Artist: Eric Church
Album: Chief
Bitrate: 255kbps avg
Quality: EAC Secure Mode / LAME 3.98.4 / -V0 / 44.100Khz
Label: EMI
Genre: Country
Size: 76.30 megs
PlayTime: 0h 39min 39sec total
Rip Date: 2011-07-21
Store Date: 2011-07-26
Track List:
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01. Creepin' 3:52
02. Drink In My Hand 3:11
03. Keep On 2:38
04. Like Jesus Does 3:18
05. Hungover & Hard Up 2:53
06. Homeboy 3:47
07. Country Music Jesus 3:52
08. Jack Daniels 5:04
09. Springsteen 4:23
10. I'm Gettin' Stoned 4:02
11. Over When It's Over 2:39
Release Notes:
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Eric Church is on a mission. You might expect someone coming off of their first
two Top Ten country singles and an ACM Award for ôTop New Solo Vocalistö to lock
down the formula and go for more of the same, but with third album, Chief,
Church is trying something bolder and using the opportunity provided by his
success to push his music even further.
ôI have a theory that all of us only get a small window of time to make records
when people will really listen and care,ö he says. ôIt's up to us to move the
needle. People like Waylon and Cash or Garth and Strait - they all took the
format and said æWe're going over here,Æ and they all changed the direction of
the music a little bit.ö
ChurchÆs 2006 debut album, Sinners Like Me, established him as one of the most
acclaimed new songwriters in country music. The follow-up, 2009Æs Carolina,
includes the singles ôLove Your Love the Mostö and ôSmoke a Little Smoke,ö
whichùalong with the continually escalating popularity of his hard-charging live
showùelevated Church to the top ranks of todayÆs country stars. Although ôSmokeö
was peaking on the charts, Church decided to take a step back to give some
thought to his next creative direction.
ôI took about a month off and went to a cabin in North Carolina,ö he says.
ôWeÆve always blazed our own trail and I was trying to figure out where it
needed to go and, honestly, I wasn't sure. So, I didn't go anywhere for a month.
Writers came out and we just wrote songs all day and all night. That really
stoked the creative flame. Then, I spent the next six months on tour writing
whenever I could.ö
The songs that resulted illustrate ChurchÆs impressive range. Some of the titles
like ôDrink in My Handö or ôHungover & Hard Up,ö instantly show that heÆs still
comfortable with the expectations of his rowdy live audience. ôYouÆve got to
know what's going to fire them up,ö he says, ôbut, you also need to give them a
twist, something they can't just go back and get from the other two records.ö
Other songs, like the ambitious ôSpringsteenö or ôLike Jesus Does,ö reveal
complicated emotions and sophisticated song structures. Perhaps the bravest
track on Chief is the first single, ôHomeboy,ö a provocative appeal from one
brother to another to get back on track and make peace with his family.
ôæHomeboyÆ deals with social issues and with everyday life,ö says Church. ôIt
was pretty challenging for me to take that term æhomeboyÆ and use it as slang,
as a destination, and then at the end, as a spiritual place. Sonically, it's
like three or four different songs.ö
ôItÆs not something people are used to,ö he continues, ôand there can be a price
to pay for that. IÆve had people say æthat's strange,Æ æit's oddÆùthings that
some people might run from but, I think it's fantastic.ö
When it came time to record the album, Church had a sound in mind that felt
different from his first two releases. ôThis record, more than anything else
I've done, is breathing and alive,ö he says. ôThereÆs a wildness to it. ItÆs
untamed and not very harnessed.ö
This energy started with the singerÆs own role in the sessions. Much of Chief
was cut live in the studio. Church played guitar with the band (and for the
first time on record, electric guitar on ôLike Jesus Doesö) and some of the
final versions even use the original tracking vocal.
Church gives credit to producer Jay Joyce, with whom he has made all three of
his albums, for helping to bring this excitement out on the tracks. ôThereÆs
just a comfort level with Jay,ö he says. ôWeÆve both learned to sit back and let
each other try different paths and get farther out there. A lot of stuff we just
tried, like the handclap loop on æHomeboy,Æ just because we werenÆt afraid. We
never thought there was anything we couldnÆt do. I think itÆs the most
aggressive record IÆve made because of that.ö
Though Eric ChurchÆs focus is on looking forward rather than looking back, he
does acknowledge that the surprising success of ôSmoke a Little Smokeö allowed
him to explore and experiment with his new songs. Church explains, ôThis was the
first time I picked a single because of the reaction on the road and it paid
off.ö
The desire to capture the intensity of his live show on record is indicated
right in the title of the new album. "æChief' was my grandfatherÆs nickname, and
it has become my nickname on the road," Church reveals. "When it's show time, I
put on the sunglasses and the hat, and that's how people know it's game time.
This album was made from a live place; we recorded it with the live show in
mind, so it just seemed right to make that the title."
If there is one thing country music needs more of, itÆs the attitude that is
driving Eric Church, the approach behind every song on Chief, the fearlessness
that lets an artist swing for the fences and try to leave a mark on history.
ôThere were safer choices I could have made for sure, but I just can't feel that
helps anybody,ö he says. ôIf you have any respect for the music, you'll use each
chance you get to try to be one of the ones who moves the flag.ö