Four the Record

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Four the Record
Studio album by
Miranda Lambert
ReleasedNovember 1, 2011 (2011-11-01)
RecordedAugust–October 2011
Genre
Length53:47
LabelRCA Nashville
Producer
Miranda Lambert chronology
Revolution
(2009) 		Four the Record
(2011) 		Platinum
(2014)
Singles from Four the Record
  1. "Baggage Claim"
    Released: August 22, 2011
  2. "Over You"
    Released: January 9, 2012
  3. "Fastest Girl in Town"
    Released: June 25, 2012
  4. "Mama's Broken Heart"
    Released: January 14, 2013
  5. "All Kinds of Kinds"
    Released: June 24, 2013

Four the Record is the fourth studio album by American country music singer and songwriter Miranda Lambert. It was released on November 1, 2011, by RCA Records Nashville. This was her first studio album to be released from that label after a corporate reconstructing at Sony Music Nashville.

The album was a widespread critical success and the highest-charting record of Lambert's career at the time, reaching number three on the Billboard 200. It eventually sold over one million copies in the United States. A deluxe edition of the album was also released, which included a bonus song and a DVD.[1]

Writing and recording

Lambert wrote or co-wrote six of the album's tracks.[2] It was recorded in sessions at Jupiter Studios in Seattle, Sugarhill Recording Studios in Houston, The Cave in Dallas, Wincraft Music Studios in England, and the Nashville-based studios Ronnie's Place, Sound Stage Studios, and Tragedy/Tragedy Studios.[3]

Release and promotion

Lambert announced in July 2011 that Four the Record would be released on November 1, 2011.[4] A month later, Sony Music Nashville announced that Lambert and labelmate Josh Thompson would transfer to RCA Nashville as part of a corporate restructuring.[5]

In the first week of release, the album sold 133,000 copies in the United States and debuted at number three on the Billboard 200, making it the highest-charting album of Lambert's career at that time.[6] It also debuted at number one on the Billboard Top Country Albums.[7] The album was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America on January 10, 2014,[8] and by September of that year, it had sold 1,014,000 copies in the US.[9]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic83/100[10]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
American Songwriter[11]
The A.V. ClubB+[12]
Entertainment WeeklyA−[13]
Los Angeles Times[14]
MSN Music (Expert Witness)A−[15]
PopMatters6/10[16]
Rolling Stone[17]
Slant Magazine[18]
Spin7/10[19]

Four the Record was met with widespread critical acclaim. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 83, based on 12 reviews.[20] Stephen Thomas Erlewine from AllMusic believed Lambert was able to expand stylistically by relying more on other songwriters for the record: "She's digging deeper than ever before and finding considerable riches."[3] In Country Weekly, Ken Tucker deemed it her best album so far and hailed Lambert as a matured "interpreter of songs, whether she's written them or not",[21] while Genevieve Koski from The A.V. Club felt it showcased some of her most intriguing songs yet, proving "her willingness to color outside the lines of country-music convention goes beyond lyrical statements of bad-assitude."[12] Entertainment Weekly critic Mikael Wood said she explored a variety of human emotions and moods on the record, which he called her "most vivid effort yet, with brilliantly observed songs about lust ('Fine Tune') and disappointment ('Same Old You'), as well as a stirring celebration of diversity ('All Kinds of Kinds')."[13]

Some reviewers were less enthusiastic. Writing for MSN Music, Robert Christgau called Four the Record a "basic quality country album" highlighted by the harder opening songs before delving into trite ballads catering to the housewife demographic, such as "Dear Diamond", "Oklahoma Sky", and "Better in the Long Run".[15] Spin magazine's Theon Weber lamented most of the lyrics, which he found "flat, even when they're Lambert's",[19] while Jon Caramanica of The New York Times viewed it as a foray into alternative country featuring some of her least inspired singing and songwriting.[22]

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."All Kinds of Kinds"Phillip Coleman, Don Henry4:26
2."Fine Tune"Natalie Hemby, Luke Laird4:39
3."Fastest Girl in Town"Miranda Lambert, Angaleena Presley3:17
4."Safe"Lambert4:46
5."Mama's Broken Heart"Brandy Clark, Shane McAnally, Kacey Musgraves2:59
6."Dear Diamond" (with Patty Loveless)Lambert3:49
7."Same Old You"Brandi Carlile3:05
8."Baggage Claim"Lambert, Hemby, Laird3:18
9."Easy Living"Lambert, Scott Wray2:45
10."Over You"Lambert, Blake Shelton4:13
11."Look at Miss Ohio"David Rawlings, Gillian Welch4:18
12."Better in the Long Run" (with Blake Shelton)Charles Kelley, Ashley Monroe, Gordie Sampson3:34
13."Nobody's Fool"Chris Stapleton3:43
14."Oklahoma Sky"Allison Moorer4:46
Deluxe Edition
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
15."Hurts to Think" (Bonus Track)Lambert, Hemby, Jessica Bendinger2:55

Personnel

Credits are adapted from AllMusic.[23]

