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| The Highwomen | |
|---|---|
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| Studio album by | |
| Released | September 6, 2019 |
| Recorded | March 2019 |
| Studio |
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| Genre | Country |
| Length | 42:59 |
| Label | Elektra |
| Producer | Dave Cobb |
| Singles from The Highwomen | |
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The Highwomen is the debut studio album by country music supergroup the Highwomen, made up of band members Brandi Carlile, Natalie Hemby, Maren Morris, and Amanda Shires. It was released on September 6, 2019, by Elektra Records.
In 2016, when Shires was finishing her record My Piece of Land in music producer Dave Cobb's studio, Shires had an idea to create a female country supergroup in homage to the legendary Highwaymen (consisting of Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Kris Kristofferson and Willie Nelson). At the same time, the lack of representation of female artists on country radio and at country music festivals had been publicly discussed by many journalists like Marissa Moss. While on tour in her van, Shires kept a running list of artists while listening to country radio, and noticed that there were very few women. When she called to request they play more female artists, she was directed to a Facebook page lottery system. Cobb recommended Shires call Carlile, whom she did not know. Carlile thought it would be fun, and would be an interesting creative project. [1]
The Highwomen project was widely hinted at by Carlile, Morris and Shires before it was officially announced on April 6, 2019. The Highwomen had originally intended to leave the fourth spot in their line-up vacant to allow other female collaborators to join them, with Chely Wright, Courtney Marie Andrews, Margo Price, Janelle Monáe, and Sheryl Crow mentioned as potential guests. [2] The band, who jokingly refer to the collaboration as a pirate-ship experience, said that they see the project as an incubator project that highlights mentorship and support of fellow women artists. [1]
The group made their live debut on April 1, 2019, at Loretta Lynn's 87th birthday concert, held at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville. There, Natalie Hemby was officially revealed as the final member and the quartet performed "It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels". [3]
The album was officially announced on July 19, 2019, with the release of the album's first single, "Redesigning Women", along with the album's pre-order. [4] The music video for "Redesigning Women" was released the same day. The promotional single "Crowded Table" was released on July 26. [5] On July 30, the Highwomen appeared on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon , where they performed "Redesigning Women" and "Crowded Table". [6] In July 2019, the Highwomen performed their first ever full live set at the 60th annual Newport Folk Festival, previewing songs from their upcoming album. [7] The third and final promotional single, "Highwomen", was released on August 13. [8]
The album opens with "Highwomen", a re-written version of the Jimmy Webb–penned classic "Highwayman". The song was re-written by Carlile and Shires — with Webb's blessing and assistance — as a response song reflecting how women throughout history often sacrifice themselves for a greater good, illustrating this with a Honduran immigrant who dies getting her children over the border (sung by Carlile), a healer executed for witchcraft (Shires), a freedom rider (guest vocals from Yola), and a preacher (Hemby); Sheryl Crow also provided backing vocals. [9] [10]
The album's second track, and lead single, is "Redesigning Women". It was written by band member Natalie Hemby with Rodney Clawson. Rolling Stone said that the song "puts a woman’s experience front and center, with just enough punch to make it smart, self-deprecating, and sarcastic all at once." [10] The third track, "Loose Change", written by band member Maren Morris with Maggie Chapman and Daniel Layus of the band Augustana, is filled with clever wordplay and a heavy dose of Texas swagger. [10] "Crowded Table", the fourth track and second single, was written by band members Hemby and Carlile with Lori McKenna. Rolling Stone called the song the band's mission statement and said it's about "looking for a world where everyone is given a chance to fit in. This isn’t about leaning in or fighting for the top chair. It’s about making room." [10]
Track five, "My Name Can't Be Mama", was written by Carlile, Morris, and Shires. It is an inclusive song about motherhood and parenting. The three women in the song all have their own definition of being a mother and each have their own reason for needing a break. For Carlile, it's a hard morning after a night of no sleep; for Shires, it's trying to find a career; and for Morris, it's a break from society's expectation to have children by a certain age (with an allusion to Carlile's "The Mother"). [10] "If She Ever Leaves Me", the album's sixth track, was written by band member Amanda Shires with her husband Jason Isbell and Chris Thompkins. Isbell said that he came up with the idea while exercising and realized that if Carlile sang it they could have a singular "gay country song" moment. [10] Rolling Stone called it "a love song that transcends sexuality while not ignoring it." [10]
Track seven, "Old Soul", penned by Morris with Luke Dick and Laura Veltz, is an intimate look at the burdens of having to grow up too fast. [10] The eighth track, "Don't Call Me", written by Shires and Peter Levin, is a reminder to not pick up the phone the next time an ex calls. [10] "My Only Child", the album's ninth track, was written by members Hemby and Shires with Miranda Lambert. It is about the love a mother has for her child and her disappointment that her family ended up smaller than she had once dreamed it would. The album's tenth track, "Heaven Is a Honky Tonk", was written by members Carlile and Hemby with Ray LaMontagne, and features Sheryl Crow and background vocals by Yola. Track eleven, "Cocktail and a Song", is a solo composition from Shires about mortality and life's inevitabilities. [10] The album closes with "The Wheels of Laredo", a song written by Carlile with Tim and Phil Hanseroth for Tanya Tucker's 2019 album, While I'm Livin' .
