| Slow Me Down | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | March 11, 2014 | |||
| Recorded | 2012-13 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 38:12 | |||
| Label | RCA Nashville | |||
| Producer | Mark Bright Sara Evans | |||
| Sara Evans chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Slow Me Down | ||||
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Slow Me Down is the seventh studio album by American country music artist Sara Evans, released in 2014 by RCA Nashville. [1]
Evans co-wrote three of the album's eleven tracks and co-produced the record with Mark Bright, whom she previously worked with on 2005's Real Fine Place . [1] The album includes a cover of Gavin DeGraw's "Not Over You," with him providing harmony vocals, and a duet with Isaac Slade of The Fray on "Can't Stop Loving You." Vince Gill, who last collaborated with Evans on her 1998 No. 1 hit "No Place That Far," sings harmony vocals on "Better Off." "Revival" was previously recorded under the title "A Little Revival" by one of its co-writers, Radney Foster ("A Real Fine Place to Start"), on his 2009 album, Revival.
The album's title track, "Slow Me Down," was released as the album's lead-off single on September 23, 2013. It debuted at #57 on the U.S. Billboard Country Airplay chart for the week of September 14, 2013, and ultimately reached a peak of number 17 in April 2014.
The second single was announced to be "Can't Stop Loving You" with a release date of July 21, 2014. [2] For unknown reasons however, the release was pushed back to August 25, 2014 and then later cancelled completely with "Put My Heart Down" announced as the next single instead. "Put My Heart Down" was released on September 29, 2014. [3] It debuted at number 60 on the U.S. Billboard Country Airplay chart for the week of November 8, 2014, [4] and ultimately reached a peak of number 57, only spending four weeks on the chart. Evans appeared on ABC's Nashville to perform a duet version of "Put My Heart Down" with Will Chase (who plays Luke Wheeler on the show) on October 29, 2014. [5] [6]
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 87/100 [7] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [8] |
| Billboard | 91/100 [9] |
| Country Weekly | A [10] |
| Got Country Online | [11] |
| The Oakland Press | [12] |
| Roughstock | [13] |
| USA Today | [14] |
Slow Me Down garnered acclaim from music critics. At Metacritic, the album has a Metascore of 87, indicating "universal acclaim". [7] Erik Ernst of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel gave a positive review, saying that the album "is a mostly joyful affair that finds the singer even more confident as she explores the many sides of love" on which "She's been there and has come out singing better than ever on the other side." [15] At The Boston Globe , Sarah Rodman gave a positive review, stating that the release is better than her predecessor, and she says "the tracks that stand out have a fresh appeal." [16] Jon Caramanica of The New York Times gave a positive review, and writes that Evans "robust and sweet voice" are what sets the album apart because "She sings with power, grace and dignity.". [17] At USA Today , Brian Mansfield rated the album three out of four stars, stating that "In songs spanning soaring pop and stone country, Evans recounts all the ways to walk away, though she'd rather be convinced to stay", and the likes of "Gavin DeGraw, Vince Gill and Isaac Slade beckon her back." [14] Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic rated the album four stars out of five, writing that "fans hoping that Evans will return to country music will be disappointed, but Slow Me Down is something that is rare in 2014: an unapologetic, big-scale adult pop album, constructed with grace and care." [8] At The Oakland Press , Gary Graff rated the album three stars out of four, saying that Evans is "in fine voice and solid country-pop crossover form" on which "Evans isn’t about to be slowed down any time soon." [12] Chuck Dauphin of Billboard rated the album a 91-out-of-100, stating that the album is spectacular making it hard to select a few highlight tracks. [9] At Country Weekly , Tammy Ragusa graded the album an A, writing that "she has found what works best for her on the contemporary side and front-loads the project with those songs." [10] At Got Country Online, Donna Block rated the album a perfect five stars, and according to her "Every single beat is felt, head to toe. It’s quite a feat to balance ever-changing feelings in a song, let alone throughout an album", and it shows just how Evans "maintains a vocal equilibrium from song to song" on the release. [11] Dan MacIntosh of Roughstock rated the album three stars out of five, writing that Evans plays around with many styles on the album, but advises her "a beautiful, natural singing voice is a terrible thing to waste." [13]
Slow Me Down debuted at number nine on the U.S. Billboard 200, and at number two on the U.S. Billboard Top Country Albums chart selling 27,000 copies in its first week of release. [18] The album has sold 87,000 copies in the US as of August 2014. [19]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Slow Me Down" | Marv Green, Heather Morgan, Jimmy Robbins | 3:15 |
| 2. | "Not Over You" (featuring Gavin DeGraw) | Gavin DeGraw, Ryan Tedder | 3:52 |
| 3. | "Put My Heart Down" | Nathan Chapman, Andrew Dorff, Liz Huett | 3:16 |
| 4. | "Can't Stop Loving You" (duet with Isaac Slade of The Fray) | Victoria Banks, Phil Barton, Emily Shackleton | 3:35 |
| 5. | "You Never Know" | Sara Evans, Shane McAnally, Josh Osborne | 3:59 |
| 6. | "If I Run" | Evans, Karyn Rochelle, Shane Stevens | 3:33 |
| 7. | "Sweet Spot" | Evans, Rochelle, Stevens | 3:02 |
