Eric Paslay (album)
Eric Paslay is the eponymous debut album by American country music artist Eric Paslay. It was released on February 4, 2014 via EMI Nashville.[1] The album includes the singles "Never Really Wanted", "Friday Night", "Song About a Girl" and "She Don't Love You".[2]
Eric Paslay | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | February 4, 2014 | |||
Recorded | 2013–14 | |||
Genre | Country | |||
Length | 40:36 | |||
Label | EMI Nashville | |||
Producer |
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Eric Paslay chronology | ||||
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Singles from Eric Paslay | ||||
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Critical reception
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | |
Country Weekly | A[4] |
The Oakland Press | |
Roughstock | |
USA Today |
The eponymously titled album Eric Paslay garnered critical acclaim from five music critics. At USA Today, Brian Mansfield rated the album three-and-a-half stars out of four, stating that he held back some excellent material for himself on which "His sweet-as-Southern-tea debut finds common ground between radio-friendly and flat-out brilliant, incorporating a sense of both spirituality and '80s pop."[7] Tammy Ragusa of Country Weekly graded the album an A, writing that the album "hosts a heap of winners." In addition, Ragusa says that "The gifted songwriter has done an incredible job of showcasing his ability to create a collection that leans away from lyrical trends and toward depth and texture [...] reveal[ing] the complexity of an accomplished artist, and retains the purity of solid country music."[4] At The Oakland Press, Gary Graff rated the album three out of four stars, calling this "A strong debut from an established name on the scene."[5] Steve Leggett of AllMusic rated the album three-and-a-half out of five stars, noting how Paslay on the release "keep[s] it simple and catchy", but this means that the music "doesn't change the landscape of contemporary country, but it sure recognizes it, and that's Paslay's songwriting strength."[3] At Roughstock, Matt Bjorke rated the album a perfect five stars, saying that the release "showcases an artist who deserves to be placed on the same songwriting field as singer/songwriters like Rodney Crowell, John Hiatt, Jackson Browne and JD Souther with a little bit of The Band thrown in for good measure."[6] Also, Bjorke states that "There isn’t a bad song to be found on Eric Paslay and it truly is an early contender for the best Country Album of 2014."[6]
Track listing
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
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1. | "Keep On Fallin'" | Eric Paslay, Matt Nolan, Skip Black | 3:19 |
2. | "Friday Night" | Paslay, Rose Falcon, Rob Crosby | 2:47 |
3. | "Less Than Whole" | Paslay, Kenny Alphin | 4:45 |
4. | "Country Side of Heaven" | Paslay, Dylan Altman, Shane McAnally | 4:15 |
5. | "Never Really Wanted" | Paslay, Walt Aldridge | 3:27 |
6. | "Here Comes Love" | Paslay, Anthony Cappolino | 3:05 |
7. | "Like a Song" | Paslay, Jason Delkou | 2:48 |
8. | "Good with Wine" | Paslay, Jessi Alexander, Gordie Sampson | 3:40 |
9. | "She Don't Love You" | Paslay, Jennifer Wayne | 4:27 |
10. | "Song About a Girl" | Paslay, Alexander, Sampson | 3:49 |
11. | "Deep as It Is Wide" | Paslay | 4:27 |
Total length: | 40:36 |
Personnel
- Jessi Alexander- background vocals
- Marshall Altman- Fender Rhodes, percussion, piano, programming, background vocals
- Bruce Bouton- steel guitar
- Tom Bukovac- electric guitar
- Jake Campbell- electric guitar
- Chad Cromwell- drums
- Karen Fairchild- background vocals
- Shannon Forrest- drums
- Tony Harrell- Hammond B-3 organ, piano
- Aubrey Haynie- mandolin
- Natalie Hemby- background vocals
- Daniel Hill- drums, percussion
- Jedd Hughes- electric guitar
- Troy Lancaster- acoustic guitar, electric guitar
- Tim Lauer- Hammond B-3 organ, keyboards, piano
- Tony Lucido- bass guitar
- Pat McGrath- banjo, acoustic guitar
- Rob McNelley- electric guitar
- Jerry McPherson- electric guitar
- Greg Morrow- drums
- Eric Paslay- acoustic guitar, electric guitar, hammer dulcimer, lead vocals, background vocals
- Dave Pomeroy- bass guitar
- Alison Prestwood- bass guitar
- Mike Rojas- keyboards
- Kimberly Schlapman- background vocals
- Adam Shoenfeld- electric guitar
- Phillip Sweet- background vocals
- Russell Terrell- background vocals
- Ilya Toshinsky- banjo, hi-string guitar, mandolin
- Jimi Westbrook- background vocals
- Jonathan Yudkin- fiddle, mandolin
Chart performance
Album
The album debuted on Billboard 200 at No. 31, and No. 4 in the Top Country Albums chart, selling 11,000 copies in the US.[8] As of February 2015, the album has sold 54,300 copies in the U.S.[9]
Chart (2014) | Peak position |
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US Billboard 200[10] | 31 |
US Top Country Albums (Billboard)[11] | 4 |
Singles
Year | Single | Peak chart positions | ||||
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US Country | US Country Airplay | US | CAN Country [12] |
CAN | ||
2011 | "Never Really Wanted" | 48 | — | — | — | — |
2013 | "Friday Night" | 6 | 2 | 47 | 8 | 53 |
2014 | "Song About a Girl" | 18 | 12 | 85 | 25 | — |
"She Don't Love You" | 15 | 14 | 77 | 28 | — | |
"—" denotes releases that did not chart | ||||||
References
- Parker, Eric T. (November 22, 2013). "Eric Paslay's Debut Album To Release in February". MusicRow. Retrieved November 24, 2013.
- Bjorke, Matt (November 22, 2013). "Eric Paslay "Eric Paslay" Tracklist and Cover Art". Roughstock. Archived from the original on November 25, 2013. Retrieved November 24, 2013.
- Leggett, Steve (February 4, 2014). "Eric Paslay - Eric Paslay". AllMusic. Retrieved February 5, 2014.
- Ragusa, Tammy (January 30, 2014). "Eric Paslay (album)". Country Weekly. Retrieved February 5, 2014.
- Graff, Gary (February 4, 2014). "The Listening Room: Broken Bells, Eric Paslay and more". The Oakland Press. Retrieved February 5, 2014.
- Bjorke, Matt (February 3, 2014). "Album Review: Eric Paslay - Eric Paslay". Roughstock. Archived from the original on February 9, 2014. Retrieved February 5, 2014.
- Mansfield, Brian (February 3, 2014). "Listen Up: Notable new releases". USA Today. Retrieved February 5, 2014.
- Bjorke, Matt (February 12, 2014). "Country Album Chart News: The Week of February 12, 2014: Florida Georgia Line #1, Eric Paslay Debuts Top 5; Whiskey Myers, Moonshine Bandits, Scotty McCreery". Roughstock. Archived from the original on February 21, 2014. Retrieved February 12, 2014.
- Matt Bjorke (February 11, 2015). "Country Album Chart Report For February 11, 2015". Roughstock. Sales figure given here
- "Eric Paslay Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard.
- "Eric Paslay Chart History (Top Country Albums)". Billboard.
- "Eric Paslay Album & Song Chart History - Canada Country". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved November 20, 2013.