2014 studio album by Little Big Town
Pain Killer is the sixth studio album by American country music group Little Big Town . It was released on October 21, 2014, through Capitol Nashville .[ 1] Little Big Town co-wrote eight of the album's thirteen tracks.[ 2] [ 3] Pain Killer was produced by Jay Joyce .[ 4]
Pain Killer received widespread critical acclaim. In giving the album a rating of "B+", Bob Paxman of Country Weekly praised the group's vocal harmonies and the songwriting, particularly the songs written by Lori McKenna , but criticized the "overly cluttered" production on some tracks.[ 8] Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic called the album as "the rarest thing in contemporary country, a record with an expansive world-view delivered with a kinetic kick and infallible melodies, a record that gives no indication of where it's going upon first listen but remains compelling upon further spins".[ 6] The album has a score of 83 on Metacritic indicating “universal acclaim.”[ 10]
The album debuted at number seven on Billboard 200 and number three on Top Country Albums chart, selling 42,000 copies in its first week.[ 11] As of January 2017, the album has sold 511,300 copies in the United States.[ 12] The album was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for combined sales and album-equivalent units of over a million units.
The album's track listing was announced on July 14.[ 13] [ 14]
Title Writer(s) Lead vocals 1. "Quit Breaking Up with Me" 3:24 2. "Day Drinking " Fairchild 2:58 3. "Tumble and Fall" Westbrook 4:41 4. "Pain Killer " Fairchild Westbrook Blair Daly Lindsey Fairchild 3:11 5. "Girl Crush " Fairchild 3:13 6. "Faster Gun" Jeremy Spillman Ryan Tyndell Westbrook Sweet 4:10 7. "Good People" Schlapman 3:41 8. "Stay All Night" 2:45 9. "Save Your Sin" Schlapman 2:46 10. "Live Forever" Fairchild Westbrook Sweet Schlapman Spillman Tyndell Sweet 4:14 11. "Things You Don't Think About" Fairchild 3:36 12. "Turn the Lights On" Fairchild Westbrook Sweet Schlapman Hemby Joyce Spillman Fairchild 4:08 13. "Silver and Gold" Westbrook 3:33
Adapted from Allmusic and Pain Killer liner notes.[ 6] [ 15]
Little Big Town Karen Fairchild — vocals Kimberly Schlapman — vocals Philip Sweet — vocals, drums , acoustic guitar Jimi Westbrook — vocals, acoustic guitar Musicians Johnny Duke — acoustic guitar, electric guitar , pedal steel guitar Jedd Hughes — acoustic guitar, electric guitar, ganjo , tiple Jay Joyce — electric guitar, acoustic guitar, keyboards , ganjo, mandolin , synthesizer, bass guitar , bells , pump organ Seth Rausch — drums Giles Reaves — keyboards, percussion , vocoder , synthesizer horns, vibraphone , vocal pads John Thomasson — bass guitar Ryan Tyndell — acoustic guitar, 12-string guitar Production Richard Dodd — mastering Jason Hall — engineering, mixing Jedd Hughes — engineering Scott Johnson — production assistant Jay Joyce — engineering, mixing, production Reid Scelza — assistant Matthew Wheeler — assistant Visual and imagery Karen Fairchild — art direction Kelly Jerrell — art direction Meritocracy — art direction Matthew Welch — photography
Chart (2014) Position US Top Country Albums (Billboard )[ 21] 54 Chart (2015) Position US Billboard 200[ 22] 38 US Top Country Albums (Billboard )[ 23] 10 Chart (2016) Position US Top Country Albums (Billboard )[ 24] 30
^ Horton, Carrie (July 16, 2014). "Little Big Town Announce 'Pain Killer' Album, Reveal Track Listing" . Taste of Country . Retrieved August 19, 2014 . ^ Hicks, Gregory (July 20, 2014). "Little Big Town's 'Pain Killer' prescribed for October" . The Tennessean . Retrieved August 19, 2014 . ^ Wyland, Sarah (July 16, 2014). "Little Big Town to Release Pain Killer on October 21" . Great American Country . Retrieved August 19, 2014 . ^ Ragusa, Tammy (July 14, 2014). "Little Big Town to Release New Album, "Pain Killer," in October" . Country Weekly . Retrieved August 19, 2014 . ^ "Pain Killer Reviews" . Metacritic . Retrieved 2014-11-18 . ^ a b c Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Pain Killer - Little Big Town" . AllMusic . All Media Network . Retrieved November 1, 2014 . ^ Newman, Melinda. "Little Big Town Finally Ready for the Big Time With Tour De Force 'Pain Killer' " . Billboard . ^ a b Paxman, Bob (3 November 2014). "Pain Killer by Little Big Town" . Country Weekly . 21 (44): 66. ISSN 1074-3235 . ^ Wood, Mikael. "Little Big Town revisits the song doctor on 'Pain Killer' " . Los Angeles Times . ^ Pain Killer by Little Big Town , retrieved 2020-04-19 ^ Wade Jessen, Nashville (October 30, 2014). "Little Big Town Leaps Onto Top Country Albums" . Billboard . ^ Bjorke, Matt (January 22, 2017). "Top 10 Country Albums Chart: January 23, 2017" . Roughstock . ^ Betts, Stephen (July 14, 2014). "Little Big Town's 'Pain Killer' Fills October Prescription" . Rolling Stone . Retrieved August 19, 2014 . ^ Nicholson, Jessica (July 14, 2014). "Little Big Town's 'Pain Killer' To Release in October" . MusicRow . Retrieved August 19, 2014 . ^ Pain Killer (CD booklet). Little Big Town. Capitol Records Nashville. 2014. B0021360-02.{{cite AV media notes }}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link ) ^ "Little Big Town Chart History (Canadian Albums)" . Billboard . ^ "CHART: CLUK Update 19.03.2016 (wk11)" . Official Charts Company . Retrieved April 1, 2016 . ^ "Official Country Artists Albums Chart Top 20" . Official Charts Company . ^ "Little Big Town Chart History (Billboard 200)" . Billboard . ^ "Little Big Town Chart History (Top Country Albums)" . Billboard . ^ "Top Country Albums: 2014 Year-End Charts" . Billboard . Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved January 16, 2015 . ^ "Billboard 200 Albums: 2015 Year-End top-selling albums across all genres" . Billboard . ^ "Top Country Albums: 2015 Year-End Charts" . Billboard . Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved January 19, 2016 . ^ "Top Country Albums – Year-End 2016" . Billboard . Retrieved July 26, 2020 . ^ "American album certifications – Little Big Town – Pain Killer" . Recording Industry Association of America .
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