Learn to Live

Learn to Live is the second studio album and country debut by American country artist Darius Rucker. The album was released September 16, 2008 on Capitol Nashville Records and produced by Frank Rogers. Learn to Live was Rucker's first studio album marketed towards country music, and is also his first release since the 2002 R&B release of Back to Then. The album spawned three number one singles on the Billboard country music chart: "Don't Think I Don't Think About It," "It Won't Be Like This for Long," and "Alright." Learn to Live is Rucker's best-selling solo album to date, and is his only solo album to go Platinum.

Learn to Live
Studio album by
Darius Rucker
ReleasedSeptember 16, 2008 (2008-09-16)
GenreCountry
Length43:28
LabelCapitol Nashville
ProducerFrank Rogers
Darius Rucker chronology
Back to Then
(2002)		 Learn to Live
(2008)		 Charleston, SC 1966
(2010)
Singles from Learn to Live
  1. "Don't Think I Don't Think About It"
    Released: May 27, 2008
  2. "It Won't Be Like This for Long"
    Released: November 3, 2008
  3. "Alright"
    Released: April 20, 2009
  4. "History in the Making"
    Released: September 8, 2009
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic(66/100)[1]
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[2]
Billboard(favorable)[3]
The Boston Globe(positive)[4]
Entertainment WeeklyB-[5]
The New York Times(favorable)[6]
PopMatters[7]
Robert Christgau[8]
Slant Magazine[9]

Background

Learn to Live was recorded both in Franklin, Tennessee, and Nashville, Tennessee. Brady Vercher of Engine 145 praised the album's overall production and sound, finding nearly every track to, "sound as if it were crafted to be a potential single, with solid hooks and melodies aplenty, but at times the phrasing is more focused on selling those aspects at the expense of emotion."[10] Slant Magazine's Johnathan Keefe praised the album's production, saying that the record makes, "a concerted effort to sound like a modern country album." He also gave credit to the album's producer, Frank Rogers (who had previously produced Brad Paisley's albums), who had co-written most of the album's twelve tracks.[9]

Many of the tracks are a variety of country music styles. The second track, "All I Want" is set in a two-step shuffle, while "Drinkin' and Dialin'" is a "clever barroom crawl," according to Allmusic.[2] "All I Want" features guitar played by Brad Paisley and its fifth track, "If I Had Wings," features harmony vocals from country artists Vince Gill and Alison Krauss.

Critical reception

Learn to Live received a score of 66 out of 100 from Metacritic based on "generally favorable reviews".[1] Blake Boldt of PopMatters gave the album overall solid review, praising the single, "Don't Think I Don't Think About It," by calling Rucker's delivery, "honest and heartfelt." Boldt was also pleased with the fact that Rucker attracted, "the attention of the country radio audience with that single, and it’s helped boost the profile of his first full country album, Learn to Live, a release that owns a variety of country music’s common topics and musical techniques." Boldt concluded his review by saying, "Learn to Live is well-produced and well-sung, but too many of the songs fail to fit the artist behind them."[7] Sarah Rodman of The Boston Globe also praised Learn to Live, calling the single, "Alright," an "essential" track. Rodman later stated, "If you're going to be tooling down the middle of the road, "Learn to Live" is perfectly pleasant accompaniment."[4]

Learn to Live was also reviewed by Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic, who gave the release three out of five stars. Like PopMatters, Erlewine was pleased that Rucker chose to make a "leap" into country music. Erlewine frequently compared the album to Hootie & the Blowfish's Cracked Rear View, saying that the material was, "written with Rucker in mind, not a jam band, they're more pop in form and feel than anything he's done since." Erlewine then stated, "...these songs aren't knockouts, but they're friendly and comfortable, the kind of sturdy roots-pop that seems like it'd be easy to pull off but must not be, as this delicate balance of conversational melody and guy-next-door appeal has proven elusive to Rucker for over a decade now."[2] The New York Times favored the album as well. Critic, Jon Caramanica found Rucker to be "well-suited" to country music and called the tracks, "impressively eclectic and sharply written." He compared "Alright" to that of the recent hits by country singer, Craig Morgan, and then concluded by saying, "Such missteps [the song "If I Had Wings"] are few, though, and “Learn to Live” is seamless enough that it almost slips by unnoticed that Mr. Rucker is the first African-American to have a Top 10 country hit (the muscular “Don’t Think I Don’t Think About It”) since Charley Pride."[6]

Commercial performance

The album's lead single, "Don't Think I Don't Think About It" was released May 27, 2008. The song became Rucker's first number one single by September 2008, becoming the first African-American country artist to have a major hit since Charley Pride in the 1980s.[11] Learn to Live debuted at #1 on the Billboard Country Albums chart and at #5 on the overall Billboard 200, selling 60,000 copies in its first week. As of February 2010, the album has sold 1,298,274 copies in the United States,[12] according to Nielsen SoundScan, and has now been certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America, for shipments to retailers of a million copies.[13] After releasing the album's second single in late 2008 entitled, "It Won't Be Like This for Long," the song became his second number one single on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart.[14] The album's seventh track entitled, "Alright," was released as a single shortly afterward. The song became Rucker's third number one single on the Billboard country chart, spending two weeks at #1 in early August.[15] On September 8, 2009, the album's fourth and final single, "History in the Making," was released, debuting at #51 on the Billboard country chart,[16] and went on to be an additional Top Five hit.