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 80/100 [11] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [12] |
| American Songwriter |  [13] |
| Consequence of Sound | B+ [14] |
| Exclaim! | 8/10 [15] |
| The Guardian | [16] |
| Pitchfork | 7.7/10 [17] |
| PopMatters |   [18] |
| Rolling Stone | [19] |
| Slant Magazine | [20] |
| Us Weekly | [21] |
The album received mostly positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received a weighted average score of 80 based on 13 reviews. [11]
Chris Willman from Variety called the album an "instant classic," and went on to say that "the all-star foursome has put together an album full of high comedy and high pathos, zingy group-sings and gut-wreching solo turns, wryness and rue, and harmony co-existing with this strange and nearly forgotten thing called twang." [22] Laura Stanley at Exclaim! gave the album an 8 out of 10, and said the album "is both a call for change and a celebration of women in country music." [15] Writing for AllMusic, Stephen Thomas Erlewine gave the album four out of five stars and said, "The record's resonance lies in its deep emotions and sense of craft. The craft isn't incidental, either. Their shared skills as writers and singers provide the supporting evidence to Shires' conceptual thesis: if country radio doesn't want to play music this good, what's the point of radio anyway?" [12] Will Hermes from Rolling Stone gave the album four out of five stars. His review said, "What’s most impressive about The Highwomen, handsomely produced with Nashville neoclassicist Dave Cobb, is how artfully, and matter-of-factly, it engages social issues. Credit the concentration of songwriting talent. Every woman here is at the top of her game." [19] The album received seven out of ten stars from Chris Conaton at PopMatters who said, "They're having a lot of fun, but the specifically feminist bent of the group's outlook helps focus the album as well. The Highwomen is worth a listen for any fans of these artists individually or as a sampler for all of them." [18]
Seth Wilson from Slant Magazine gave the album three and a half out of five stars. He praised the album's title track, calling it "a powerful and succinct recalibration of Jimmy Webb’s 'The Highwayman'". [20] The album received three and a half out of five stars from Hal Horowitz at American Songwriter . He said the album is "generally more subdued than the Lambert-led Pistol Annies and less groundbreaking than Trio . It would have helped if all four women participated in every performance since at least one is MIA on the majority of tunes." He criticized Dave Cobb's production, calling it "professional" but "also a little dry." [13] In a review for Glide Magazine, Jim Hynes said the album "has its strong moments and it does carry a strong mission. Yet, its ambitious and inclusive scope creates an enormity that somewhat weighs it down." [23] In a mixed review for The Guardian , Michael Hann gave the album three out of five stars and said, "Four voices aren’t always stronger than one, and the collegiate nature of the record leaves one yearning for a little more single-mindedness." [16] Nicholas Hautman from Us Weekly gave the album four stars and called it an "instant classic." [21]
The album won the International Album of the Year award at the 2020 UK Americana Music Awards. [24]
| Publication | Accolade | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Billboard [25] | Top 50 Albums of 2019 | 8 |
| Entertainment Weekly [26] | Top 10 Albums of 2019 | 4 |
| Rolling Stone [27] | Top 100 of Albums of 2010s | 77 |
| Us Weekly [28] | Top 10 Albums of 2019 | 5 |