| 8. | "Good Love Is Hard to Find" | Dave Berg, busbee, Sarah Buxton | 3:33 |
| 9. | "Better Off" (featuring Vince Gill) | Marla Cannon-Goodman, Rochelle | 4:01 |
| 10. | "Gotta Have You" | Banks, Barton, Shackleton | 3:25 |
| 11. | "Revival" | Darrell Brown, Jay Clementi, Radney Foster | 4:01 |
| Total length: | 38:12 | ||
Studios
| Chart (2014) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Country Albums (OCC) [20] | 3 |
| US Billboard 200 [21] | 9 |
| US Top Country Albums (Billboard) [22] | 2 |
| Chart (2014) | Position |
|---|---|
| US Top Country Albums (Billboard) [23] | 51 |
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country | US Country Airplay | US | CAN Country | ||
| 2013 | "Slow Me Down" | 19 | 17 | 89 | 33 |
| 2014 | "Put My Heart Down" | — | 57 | — | — |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||||
Sara Lynn Evans is an American country music singer and songwriter. She is also credited as a record producer, actress, and author. She had five songs reach the number one spot on the Billboard country songs chart and has sold over six million albums. Nine additional singles have reached the top ten of the Billboard country chart, including "I Could Not Ask for More", "I Keep Looking", and "Cheatin'". Among her top 20 charting singles are "Saints & Angels", "Backseat of a Greyhound Bus", and "As If". She has won accolades from the Academy of Country Music and the Country Music Association. She has also been nominated for several more accolades from both associations, including Female Vocalist of the Year and Single of the Year.
Born to Fly is the third studio album by American country music artist Sara Evans. It was released in October 2000 via RCA Records Nashville. The album produced four singles with its title track, "I Could Not Ask for More", "Saints & Angels", and "I Keep Looking", all of which reached within the Top 20 on the US Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. The title track reached number one, "I Could Not Ask for More" and "I Keep Looking" both broke the Top 5 at numbers 2 and 5 respectively, and "Saints & Angels" peaked at number 16. Born to Fly has been Evans' highest-selling album to date, having been certified 2× Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for U.S. sales of two million copies. The album was also one of the most successful of the year. Evans was nominated for five CMA Awards: Album of the Year; song, single, and music video ; and Female Vocalist of the Year. She won her first CMA award for music video of the year. The international version of the album includes a bonus track, "You", which was later released in North America as a bonus track on her 2005 album Real Fine Place. Born to Fly was a defining album for Evans. Her earlier albums had more of a neotraditional country sound, while all of her later albums had a more crossover-friendly country pop sound, similar to Martina McBride and Faith Hill.
Three Chords and the Truth is the debut studio album by American country music artist Sara Evans. The album's title comes from Harlan Howard, a country music songwriter to whom this quote is widely attributed. It also was an improvized lyric in U2's version of the Bob Dylan song "All Along the Watchtower," released on the Rattle and Hum album. The album was released in July 1997 via RCA Records Nashville and it produced three singles: "True Lies", the title track, and "Shame About That". Even though all three singles charted on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, none of them reached the Top 40, making this Evans' only major label album to not produce any Top 40 hits.
The discography of American country music artist Sara Evans consists of ten studio albums, three compilation albums, two extended plays, one video album, three additional albums, 39 singles, and four other charted songs. After briefly recording with "E and S Records", Evans reworked her musical direction and signed with RCA Nashville in 1997. Her debut album, Three Chords and the Truth, was released in July 1997. Although the singles were unsuccessful, it was critically acclaimed. Her second studio album was released in September 1998 entitled No Place That Far. The title track reached the top of the Billboard Hot Country Singles and Tracks chart. The success helped the album earn gold certification in the United States. Evans' third studio album, Born to Fly, was released in October 2000. Born to Fly reached number six on the Top Country Albums chart and the top-sixty of the Billboard 200. Its title track became her second number-one hit on the Hot Country Songs chart. The album also spawned the hits "I Could Not Ask for More", "Saints & Angels", and "I Keep Looking". It is the best-selling album of Evans' career, having been certified 2× platinum in the United States. In August 2003, she released the pop-inspired Restless, whose lead single "Perfect" reached the Top 5. Restless was certified platinum in the United States shortly after the success of its third single "Suds in the Bucket", which became Evans' third number one hit.
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"Slow Me Down" is a song written by Marv Green, Heather Morgan and Jimmy Robbins and recorded by American country music artist Sara Evans. It was released on September 3, 2013, as a digital download and to country radio on September 23, 2013, as the first single and title track from Evans’ 2014 album of the same name. Evans debuted the new single during her annual fanclub party in June 2013, and premiered the studio cut of the song exclusively through her official website following a campaign to unlock the audio stream.
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