Your Life Is a Record

Your Life Is a Record
A photo of Clark standing in the desert by a jukebox
Studio album by
Brandy Clark
ReleasedMarch 6, 2020 (2020-03-06)
Studio
  • Neon Cross, Nashville, Tennessee, United States
  • Royal Studios, Memphis, Tennessee, United States
GenreCountry
Length39:07
LabelWarner
ProducerJay Joyce
Brandy Clark chronology
Live from Los Angeles
(2017) 		Your Life Is a Record
(2020) 		Brandy Clark
(2023)
Singles from Your Life Is a Record
  1. "Who You Thought I Was"
    Released: January 10, 2020

Your Life Is a Record is the third studio album by American country music artist Brandy Clark. It was released on March 6, 2020, via Warner Records. It includes the single "Who You Thought I Was".[1] The album has received positive critical reception for Clark's songwriting skills. Despite wide acclaim, it was not as commercially successful as her previous albums, peaking at #46 the country charts and not making the Billboard Top 200 among all albums. It was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Country Album.

On February 12, 2021, Clark announced that a deluxe edition of the album would be released on March 5, 2021, with six new songs, including live versions of "Pawn Shop" and "Who You Thought I Was" and a new version of "The Past Is the Past" featuring Lindsey Buckingham.[2]

Recording and release

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As the album was nearing completion, Clark and producer Jay Joyce made a conscious effort to avoid country music cliches, using experimental musicians and strings to make sounds unlike her previous work; the singer had anxiety about if Warner Records could successfully market it past the tepid reception to her 2016 album Big Day in a Small Town.[3] To start the recordings, Clark and Joyce began with a simple acoustic combo and only later added electric elements or string arrangements to enhance the stripped-down recordings.[4] The album was preceded by a music video for the track "Who You Thought I Was",[5] one of many songs on the album discussing a break-up Clark had after a 15-year relationship.[3] This was followed by a video for "Love Is a Fire" on February 14.[6]

The track "Better Boat" was recorded as a duet with Randy Newman.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Clark decided to release a deluxe edition of the album that included older recordings, a brief live performance for MusiCares, and the new composition "Remember Me Beautiful".[7]

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic83⁄100[8]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[9]
American Songwriter[10]
Exclaim!7⁄10[11]
Pitchfork Media7.5⁄10[12]

According to the review aggregator Metacritic, Your Life Is a Record received "universal acclaim" based on a weighted average score of 83 out of 100 from seven critic scores.[8] Album of the Year rates the consensus at 81 with four reviews.[13]

The editorial staff of AllMusic gave the album 4.5 out of five stars, with reviewer Stephen Thomas Erlewine summing up that it's "an album that feels like a classic not just through its sound but through its depth of feeling".[9] For Slate, Carl Wilson wrote that the release is Clark's "most personal album" yet and praises the maturity of her songwriting: "Clark has mostly left behind the exercises in women-empowerment snark and spunk that her previous records leaned on for infusions of energy, a recourse that's become its own cliché in women’s country".[14] In a brief preview for the week in country, Billboard highlighted the release, with Annie Reuter calling Clark's "adept songwriting" the center of the album;[15] the publication later had a full review from Tom Roland who compared this album with Clarks's previous ones to find it the most authentic songwriting and performance of her career.[16] In assessing the album, Clark's career, and the general state of contemporary country music, The New Yorker's David Cantwell declared that "no one is writing better country songs than Brandy Clark is" and that this third album is her finest.[17] In American Songwriter, Jason Scott gave the album 4.5 out of five, joining voices calling it her finest release, explaining Clark's strength as musician as well as producer Jay Joyce's ability to augment her voice.[10]

A more mixed review came from Pitchfork's Sam Sodomsky, rating the album 7.5 out of 10, praising innovative arrangements and incisive and clever lyrics that will challenge listeners.[12] Reviewing the album for Exclaim!, Kyle Mullin gave the release a seven out of 10, noting the same qualities and suggesting that other songwriters will "daydream about following in her footsteps".[11] Chris Willman of Variety calls Clark as a songwriter "the necessary next stop [after the success of Kacey Musgraves] for anyone joining this program already in progress and finding that Music City is the richest source of fingerpicking female singer-songwriters with crystalline voices, classic twang-pop sensibilities and a knack for sweet devastation" and gives a positive review of this album for its myriad looks at relationships.[18]

