Melt (Rascal Flatts album)
| Untitled | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [1] |
| Entertainment Weekly | C+[2] |
Melt is the second studio album from the American country music group Rascal Flatts. It was released on October 29, 2002 (see 2002 in country music) on Lyric Street Records and sold 3,073,000 copies in the United States up to May 2009.[3] The lead-off single "These Days" was the group's first Number One hit on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts (and reached number 23 on the Pop charts). The follow-ups, "Love You out Loud" and "I Melt", respectively reached number 3 (number 30 Pop) and number 2 (number 34 Pop), while "Mayberry" was also a Number One (and number 21 Pop). A music video was also made for "My Worst Fear" in 2004 though it was never released as a single.
Writing and Recording
Dry County Girl
"I was writing with Marcus last year [2001] and he said, "Mind if I play you a song?" He played it in my truck while we were on the way to lunch and I was blown away. The melody is so captivating. I played it for Jay and Gary and we loved it and put it on hold. It has a lot of energy and a good little story" ~Joe Don Rooney[4]
Like I Am
"This is a very special song for me, since I wrote it after a conversation with my girlfriend Kassidy. For me, like for a lot of men, when a woman says great things about you it can be hard to believe. I thought, "I don’t see EVERYTHING you see in me, but since you see it, I’ll try to be that way." It was very easy to write, and as soon as I came up with the melody I shared the idea with Danny Orton and we wrote it." ~Joe Don Rooney[4]
You
The song "You" was originally scheduled to be recorded by Tim McGraw when the band discovered it towards the end of recording. The publishing company told them if Tim didn't record the song by 2 p.m. that day they could have it. He didn't cut it and the band recorded it that same day.[4]
Shine On
"When we won the ACM award, the 7th to 12th graders in my hometown, Picher, Oklahoma, made a huge banner and posed in the gymnasium with it. It said, "Shine On, Joe Don." It was so sweet, and I thought, "We’ve gotta write a song called ‘Shine On’." A few months afterward I had this cool melody on the bus and the "Shine On" idea came into my head. I was playing it for Jay and Gary and they started singing this melody over the chord progression. I said, "Sing ‘Shine on’" and boom, right then and there it was married together. It was magic. We wrote it in about 45 minutes." ~Joe Don Rooney[4]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "These Days" | Steve Robson, Jeffrey Steele, Dan Wells | 4:15 |
| 2. | "Too Good Is True" | Jay DeMarcus, Danny Orton | 3:20 |
| 3. | "I Melt" | Gary LeVox, Neil Thrasher, Wendell Mobley | 3:54 |
| 4. | "Mayberry" | Arlos Smith | 4:33 |
| 5. | "Love You Out Loud" | Brett James, Lonnie Wilson | 3:06 |
| 6. | "Dry County Girl" | Marcus Hummon, Chuck Jones | 3:16 |
| 7. | "Like I Am" | Joe Don Rooney, Danny Orton | 4:06 |
| 8. | "You" | Brad Crisler, James LeBlanc | 4:08 |
| 9. | "Fallin' Upside Down" | Derek George, John Tirro | 2:34 |
| 10. | "Shine On" | DeMarcus, LeVox, Rooney | 3:01 |
| 11. | "My Worst Fear" | Al Anderson, Anthony Smith | 3:56 |
| Total length: | 40:10 | ||
Personnel
- Tim Akers - keyboards; accordion on "Mayberry"
- Larry Beaird - acoustic guitar; banjo on "Mayberry"
- J. T. Corenflos - additional electric guitar on "Like I Am"
- Jay DeMarcus - background vocals, bass guitar
- Paul Franklin - steel guitar on "I Melt", "You", "Fallin' Upside Down" and "My Worst Fear"
- Dann Huff - additional electric guitar on "These Days" and "Like I Am"
- Gary LeVox – lead vocals
- Jerry McPherson - electric guitar; bouzouki on "Love You Out Loud"
- Steve Nathan - keyboards
- Joe Don Rooney - background vocals; additional electric guitar on "Too Good Is True", "Mayberry", "Shine On", and "Like I Am"
- Jimmy Stewart - Dobro on "Shine On"
- Lonnie Wilson - drums
- Jonathan Yudkin - fiddle, mandolin, viola, cello
Chart performance
 |
Album
| Chart (2002) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Top Country Albums | 1 |
| U.S. Billboard 200 | 5 |
Singles
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | |
|---|---|---|---|
| US Country | US | ||
| 2002 | "These Days" | 1 | 23 |
| 2003 | "Love You Out Loud" | 3 | 30 |
| "I Melt" | 2 | 34 | |
| "Mayberry" | 1 | 21 | |
Certifications
| Region | Certification |
|---|---|
| Canada (Music Canada)[5] | Gold |
| United States (RIAA)[6] | 3× Platinum |
References
- ^ Dinoia, Maria Konicki. "Melt review". Allmusic. Retrieved July 17, 2011.
- ^ Nash, Alanna (November 22, 2002). "Melt review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved July 17, 2011.
- ^ Trust, Gary (2009-05-01). "What Sold The Most". Billboard. Archived from the original on August 29, 2014. Retrieved 2009-05-05.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ a b c d "archived page from Rascalflatts.com from 2002". Archived from the original on December 7, 2002. Retrieved 2002-12-07.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help). - ^ "Canadian album certifications – Rascal Flatts – Melt". Music Canada.
- ^ "American album certifications – Rascal Flatts – Melt". Recording Industry Association of America.