason Sellers, Neil Thrasher | 3:00 |
| 2. | "Just When I Thought I'd Stopped Loving You" | Mark Nesler, Rivers Rutherford | 3:50 |
| 3. | "I Keep On Loving You" | Ronnie Dunn, Terry McBride | 3:13 |
| 4. | "I Want a Cowboy" | David Davidson, Katrina Elam, Wayne Kirkpatrick, Jimmie Lee Sloas | 3:39 |
| 5. | "Consider Me Gone" | Steve Diamond, Marv Green | 3:38 |
| 6. | "But Why" | Sellers, Thrasher | 3:28 |
| 7. | "Pink Guitar" | Jamie O'Neal, Ed Hill, Shaye Smith | 2:53 |
| 8. | "She's Turning 50 Today" | Liz Hengber, Tommy Lee James, Reba McEntire | 4:05 |
| 9. | "Eight Crazy Hours (In the Story of Love)" | Leslie Satcher, Darrell Scott | 4:04 |
| 10. | "Nothin' to Lose" | Kim Fox | 4:47 |
| 11. | "Over You" | Michael Dulaney, Steven Dale Jones, Sellers | 3:56 |
| 12. | "Maggie Creek Road" | Karyn Rochelle, James Slater | 4:50 |
| 13. | "I'll Have What She's Having" | Jimmy Melton, Georgia Middleman | 2:59 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Strange" (music video) | Mobley, Sellers, Thrasher | 2:57 |
| 2. | "Consider Me Gone" ((CMT Invitation Only Live Performance)) | Diamond, Green | 3:38 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "I Want a Cowboy" (Dance remix) | Elam, Davidson, Kirkpatrick, Sloas | 3:49 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Strange" (making of the music video) | 22:27 |
| 2. | "Strangest "Strange" Questions" | 5:00 |
| 3. | "Reba, Day of Stardom Behind the Scenes!" | 4:00 |
Personnel
|
|
Sales chart positions
- Album
|
Certifications/sales
|
End of year charts
| Year | Chart | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Top Country Albums | 19 |
- Singles
| Year | Song | Chart positions | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country | US | CAN Country | CAN | Sales | ||
| 2009 | "Strange" | 11 | 76 | 11 | 94 | 80,000 |
| "Consider Me Gone" | 1 | 38 | 1 | 52 | 300,000 | |
| 2010 | "I Keep On Loving You"[A] | 8 | 84 | 9 | 98 | 40,000 |
| "Maggie Creek Road"[B] | ||||||
Release history
| Country | Date |
|---|---|
 United States
|
August 18, 2009 |
 Canada
| |
 Australia
|
August 20, 2009 |
 United Kingdom
|
August 31, 2009 |
 Japan
|
August 31, 2009 |
References
- ^ a b "REBA'S, KEEP ON LOVING YOU, IS #1 ALBUM IN THE U.S". CMR Nashville.com. 2009-08-27. Retrieved 2009-08-28.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ a b c d Jurek, Thom. "Keep On Loving You > Review". allmusic. Retrieved 2009-08-28.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ a b Peacock, Bobby (2009-08-17). "Keep on Loving You review". Roughstock. Retrieved 2009-10-25.
- ^ a b Malec, Jim. "Album review: Reba McEntire - Keep on Loving You". The 9513. Retrieved 2009-08-28.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Pastorek, Whitney. "Keep On Loving You Music Review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2009-08-29.
- ^ Fabian, Shelley. "Reba's "Strange" Fastest Rising Single of her Career". about.com. Retrieved 2009-08-29.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "Reba's "Strange" Goes Top 10!". Valory.com. Retrieved 2009-08-29.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "Reba McEntire releases "Consider Me Gone"". The Country Music Stop.com. Retrieved 2009-08-29.
{{cite web}}:|first=missing|last=(help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ http://www.billboard.com/#/news/reba-mcentire-nets-second-no-1-on-billboard-1004006417.story Reba tops BB 200 with 96,000 copies sold
- ^ http://www.roughstock.com/blog/lady-antebellum-continues-chart-reign
- ^ {{cite web|url=http: http://www.theofficialcharts.com/archive-chart/_/20/2009-10-17/ //