Accolades for Your Life Is a Record
Year Issuer Award Recipient Outcome
2020 Grammy Awards Best Country Solo Performance[7] "Who You Thought I Was" Nominated
Best Country Album[7] Your Life Is a Record Nominated
2021 Best American Roots Performance[19] "Same Devil" Nominated

Track listing

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  1. "I'll Be the Sad Song" (Brandy Clark, Jesse Jo Dillon, Chase McGill) – 3:58
  2. "Long Walk" (Clark, Jesse Frasure, Jay Joyce) – 2:39
  3. "Love Is a Fire" (Clark, Joyce, Shane McAnally) – 4:01
  4. "Pawn Shop" (Clark, Troy Verges) – 3:50
  5. "Who You Thought I Was" (Clark, Joyce, Jonathan Singleton) – 3:09
  6. "Apologies" (Clark, Scott Stepakoff, Forest Glen Whitehead) – 3:23
  7. "Bigger Boat" (Clark, Adam Wright) – 3:34
  8. "Bad Car" (Clark, Jason Saenz) – 3:02
  9. "Who Broke Whose Heart" (Clark, McAnally) – 3:02
  10. "Can We Be Strangers" (Clark,Clint Daniels, Dillon) – 3:29
  11. "The Past Is the Past" (Clark, Luke Laird) – 5:00

Deluxe edition bonus tracks

  2. "Who You Thought I Was" (Live from 3rd & Lindsley) (Clark, Dillon, and Singleton) – 3:13
  3. "Pawn Shop" (Live from 3rd & Lindsley) (Clark and Verges) – 3:56
  4. "Remember Me Beautiful" (Clark, Hillary Lindsey, Lori McKenna, and Liz Rose) – 4:25
  5. "Like Mine" (Marla Cannon-Goodman, Clark, and Hailey Whitters) – 3:26
  6. "Same Devil" (Cannon-Goodman, Clark, and Whitters) – 3:07
  7. "The Past Is the Past" (Clark and Laird) – 3:35

Personnel

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  • Brandy Clark – bass guitar, acoustic guitar piano, backing and lead vocals
  • Brent Anderson – backing vocals
  • Court Blankenship – assistant production
  • Lindsey Buckingham – guitar and vocals on Deluxe Edition version of "The Past Is the Past"
  • Brandi Carlile – vocals on "Same Devil"
  • Diane Cohen – violin
  • Daniel Gilbert – violin
  • Jedd Hughes – bass guitar; dobro; engineering; acoustic, baritone, and electric guitar, mandolin
  • Jay Joyce – bass guitar, drums, acoustic and electric guitar, mixing, Omnichord, production, programming, pump organ, synthesizer, vocals
  • Jonathan Kirkscey – cello, saxophone
  • Beth Luscombe – viola
  • Jimmy Mansfield – assistant engineering
  • Lannie McMillan – flute, saxophone
  • Andrew Mendelson – mastering
  • Bob Mitchell – engineering
  • Jessica Munson – baritone saxophone, violin
  • Randy Newman – vocals on "Bigger Boat"
  • John Osborne – dobro, backing vocals
  • Josh Osbourne – backing vocals
  • Chris Phelps – photography
  • Jennifer Puckett – viola
  • Giles Reaves – bongos, claves, djembe, drums, acoustic guitar, handclapping, marimba, percussion, piano, programming, synthesizer, synthesizer bass, tambourine, triangle
  • Jonathan Singleton – vocals
  • Kirk Smothers – flute
  • Lester Snell – arrangement, band leader, viola
  • Jim Spake – cello, baritone saxophone
  • Chris Taylor – assistant engineering
  • Scott Thompson – trumpet
  • Gary Topper – flute, violin
  • Priscilla Tsai – flute, violin
  • Stephan Walker – art direction
  • Forest Whitehead – backing vocals
  • Wen-Yih You – trumpet, violin

Chart performance

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Chart peaks for Your Life Is a Record
Chart (2020) Peak
Scottish Albums (OCC)[20] 27
UK Americana Albums (OCC)[21] 3
UK Country Albums (OCC)[22] 2
US Folk Albums (Billboard)[23] 10
US Top Album Sales (Billboard)[24] 25
US Top Country Albums (Billboard)[25] 46
US Top Current Album Sales (Billboard)[26] 25