The Highwomen debuted at number 10 on the US Billboard 200 with 34,000 album-equivalent units, including 29,000 pure album sales. [29] It sold 8,100 copies in the second week. [30] It has sold 86,100 copies in the United States as of March 2020. [31]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Lead vocals | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Highwomen" (featuring Yola) |
| 3:32 | |
| 2. | "Redesigning Women" |
| 2:54 | |
| 3. | "Loose Change" | Morris | 2:22 | |
| 4. | "Crowded Table" |
|
| 3:29 |
| 5. | "My Name Can't Be Mama" |
|
| 2:30 |
| 6. | "If She Ever Leaves Me" |
| Carlile | 3:13 |
| 7. | "Old Soul" |
| Morris | 5:45 |
| 8. | "Don't Call Me" |
|
| 3:36 |
| 9. | "My Only Child" |
| Hemby | 3:53 |
| 10. | "Heaven Is a Honky Tonk" (featuring Sheryl Crow) |
|
| 3:54 |
| 11. | "Cocktail and a Song" | Shires | Shires | 3:37 |
| 12. | "Wheels of Laredo" |
| Carlile | 4:14 |
| Total length: | 42:59 | |||
Adapted from the album liner notes. [32]
The Highwomen
Musicians
Guest vocalists
Additional personnel
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
|
Brandi Marie Carlile is an American singer-songwriter and producer. Her music spans different genres, including folk rock, alternative country, Americana, and classic rock.
"Highwayman" is a song written by American singer-songwriter Jimmy Webb about a soul with incarnations in four different places in time and history: as a highwayman, a sailor, a construction worker on the Hoover Dam, and finally as a captain of a starship. Webb first recorded the song on his album El Mirage, released in May 1977. The following year, Glen Campbell recorded his version on his 1979 album Highwayman.
Amanda Rose Shires is an American singer-songwriter and fiddle player. Shires has released seven solo albums starting in 2005, her most recent being Take It Like a Man in 2022. In 2019, she founded a country music supergroup called The Highwomen alongside Brandi Carlile, Maren Morris and Natalie Hemby and has also performed as a member of the Texas Playboys, Thrift Store Cowboys, and Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit, as well as in a duo with Rod Picott. Along with Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit, Shires won the Grammy Award for Best Americana Album for their 2017 album The Nashville Sound.
Natalie Nicole Hemby Wrucke is an American country music songwriter and singer. She has written songs for Lee Ann Womack, Eli Young Band, Toby Keith, Miranda Lambert, Sunny Sweeney, Little Big Town, Jon Pardi, Kacey Musgraves, Kelly Clarkson, Lauren Daigle, and Lady Gaga. In 2019, she joined the quartet The Highwomen alongside Brandi Carlile, Amanda Shires and Maren Morris.
Maren Larae Morris is an American singer and songwriter. Rooted in the country genre, her music blends in elements of pop, and R&B. Morris has won multiple accolades including a Grammy Award, an American Music Award, five Country Music Association Awards, and five Academy of Country Music Awards.
Hero is the major-label debut album and fourth studio album by American country music singer Maren Morris, released on June 3, 2016, through Columbia Nashville. It marks Morris' first release on a major label and her fourth overall. The album debuted and peaked at number five on the Billboard 200 chart and was nominated for Best Country Album at the 59th Annual Grammy Awards.
By the Way, I Forgive You is the sixth studio album by Brandi Carlile, released on February 16, 2018. "The Joke" was released as the album's lead single. The album was co-produced by Dave Cobb and Shooter Jennings. The album art is an original painting by Scott Avett. The album won a Grammy Award for Best Americana Album in 2019, as well being nominated for Album of the Year.
The Mountain is the ninth studio album by American country music artist Dierks Bentley. It was released on June 8, 2018 by Capitol Records Nashville. It features the singles "Woman, Amen", "Burning Man" and "Living". The album was co-produced by Jon Randall and Ross Copperman.
