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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]
Critical reception
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]
Accolades
Commercial performance
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.
Track listing
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
Personnel
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
Charts
Chart positions
Year-end charts
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
Certifications
References
^ 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 .
Studio albums Singles as a lead artist Guest singles Other songs Tours Related articles