Desperate Man
Studio album by
Eric Church
ReleasedOctober 5, 2018 (2018-10-05)
GenreOutlaw country[1]
Length36:41
Label
ProducerJay Joyce
Eric Church chronology
Mr. Misunderstood
(2015)		 Desperate Man
(2018)		 Heart
(2021)
Singles from Desperate Man
  1. "Desperate Man"
    Released: July 12, 2018
  2. "Some of It"
    Released: January 14, 2019
  3. "Monsters"
    Released: August 26, 2019

Desperate Man (stylized in all lowercase) is the sixth album by American country music singer Eric Church. It was released via EMI Nashville and Snakefarm Records on October 5, 2018. The album's lead single is its title track.

History

Church announced the album's release on July 13, 2018, via a livestream to his fanclub, the Church Choir. The lead single, which is the title track, was shipped to radio a day prior to this announcement. The album consists of 11 songs, and Church revealed the tracklisting on a pre-order page on his website. As with all of his previous albums, it was produced by Jay Joyce.[2] Church said that the album's title came from the emotions he felt after the 2017 Las Vegas shooting; he told Rolling Stone that "I got a little bit desperate in there to just find an album, because it was not fucking happening."[3]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic80/100[4]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[5]
Pitchfork7.6/10[6]
Rolling Stone[7]

Desperate Man received positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 80, based on 8 reviews.[4]

Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic rated it 4 out of 5 stars, stating that "Instead of going big, the way he did on 2014's burly Outsiders, he's keeping things small, a decision that highlights the many savvy ways he expands American musical traditions even as he adheres to them. Perhaps these variations on themes are subtle, but this confident sense of sonic adventure -- when combined with Church's expert craft -- results in a satisfying album."[5] Erlewine also reviewed the album for Pitchfork, where he called it one of the "most modest but poignant albums" of Church's career and "the sound of a renegade settling into his mature period".[6] Erlewine also noted that the "deliberate decision not to indulge in a grand gesture—combined with the consciously compact scale of Desperate Man—means this album seems smaller than every record he's made since 2011's Chief. That modesty is the key to its very appeal: This is an album designed not for the moment but the long haul."[6] Vulture reviewer Craig Jenkins wote that Church "excellence out of ordinary threads", while highlighting it as Church's "quietest" record to date and praising many of the songs' lyrics.[8]

Meet-Country.com stated "His current sound is a natural progression from his previous works but yet it all still ties together."[9]

Desperate Man received a nomination for Album of the Year at the 53rd Country Music Association Awards.

Commercial performance

Desperate Man debuted at No. 5 on the Billboard 200, with 103,000 copies sold (116,000 in equivalent album units). It is Church's fifth top ten entry in the chart.[10] It also debuted at No. 1 on Top Country Albums.[11] The album has sold 245,100 copies in the United States as of March 2020.[12]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Eric Church, with additional co-writers as noted

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."The Snake"
4:00
2."Hangin' Around"
  • Jeff Hyde
2:29
3."Heart Like a Wheel" 3:15
4."Some of It"
3:15
5."Monsters"
  • Hyde
3:20
6."Hippie Radio" 2:54
7."Higher Wire"
2:43
8."Desperate Man"
3:28
9."Solid"
  • Anders Osborne
4:18
10."Jukebox and a Bar" 3:12
11."Drowning Man"
  • Beathard
3:47
Total length:36:41

Personnel

  • Jeff Cease – electric guitar, handclapping
  • Eric Church – acoustic guitar, electric guitar, lead vocals, background vocals
  • Joanna Cotten – handclapping, background vocals
  • Lee Hendricks – bass guitar, handclapping
  • Jeff Hyde – banjo, acoustic guitar, handclapping, background vocals
  • Jay Joyce – acoustic guitar, bass guitar, electric guitar, Hammond B-3 organ, handclapping, keyboards, percussion, piano, programming, background vocals
  • Driver Williams – electric guitar
  • Craig Wright – bongos, drums, handclapping, percussion, shaker

Charts

Certifications

Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[20] Gold 40,000‡
United States (RIAA)[21] Gold 500,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ↑ "Desperate Man". AllMusic. Retrieved October 6, 2018.
  2. ↑ Liptak, Carena (July 12, 2018). "Everything We Know About Eric Church's New Album, 'Desperate Man'". The Boot. Retrieved September 27, 2018.
  3. ↑ Moss, Marisa (July 12, 2018). "Eric Church on New Song 'Desperate Man: 'I Was a Little Lost for a While'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved September 27, 2018.
  4. 1 2 "Reviews for Desperate Man by Eric Church". Metacritic. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
  5. 1 2 Erlewine, Stephen Thomas (October 4, 2018). "Desperate Man – Eric Church | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved October 14, 2018.
  6. 1 2 3 Erlewine, Stephen Thomas (October 23, 2018). "Eric Church: Desperate Man Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved October 14, 2018.
  7. ↑ Hermes, Will (October 5, 2018). "Review: Eric Church Pledges Allegiance to Old-School Country-Rock Values on 'Desperate Man'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
  8. ↑ Jenkins, Craig (October 4, 2018). "On Desperate Man, Eric Church's Devastating Pen is Pushed to Center Stage". Vulture.
  9. ↑ "Eric Church – Desperate Man Album Review". Meet Country. 5 October 2018.
  10. 1 2 Caulfield, Keith (October 14, 2018). "Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper's 'A Star Is Born' Soundtrack Debuts at No. 1 on Billboard 200 Albums Chart". Billboard. Retrieved October 15, 2018.
  11. ↑ "Top Country Albums". Billboard. October 20, 2018.
  12. ↑ Bjorke, Matt (March 10, 2020). "Top 10 Country Albums Pure Sales Chart: March 9, 2020". RoughStock. Retrieved March 22, 2020.
  13. ↑ "ARIA Chart Watch #494". auspOp. October 13, 2018. Retrieved October 13, 2018.
  14. ↑ "Eric Church Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved October 15, 2018.
  15. ↑ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 13, 2018.
  16. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Eric Church – Desperate Man". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 17, 2018.
  17. ↑ "Eric Church Chart History (Top Country Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved October 16, 2018.
  18. ↑ "Top Country Albums – Year-End 2018". Billboard. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
  19. ↑ "Top Country Albums – Year-End 2019". Billboard. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
  20. ↑ "Canadian album certifications – Eric Church – Desperate Man". Music Canada. Retrieved March 18, 2021.
  21. ↑ "American album certifications – Eric Church – Desperate Man". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved August 3, 2020.
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