Beautiful Day in the Cold Cruel World is the debut album of the American country music

Country music

Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...

 duo The Warren Brothers. It was released on October 27, 1998 via BNA Records

BNA Records

BNA Records, formerly known as BNA Entertainment, is a label group that shares ties with Arista Nashville and RCA Nashville from parent company Sony Music Nashville, which itself is a subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment. Based in Nashville, Tennessee, BNA features country music acts on its roster...

. It includes the singles

Single (music)

In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...

 "Guilty," "Better Man" and "She Wants to Rock," all of which charted in the top 40 on the Billboard

Billboard (magazine)

Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...

Hot Country Songs

Hot Country Songs

Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales...

 charts.

Pemberton Roach of Allmusic rated the album four stars out of five, comparing its sound to that of "slick, roots-influenced pop artists like Bruce Hornsby

Bruce Hornsby

Bruce Randall Hornsby is an American singer, pianist, accordion player, and songwriter. Known for the spontaneity and creativity of his live performances, Hornsby draws frequently from classical, jazz, bluegrass, folk, Motown, rock, blues, and jam band musical traditions with his songwriting and...

, Toad the Wet Sprocket

Toad the Wet Sprocket

Toad the Wet Sprocket is an American alternative rock band formed in 1986. The band consists of singer/guitarist Glen Phillips, guitarist Todd Nichols, bassist Dean Dinning, and drummer Randy Guss. The band enjoyed chart success in the 1990s with the singles "Walk on the Ocean," "All I Want,"...

 and Glenn Frey

Glenn Frey

Glenn Lewis Frey is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and actor, best known as a founding member of the Eagles. Frey formed the Eagles after he met drummer Don Henley in 1970 and the two eventually joined Linda Ronstadt's backup band for her summer tour. The Eagles formed in 1971 and...

" and saying that such a sound "avoid[s] any trace of Nashville clichés in favor of honest, straightforward lyrics and energetic, polished playing."

Track listing

1. "Guilty" (Dave Berg
   Dave Berg (songwriter)
   Dave Berg is an American country music songwriter. His credits include the Number One country hits "Somebody" by Reba McEntire, "If You're Going Through Hell " and "These Are My People" by Rodney Atkins, and "Moments" by Emerson Drive...
   
   , Brad Warren, Brett Warren) – 3:57
2. "Surviving Emily" (Tom Douglas
   Tom Douglas (songwriter)
   Thomas Stevenson "Tom" Douglas is an American country music songwriter. Active since the early 1990s, he has written Top Ten hits for John Michael Montgomery, Martina McBride, Tim McGraw, Collin Raye and others....
   
   , Marty McIntosh, Brad Warren, Brett Warren) – 3:33
3. "Better Man" (Gary Nicholson, Brad Warren, Brett Warren) – 4:12
4. "Greyhound Bus" (Douglas, Brad Warren, Brett Warren) – 3:52
5. "The Enemy" (Berg, Brad Warren, Brett Warren) – 3:14
6. "Loneliest Girl in the World" (Douglas, Brad Warren, Brett Warren) – 3:31
7. "Cold Cruel World" (Douglas, Brad Warren, Brett Warren) – 4:33
8. "She Wants to Rock" (Rob Stoney, Brad Warren, Brett Warren) – 2:52
9. "I Tried" (James House
   James House (singer)
   James Andrew House is an American country music artist. Originally a member of a group called the House Band, James began his country music career in 1990 on MCA Records, recording two albums for that label. He later penned singles for Diamond Rio and Dwight Yoakam, before finding another record...
   
   , Brad Warren, Brett Warren) – 3:37
10. "The One I Can't Live Without" (Brad Warren, Brett Warren) – 4:01
11. "Just Another Sad Song" (Brad Warren, Brett Warren) – 3:44
12. "Nowhere Fast" (Douglas, Brad Warren, Brett Warren) – 4:40

Personnel

• Matthew Barnes – photography
• Dave Berg – vocals
• Bruce Bouton – pedal steel, lap steel guitar
• Bill Brunt – art direction
• Don Cobb – digital editing
• Chris Davie – assistant engineer
• Kimberly Dumas – design
• Susan Eaddy – art direction
• Chris Farren – mandolin, keyboards, producer
• Larry Franklin – fiddle
• Tony Green – assistant engineer
• Mary Hamilton – art direction
• John Hobbs – piano, accordion
• Jennie Hoeft – percussion
• Steve Marcantonio – engineer, mixing
• Señor McGuire – photography
• Marty McIntosh – bass guitar, vocals
• Georgia Middleman – vocals
• Greg Morrow – drums
• Kevin Page – assistant engineer
• LeAnn Phelan – vocals, production coordination
• Denny Purcell – mastering
• Rob Stoney – piano, hammond organ
• Trish Townsend – stylist
• Brad Warren – acoustic guitar, electric guitar, vocal harmony
• Brett Warren – acoustic guitar, harmonica, mandolin, vocals

Chart performance

Chart (1998)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Top Country Albums	73