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Shelburne, Craig (January 10, 2020). "Brandy Clark Returns with 'Who You Thought I Was'". Country Music Television. Archived from the original on January 23, 2020. Retrieved March 7, 2020.
  2. ^ Nicholson, Jessica (February 12, 2021). "Brandy Clark To Release Deluxe Album On March 5". CMT. Archived from the original on February 12, 2021. Retrieved February 13, 2021.
  3. ^ a b Hight, Jewly (March 2, 2020). "Brandy Clark, a Vivid Storyteller, Finally Tells Her Own". First Listen. NPR. Archived from the original on March 7, 2020. Retrieved March 6, 2020.
  4. ^ Kawashima, Dale (2020-05-12). "Brandy Clark Talks About Her Excellent Album, Your Life Is A Record, And Writing Her Songs". Songwriter Universe. Retrieved 2022-11-27.
  5. ^ Bernstein, Jonathan (January 10, 2020). "Brandy Clark Previews New Album Your Life Is a Record with 'Who You Thought I Was'". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on March 1, 2020. Retrieved March 6, 2020.
  6. ^ "See Brandy Clark's Illuminating 'Love Is a Fire' Video". Country Music Television. February 14, 2020. Archived from the original on March 5, 2020. Retrieved March 7, 2020.
  7. ^ a b c Freeman, John (2021-03-21). "Brandy Clark on Good Surprises, Grammy Nominations, and Deluxe Album". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2022-11-27.
  8. ^ a b "Your Life Is a Record by Brandy Clark Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Archived from the original on March 7, 2020. Retrieved March 7, 2020.
  9. ^ a b Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Your Life Is a Record – Brandy Clark". AllMusic. Archived from the original on April 11, 2020. Retrieved March 6, 2020.
  10. ^ a b Scott, Jason (March 6, 2020). "Brandy Clark Opens Up Her World on Third Album, Your Life Is a Record". American Songwriter. Retrieved March 7, 2020.
  11. ^ a b Mullin, Kyle (March 4, 2020). "Brandy Clark Your Life Is a Record". Exclaim!. Archived from the original on June 15, 2020. Retrieved March 6, 2020.
  12. ^ a b Sodomsky, Sam (March 5, 2020). "Brandy Clark: Your Life Is a Record Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved March 6, 2020.
  13. ^ "Brandy Clark – Your Life Is a Record". Album of the Year. Archived from the original on April 7, 2020. Retrieved March 7, 2020.
  14. ^ Wilson, Carl (March 6, 2020). "Country's Most Potent Songwriter Is Back with Her Most Personal Album Yet". Slate. Archived from the original on March 7, 2020. Retrieved March 6, 2020.
  15. ^ Reuter, Annie (March 6, 2020). "First Country: New Music From Dixie Chicks, Mickey Guyton, Brandy Clark & More". Billboard. Retrieved March 6, 2020.
  16. ^ Roland, Rom (March 9, 2020). "Brandy Clark Makes a Personal Statement On the Record" (PDF). Billboard Country Update. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 12, 2020. Retrieved April 11, 2020.
  17. ^ Cantwell, David (March 6, 2020). "No One Is Writing Better Country Songs than Brandy Clark Is". The New Yorker. Retrieved March 6, 2020.
  18. ^ Willman, Chris (March 11, 2020). "Brandy Clark's Your Life Is a Record: Album Review". Variety. Archived from the original on March 15, 2020. Retrieved March 17, 2020.
  19. ^ Horton, Adrian (2022-04-03). "Grammy awards 2022: list of winners". The Guardian. Guardian Media Group. Retrieved 2022-11-27.
  20. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 14, 2020.
  21. ^ "Official Americana Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
  22. ^ "Official Country Artists Albums Chart Top 20". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 14, 2020.
  23. ^ "Brandy Clark Chart History (Top Americana/Folk Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved March 22, 2020.
  24. ^ "Brandy Clark Chart History (Top Album Sales)". Billboard. Archived from the original on February 15, 2020. Retrieved March 22, 2020.
  25. ^ "Brandy Clark Chart History (Top Country Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved March 22, 2020.
  26. ^ "Brandy Clark Chart History (Top Current Album Sales)". Billboard. Archived from the original on February 1, 2020. Retrieved March 22, 2020.
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