| The Tree | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | July 20, 2018 | |||
| Recorded | 2017–18 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 35:23 | |||
| Label | CN | |||
| Producer | Dave Cobb | |||
| Lori McKenna chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| The Guardian |   [1] |
The Tree is the tenth studio album by American singer-songwriter Lori McKenna, released on July 20, 2018, through CN Records. The album was made available to stream in its entirety on July 13, 2018, as part of NPR Music's First Listen series. [2]
McKenna's son Christopher played mellotron alongside Cobb on the track "The Lot Behind St Mary's". [3]
"Happy People" was previously covered by Little Big Town for their 2017 album The Breaker . Cobb played a 12-string Rickenbacker on the track as a tribute to Tom Petty, who died shortly before they recorded it.
Speaking to Boston Globe, McKenna referred to "People Get Old" as the "anchor" of the record but that she felt it was inappropriate for the title of the album, deciding on "The Tree" after recognising how much that song said about family. She explained "I've always been obsessed with trees, weirdly, since I was little. So that was the perfect title in my brain and then, “People Get Old” being inspired by my dad, it just seemed fitting to have this be a record about aging and watching your kids go off and watching your parents age. If you had your kids young enough like I did, you have a point in life where your kids are leaving the house at the same time that your parents start showing signs of needing more help" and added that co-writing the title track with, Natalie Hemby and Aaron Raitiere was a "joyous" experience and that "We wanted it to be about how your family is there for you; even during the times of your life where you are not authentically yourself, you haven’t figured yourself out, that family structure in some silent way is still there for you while you’re figuring it all out. And whether you stay, or you go somewhere else and stay away, or you come back, it’s there for you".
Comparing to her first record with Cobb, The Bird and the Rifle , McKenna said "I think this record is similar in a lot of ways, sonically and band-wise. It’s not as lush, but it sounds a lot like it. I’m not a really diverse writer, so I feel like the songs all run into one another even though the stories change and my goal is to try to get the songs tighter lyrically. I think it’s very similar to the last record. You know, this isn’t a dance record. I haven’t made my dance record yet." [4]
The album debuted at No. 39 on Top Country Albums, [5] and No. 3 on Americana/Folk Album Sales with 4,000 sold, which is her best on the chart. [6] It has sold 5,100 copies as of August 2018. [7]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "A Mother Never Rests" | Barry Dean, Lori McKenna | |
| 2. | "The Fixer" | McKenna | |
| 3. | "People Get Old" | McKenna | |
| 4. | "Young and Angry Again" | Dean, Luke Laird, McKenna | |
| 5. | "The Tree" | Natalie Hemby, McKenna, Aaron Raitiere | |
| 6. | "You Won't Even Know I'm Gone" | McKenna | |
| 7. | "Happy People" | McKenna, Hailey Whitters | |
| 8. | "You Can't Break a Woman" | Hillary Lindsey, McKenna, Liz Rose | |
| 9. | "The Lot Behind St. Mary's" | McKenna | |
| 10. | "The Way Back Home" | Laird, McKenna | |
| 11. | "Like Patsy Would" | Lindsey, McKenna, Rose | |
| Total length: | 35:23 | ||
| Chart (2018) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Top Country Albums (Billboard) [8] | 39 |
| US Folk Albums (Billboard) [9] | 9 |
| US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard) [10] | 1 |
| US Independent Albums (Billboard) [11] | 4 |
Kid Rock is the sixth studio album by American musician Kid Rock, his fourth Atlantic Records album. It was released in 2003 and is his final release on Lava Records. It was critically acclaimed by Rolling Stone, which named it one of the 50 Greatest Albums of 2003. "Black Bob" and "Jackson, Mississippi" were recorded for his 1996 album Early Mornin' Stoned Pimp in 1995, but were left off the album. "Feel Like Makin' Love", "Cold and Empty", "Intro", "Hillbilly Stomp" and "Run Off to LA" were recorded for the demo sessions for 2001's Cocky, but did not make the cut as well. "Feel Like Makin' Love" originally had Sheryl Crow on the song. Country singer Kenny Chesney co-wrote "Cold and Empty".
Lorraine McKenna is an American folk, Americana, and country music singer-songwriter. In 2016, she was nominated for the Grammy Award for Song of the Year and won Best Country Song for co-writing the hit single "Girl Crush" performed by Little Big Town. In 2017, she again won Best Country Song at the 59th Annual Grammy Awards for writing "Humble and Kind" performed by Tim McGraw. McKenna along with Lady Gaga, Natalie Hemby and Hillary Lindsey wrote the second single off the soundtrack to the 2018 film A Star Is Born called "Always Remember Us This Way.” McKenna performed backing vocals along with Lindsey and Hemby, and the song received a nomination for Song of the Year at the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards.
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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.
The Bird and the Rifle is the ninth studio album by American singer-songwriter Lori McKenna, released on July 29, 2016, through CN Records. It includes the song "Humble and Kind", which was written by McKenna and first recorded by Tim McGraw for his 2015 album Damn Country Music. Despite the album's limited commercial success, it earned critical acclaim and was nominated for Best Americana Album at the 59th Annual Grammy Awards.
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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.
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.
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.
The Balladeer is the eleventh studio album by American singer-songwriter Lori McKenna. It was released on July 24, 2020, through CN Records and distributed by Thirty Tigers. It was preceded by the release of the lead single "When You're My Age" on May 1, 2020.
Heart & Soul is the seventh studio album by American country music singer-songwriter Eric Church. The album was split into three separate albums: Heart, & and Soul. The album was released by EMI Nashville, who have been Church's label home since 2011's Chief. It was preceded by the singles "Stick That in Your Country Song", which received a nomination for Best Country Solo Performance at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards, and "Hell of a View".
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