Musicians

Production

  • Chuck Ainlay – engineering, mixing, producer
  • Enzo Angileri – hair stylist
  • Judy Forde-Blair – creative producer, liner notes
  • Steven Christensen – vocal recording
  • Tammie Harris Cleek – imaging, photo production
  • Martin Feveyear – vocal recording
  • Tracy Baskette-Fleaner – creative director, design
  • Tiffany Gifford – stylist
  • Emory Gordy, Jr. – vocal recording
  • Brittany Hamlin – production coordination
  • Ryan Krieg – assistant engineer, mixing assistant
  • Frank Liddell – producer
  • Stephen Marcussen – mastering
  • Mylah Morales – make-up
  • Randee St. Nicholas – photography
  • Lisa Ramsey-Perkins – A&R
  • Brandon Schexnayder – assistant engineer, mixing assistant
  • James Towler – engineering
  • Stewart Whitmore – digital editing
  • Glenn Worf – producer

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (2011) Peak
position
Australian Country Albums Chart[24] 11
Canadian Albums Chart[7] 12
UK Country Albums Chart[25] 5
US Billboard 200[7] 3
US Billboard Top Country Albums[7] 1

Year-end charts

Chart (2011) Position
US Billboard 200[26] 172
US Top Country Albums (Billboard)[27] 40
Chart (2012) Position
US Billboard 200 47[28]
US Billboard Country Albums 14[28]
Chart (2013) Position
US Billboard 200 97[29]
US Top Country Albums (Billboard)[30] 24

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[31] Platinum 1,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ^ "Miranda Lambert To Release Limited Deluxe Edition Of Upcoming Album". All Access. September 12, 2011. Retrieved September 21, 2011.
  2. ^ "Miranda Lambert, Blake Shelton Record Duet". Country Music Television. September 15, 2011. Archived from the original on September 24, 2011. Retrieved September 21, 2011.
  3. ^ a b c Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Four the Record – Miranda Lambert". AllMusic. Retrieved October 1, 2015.
  4. ^ "Miranda Lambert's New Album". Whatis11111.com. 2011-06-06. Archived from the original on 2011-07-13. Retrieved 2011-07-29.
  5. ^ "Miranda Lambert Moves to RCA Nashville". CMT. August 29, 2011. Archived from the original on November 3, 2011. Retrieved August 29, 2011.
  6. ^ Miranda Lambert Makes 'Record' Start on Country Albums | Billboard
  7. ^ a b c d "Chart listing for Four the Record". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved November 10, 2011.
  8. ^ "RIAA Certifications". January 10, 2014. Retrieved February 12, 2014.
  9. ^ "Country Music's Top 10 Albums: The Week of May 28, 2014 | New Country Music, Listen to Songs & Video | Roughstock.com". Archived from the original on 2014-05-29. Retrieved 2014-05-28.
  10. ^ "Reviews for Four the Record by Miranda Lambert". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved December 5, 2017.
  11. ^ Deusner, Stephen (November 7, 2011). "Miranda Lambert: Four the Record". American Songwriter. Retrieved October 1, 2015.
  12. ^ a b Koski, Genevieve (November 1, 2011). "Miranda Lambert: Four The Record". The A.V. Club. Retrieved October 1, 2015.
  13. ^ a b Wood, Mikael (October 26, 2011). "Four the Record". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved October 1, 2015.
  14. ^ Lewis, Randy (October 31, 2011). "Album review: Miranda Lambert's 'Four the Record'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 1, 2015.
  15. ^ a b Christgau, Robert (November 11, 2011). "Pistol Annies/Miranda Lambert". MSN Music. Retrieved October 1, 2015.
  16. ^ Langhoff, Josh (November 3, 2011). "Miranda Lambert: Four the Record". PopMatters. Archived from the original on November 4, 2011. Retrieved October 1, 2015.
  17. ^ Rosen, Jody (November 10, 2011). "Miranda Lambert Puts Away the Guns". Rolling Stone. p. 83.
  18. ^ Keefe, Jonathan (October 31, 2011). "Miranda Lambert: Four the Record". Slant Magazine. Retrieved October 1, 2015.
  19. ^ a b Weber, Theon (November 1, 2011). "Miranda Lambert, 'Four the Record' (RCA Nashville)". Spin. Retrieved October 1, 2015.
  20. ^ "Reviews for Four the Record by Miranda Lambert". Metacritic. Retrieved October 1, 2015.
  21. ^ Tucker, Ken (October 25, 2011). "Four the Record by Miranda Lambert". Country Weekly. Retrieved October 1, 2015.
  22. ^ Caramanica, Jon (October 31, 2011). "New Music From Miranda Lambert and Susan Boyle". The New York Times. Retrieved October 1, 2015.
  23. ^ "Four the Record – Miranda Lambert Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved November 3, 2011.
  24. ^ "Top 20 Country Chart - Australian Record Industry Association". Archived from the original on 2012-05-04. Retrieved 2011-10-07.
  25. ^ "Archive Chart". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 10, 2011.
  26. ^ "Billboard 200 Albums: Year-End top-selling albums across all genres". Billboard.
  27. ^ "Top Country Albums: 2011 Year-End Charts". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved January 16, 2015.
  28. ^ a b Billboard 200 Albums : Nov 18, 2016 | Billboard Chart Archive
  29. ^ "2013 Year-End Charts – Billboard 200 Albums". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved December 13, 2013.
  30. ^ "Top Country Albums: 2013 Year-End Charts". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved January 16, 2015.
  31. ^ "American album certifications – Miranda Lambert – Four the Record". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved July 13, 2017.
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