The Tree of Forgiveness is the eighteenth and final studio album by American country folk singer John Prine. The album was released on April 13, 2018. It is the last album released by Prine before his death on April 7, 2020.
This is a list of notable events in country music that took place in 2019.
"The Joke" is a song recorded by American singer-songwriter Brandi Carlile. It was co-written by Carlile, Dave Cobb, and Phil and Tim Hanseroth, and produced by Cobb and Shooter Jennings. It was released on November 13, 2017, as the lead single off By the Way, I Forgive You, Carlile's sixth album. With music inspired by "An American Trilogy" by Elvis Presley, the lyrics are intended to uplift people who are marginalized by society. The song received widespread critical acclaim, winning two Grammy awards.
Girl is the second studio album by American country music singer Maren Morris, released on March 8, 2019 through Columbia Nashville. It was preceded by the single "Girl". The promotional single "Common", featuring Brandi Carlile, was released alongside the album pre-order on February 8. The track was later nominated for Best Country Duo/Group Performance at the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards, while the album's second single "The Bones" was nominated for Best Country Song at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards. Morris embarked on the Girl: The World Tour in support of the album.
Girl: The World Tour was the second concert tour by American singer Maren Morris in support of her second major label studio album, Girl (2019). The tour began on March 9, 2019, at Riviera Theatre in Chicago and concluded on November 16, 2019, at The Armory in Minneapolis.
While I'm Livin' is the 26th studio album by American country music singer Tanya Tucker. It was released on August 23, 2019, by Fantasy Records. The album was produced by Brandi Carlile and Shooter Jennings. It is Tucker's first album in a decade, since 2009's My Turn, and her first album of original material since her 2002 album, Tanya. The album earned Tucker the Grammy Award for Best Country Album at the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards in addition to winning Best Country Song for "Bring My Flowers Now" which was also nominated for Best Country Solo Performance, and the all-genre Grammy Award for Song of the Year. Rolling Stone placed the album at number one on the publication's list of the 40 Best Country and Americana Albums of 2019 and number 24 on their list of the top 50 Albums of 2019. Tucker promoted the album throughout 2019 with the While I'm Livin' Tour and continued to support the album in the first quarter of 2020 on the Bring My Flowers Now Tour, a partnership with CMT's Next Women of Country. The COVID-19 pandemic caused the remainder of the tour to be postponed until July 2021.
The Highwomen is an American country music supergroup composed of Brandi Carlile, Natalie Hemby, Maren Morris, and Amanda Shires. Formed in 2019, the group's self-titled debut album was released on September 6 of the same year by Elektra Records and was produced by Dave Cobb.
Wildcard is the seventh studio album by American country music singer Miranda Lambert. It was released on November 1, 2019, via RCA Records Nashville. The album was produced by Jay Joyce, marking the first time Lambert has worked with the producer. It features the singles "It All Comes Out in the Wash", "Bluebird", and "Settling Down".
Daniel Robin Layus is an American musician. He was the lead vocalist and primary lyricist for the band Augustana and performs solo both under his own name as well as Augustana. On October 21, 2016, he debuted his first solo work, an album titled Dangerous Things.
The Hanseroth Twins are a musical duo consisting of twin brothers Phillip John and Timothy Jay Hanseroth, artists, songwriters, and producers, best known for their work with Brandi Carlile.
Humble Quest is the third studio album by American country music singer and songwriter Maren Morris. The album was released on March 25, 2022, through Columbia Nashville. The album earned three nominations at the 65th Annual Grammy Awards, including for Best Country Album, while the lead single "Circles Around This Town" was nominated for Best Country Song and Best Country Solo Performance.
Brittney Spencer is an American country singer–songwriter. In 2020 Spencer received notable attention following a viral Twitter video showing Spencer singing a cover of a song by the Highwomen. The video drew praise from fellow country artists and prompted the release of her first extended play (EP) titled Compassion (2020). She has also released several singles, including 2021's "Sober & Skinny". Spencer has since performed on the Country Music Association Awards and has embarked on a world tour.
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