Track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Forever Road"Darius Rucker, Frank Rogers, Chris Stapleton4:01
2."All I Want"Rucker, Rogers3:49
3."Don't Think I Don't Think About It"Rucker, Clay Mills3:03
4."Learn to Live"Rucker, Rogers3:48
5."If I Had Wings"Rucker, Rogers, Rivers Rutherford4:03
6."History in the Making"Rucker, Mills, Rogers3:29
7."Alright"Rucker, Rogers3:51
8."It Won't Be Like This for Long"Rucker, Chris DuBois, Ashley Gorley3:39
9."Drinkin' and Dialin'"Rucker, DuBois, Gorley3:04
10."I Hope They Get to Me in Time"Monty Criswell, Wade Kirby3:26
11."While I Still Got the Time"Rogers, Rucker, Rutherford3:49
12."Be Wary of a Woman"Rucker, Dave Berg, Patrick Davis3:26
iTunes Bonus Track
No.TitleLength
13."I Want to Thank You"3:57

Personnel

Chart positions

Album
Chart (2008) Peak
position
U.S. Billboard Top Country Albums 1
U.S. Billboard 200 5

End of year charts
Chart (2010) Year-end
2010
US Billboard 200 56[17]
US Billboard Top Country Albums 13[18]

Singles
Year Single Peak chart positions
US Country US CAN
2008 "Don't Think I Don't Think About It" 1 35 47
"It Won't Be Like This for Long" 1 36 59
2009 "Alright" 1 30 61
"History in the Making" 3 63 73

Certifications
Region Certification
United States (RIAA)[19] Platinum
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References
  1. "Learn To Live Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More at Metacritic". Metacritic. Retrieved September 30, 2012.
  2. "Learn to Live - Darius Rucker". Allmusic. Retrieved November 24, 2009.
  3. Tucker, Ken (September 26, 2008). "Metallica, Ne-Yo have new CDs". Billboard. Today.com. Retrieved November 24, 2009.
  4. Rodman, Sarah (September 16, 2008). "A stroll down country roads". The Boston Globe. Retrieved November 24, 2009.
  5. Pastorek, Whitney (September 16, 2008). "Learn to Live". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved November 24, 2009.
  6. Caramanica, Jon (September 14, 2008). "New CDs". The New York Times. Retrieved November 24, 2009.
  7. Boldt, Blake (November 17, 2008). "Darius Rucker: Learn to Live". PopMatters. Retrieved November 24, 2009.
  8. Christgau, Robert. "CG: Darius Rucker". RobertChristgau.com. Retrieved September 30, 2012.
  9. Keefe, Jonathan (September 21, 2008). "Darius Rucker: Learn to Live". Slant Magazine. Retrieved November 24, 2009.
  10. Vercher, Brady. "Album review: Darius Rucker - Learn to Live". Engine 145. Archived from the original on 12 September 2014. Retrieved 22 November 2009.
  11. Morris, Edward (27 September 2008). "Darius Rucker Has Top Album and Song". Country Music Television. Retrieved 27 November 2009.
  12. Bjorke, Matt. "Lady Antebelllum storms the charts with Need you now". roughstock.com. Archived from the original on 7 February 2010. Retrieved 21 November 2010.
  13. "Metallica Holds At No. 1, Ne-Yo Arrives In Second". Billboard.com. Retrieved 27 November 2009.
  14. Morris, Edward (21 March 2009). "Darius Rucker's "It Won't Be Like This for Long" Tops Billboard Songs Chart". Country Music Television. Retrieved 27 November 2009.
  15. Morris, Edward (8 August 2009). "Darius Rucker Claims No. 1 Song Spot With "Alright"". Country Music Television. Retrieved 27 November 2009.
  16. Morris, Edward (12 September 2009). "Jason Aldean and Taylor Swift Again Dominate Billboard Country Charts". Country Music Television. Retrieved 27 November 2009.
  17. "Best of 2010 - Billboard Top 200". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Retrieved 2010-12-31.
  18. "Best of 2010 - Top Country Albums". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Retrieved 2010-12-31.
  19. "American album certifications – Darius Rucker – Learn to Live". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH. 
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