Crickets (album)

This article is about the Joe Nichols album. For the Dredg video album, see Crickets (Dredg video album).
Crickets
Studio album by
Joe Nichols
ReleasedOctober 8, 2013 (2013-10-08)
GenreCountry
Length55:25
LabelRed Bow Records
Producer
Joe Nichols chronology
It's All Good
(2011) 		Crickets
(2013) 		Never Gets Old
(2017)
Singles from Crickets
  1. "Sunny and 75"
    Released: May 13, 2013
  2. "Yeah"
    Released: January 27, 2014
  3. "Hard to Be Cool"
    Released: September 1, 2014

Crickets is the eighth studio album by American country music artist Joe Nichols, released on October 8, 2013 by Red Bow Records.[1] It includes a cover of Merle Haggard's "Footlights".[2][3] The album sold 12,330 albums its first week.

Mickey Jack Cones produced the entire album, co-producing with Tony Brown on "Yeah" and "Billy Graham's Bible", and Derek George on all other tracks.

Critical reception

[edit]
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[4]
Country WeeklyB[5]
Digital JournalA+[6]
Roughstock[7]

Crickets garnered generally positive reception from the ratings and reviews of music critics. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic rated the album three stars out of five, remarking how "All of Crickets is peppered with these kind of off-hand references to the modern world, but Nichols' true tell is the bright, affable sound of the record, how it finds a cozy middle ground between his burnished signature and the hyper-stylized, over-sized country of new millennial sports bars."[4] In addition, Erlewine says "his true strengths are rooted in the past, not the present."[4] At Country Weekly, Jon Freeman graded the album a B, indicating how "At times, the overstuffed (at 16 tracks) album struggles to keep the memorable hooks coming, opting instead for generic tales of women on creek banks."[5] Also, Freeman writes that "the beloved neotraditionalist may surprise some listeners by trying on some contemporary clothes."[5] Markos Papadatos of Digital Journal graded the album an A+, highlighting how the listener "can really hear Nichols' heart on this album and his love for the country genre" because Nichols' "leaves his fans yearning for more."[6] Furthermore, Papadatos states Nichols' is "stronger than ever" on a release that "contains 16 songs", which "is a real treat and its production is brilliant."[6] At Roughstock, Ashley Cooke rated the album four stars out of five, calling Nichols' a "completely underrated" musician, and this is evidenced by the "jammed packed album with many different songs and while some of the songs do fall within the cliché of country music out there, the delivery is different", which this is done with a "sound [that] is authentic and his vocals are smooth."[7]

Track listing

[edit]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Just Let Me Fall in Love with You"
3:50
2."Hard to Be Cool"
3:06
3."Baby You're in Love with Me"
2:51
4."Yeah"
2:33
5."Billy Graham's Bible"
3:55
6."Better Than Beautiful"
  • Jason Delkou
  • Rich Herring
3:37
7."Gotta Love It"
3:11
8."Sunny and 75"
  • Michael Dulaney
  • Paul Jenkins
  • Sellers
3:27
9."Y'ant To"Justin Wilson2:52
10."Hee Haw"
2:31
11."Love Has a Way"
  • Steve Bogard
  • John Edwards
  • Jason Sever
2:43
12."Smile on Smile"
2:43
13."Open Up a Can"
3:17
14."Old School Country Song"
4:45
15."Footlights"Merle Haggard4:13
16."Crickets"
  • Brent Baxter
  • Lisa Shaffer
  • Bill Whyte
3:36
Total length:55:25

Personnel

[edit]

Chart performance

[edit]

Album

[edit]
Chart (2013) Peak
position
US Billboard 200[8] 17
US Top Country Albums (Billboard)[9] 3
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[10] 4

Singles

[edit]
Year Single Peak chart positions
US Country US Country Airplay US CAN Country
[11] 		CAN
2013 "Sunny and 75" 4 1 39 1 49
2014 "Yeah" 7 1 41 1 48
"Hard to Be Cool" 32 22 — 50 —

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Joe Nichols' New Album Arriving Oct. 8". Country Music Television. August 26, 2013. Archived from the original on August 29, 2013. Retrieved August 26, 2013.
  2. ^ Whitaker, Sterling (August 26, 2013). "Joe Nichols Reveals Cover Art, Release Date and Track Listing for New Album". The Boot. Retrieved August 26, 2013.
  3. ^ Stark, Phyllis (August 26, 2013). "Briefs: Joe Nichols sets Oct. 8 release date for new album". MSN. Archived from the original on September 1, 2013. Retrieved August 26, 2013.
  4. ^ a b c Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Crickets – Joe Nichols | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved June 13, 2014.
  5. ^ a b c Freeman, Jon (October 8, 2013). "Crickets by Joe Nichols". Country Weekly. American Media, Inc. ISSN 1074-3235. Retrieved June 13, 2014.
  6. ^ a b c Papadatos, Markos (October 3, 2013). "Review: Country star Joe Nichols charms on new album 'Crickets'". Digital Journal. Retrieved June 13, 2014.
  7. ^ a b Cooke, Ashley (October 8, 2014). "Album Review: Joe Nichols – Crickets". Roughstock. Cheri Media Group. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved June 13, 2014.
  8. ^ "Joe Nichols Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard.
  9. ^ "Joe Nichols Chart History (Top Country Albums)". Billboard.
  10. ^ "Joe Nichols Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard.
  11. ^ "Joe Nichols Album & Song Chart History – Canada Country". Billboard. Retrieved November 20, 2013.
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