The Guitar Song
Encyclopedia
Upon its release, The Guitar Song received generally positive reviews from most music critics. At Metacritic
, which assigns a normalized
rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average
score of 91, based on 9 reviews, which indicates "universal acclaim".
Thom Jurek with Allmusic called the album "the country album of 2010", saying that "The Guitar Song is uncompromising [...] it makes plain the music contemporary country is trying to erase, while being a thoroughly accessible modern offering." Ann Powers with The Los Angeles Times
referred to the album as being "exquisite", calling it "an ambitious work that goes down easy. Johnson may masquerade as a throwback but what he really aims for is timelessness, and he usually hits his mark." Will Hermes with Rolling Stone
gave it a near-perfect rating, saying "Johnson's 2008 breakthrough, That Lonesome Song, established him as an heir to "outlaws" like Waylon Jennings
and Merle Haggard
. The Guitar Song aims even higher, with 25 tracks that take the pulse of a country hitting the skids and a country singer hitting the big time." Dan MacIntosh with Roughstock gave it a perfect rating, commenting "At two full CDs long, The Guitar Song is not a full plate of music; it's an overflowing one. The good news is it's mainly killer, not filler." Mikael Wood with Spin Magazine
gave it nine out of ten stars, saying "The Guitar Song is structured as an uplifting journey from rot to redemption, Johnson still moves through these 25 tunes with an audible snarl.
Stuart Munro with The Boston Globe
called the release "a phenomenal collection of country music", and asked "What can Jamey Johnson do to top this?" Chris Neal with The 9513 also gave the album a perfect rating, saying "The album’s sheer size is daunting—25 songs spread across an hour and 45 minutes of music—but there are no weak spots, not one track that cries out to be jettisoned." Chuck Eddy with The Village Voice
commented saying "The Guitar Songs [...] got a few clunkers and slow spots, and, especially given the depressive tempos Johnson's so fond of, it's inadvisable to ingest in one sitting. But surprisingly—even without a single track half as monumental or emotionally inescapable as Lonesome's "High Cost of Living,"—Guitar is packed at least as solid as his last set, and it's less conventional to boot."
placed it at number one on their "PopMatters Picks: The Best Country Music of 2010" list, with writer Dave Heaton calling it "an ambitious double LP of dour, old-school country music; it’s an epic of personal struggle in a climate of societal turmoil". Rolling Stone
magazine placed it at number five calling it an "acoustic confessions and rugged boogie blues, big weepers and grim reapers, cover tunes and novelty ditties". Spin
placed it at number five on their "The 40 Best Albums of 2010" list, saying "Johnson's double-album opus isn't one of the past decade's best country records because he's a boundary-pushing subversive. It's because his haunting baritone artfully inhabits every cranny of Nashville's sylvan McMansion of the Mind". Allison Stewart with The Washington Post
placed it at number four on her "top 10 albums of 2010" calling it "Two discs of solid, stolid country the way Haggard did it".
Sarah Rodman with The Boston Globe
placed it at number one on her "top 10 CDs of 2010" list saying "Here is that rare gem: a double album where every cut is vital, from the blackly morose ballads to the firewater-breathing honky-tonk blasts. A towering achievement from a country singer-songwriter whose talent for penning vivid narratives and choosing the right ones to cover appears to be growing exponentially". Chris Richards with The Washington Post
placed it at number two on his "top 10 albums of 2010" saying "He sings in the baritone of God and carries a guitar covered in Sharpie squiggles — autographs from the likes of Haggard, Nelson and other country music royalty. Now Johnson’s sweeping double album raises the question: How long before he has to sign it himself"?
Additional musicians
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
, which assigns a normalized
Standard score
In statistics, a standard score indicates how many standard deviations an observation or datum is above or below the mean. It is a dimensionless quantity derived by subtracting the population mean from an individual raw score and then dividing the difference by the population standard deviation...
rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average
Weighted mean
The weighted mean is similar to an arithmetic mean , where instead of each of the data points contributing equally to the final average, some data points contribute more than others...
score of 91, based on 9 reviews, which indicates "universal acclaim".
Thom Jurek with Allmusic called the album "the country album of 2010", saying that "The Guitar Song is uncompromising [...] it makes plain the music contemporary country is trying to erase, while being a thoroughly accessible modern offering." Ann Powers with The Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
referred to the album as being "exquisite", calling it "an ambitious work that goes down easy. Johnson may masquerade as a throwback but what he really aims for is timelessness, and he usually hits his mark." Will Hermes with Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
gave it a near-perfect rating, saying "Johnson's 2008 breakthrough, That Lonesome Song, established him as an heir to "outlaws" like Waylon Jennings
Waylon Jennings
Waylon Arnold Jennings was an American country music singer, songwriter, and musician. Jennings began playing at eight. He began performing at twelve, on KVOW radio. Jennings formed a band The Texas Longhorns. Jennings worked as a D.J on KVOW, KDAV and KLLL...
and Merle Haggard
Merle Haggard
Merle Ronald Haggard is an American country music singer, guitarist, fiddler, instrumentalist, and songwriter. Along with Buck Owens, Haggard and his band The Strangers helped create the Bakersfield sound, which is characterized by the unique twang of Fender Telecaster guitars, vocal harmonies,...
. The Guitar Song aims even higher, with 25 tracks that take the pulse of a country hitting the skids and a country singer hitting the big time." Dan MacIntosh with Roughstock gave it a perfect rating, commenting "At two full CDs long, The Guitar Song is not a full plate of music; it's an overflowing one. The good news is it's mainly killer, not filler." Mikael Wood with Spin Magazine
Spin (magazine)
Spin is a music magazine founded in 1985 by publisher Bob Guccione Jr.-History:In its early years, the magazine was noted for its broad music coverage with an emphasis on college-oriented rock music and on the ongoing emergence of hip-hop. The magazine was eclectic and bold, if sometimes haphazard...
gave it nine out of ten stars, saying "The Guitar Song is structured as an uplifting journey from rot to redemption, Johnson still moves through these 25 tunes with an audible snarl.
Stuart Munro with The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe is an American daily newspaper based in Boston, Massachusetts. The Boston Globe has been owned by The New York Times Company since 1993...
called the release "a phenomenal collection of country music", and asked "What can Jamey Johnson do to top this?" Chris Neal with The 9513 also gave the album a perfect rating, saying "The album’s sheer size is daunting—25 songs spread across an hour and 45 minutes of music—but there are no weak spots, not one track that cries out to be jettisoned." Chuck Eddy with The Village Voice
The Village Voice
The Village Voice is a free weekly newspaper and news and features website in New York City that features investigative articles, analysis of current affairs and culture, arts and music coverage, and events listings for New York City...
commented saying "The Guitar Songs [...] got a few clunkers and slow spots, and, especially given the depressive tempos Johnson's so fond of, it's inadvisable to ingest in one sitting. But surprisingly—even without a single track half as monumental or emotionally inescapable as Lonesome's "High Cost of Living,"—Guitar is packed at least as solid as his last set, and it's less conventional to boot."
Accolades
The album appeared on many music critics' and publications' end-of-year albums lists. PopMattersPopMatters
PopMatters is an international webzine of cultural criticism that covers many aspects of popular culture. PopMatters publishes reviews, interviews, and detailed essays on most cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, films, books, video games, comics, sports, theater,...
placed it at number one on their "PopMatters Picks: The Best Country Music of 2010" list, with writer Dave Heaton calling it "an ambitious double LP of dour, old-school country music; it’s an epic of personal struggle in a climate of societal turmoil". Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
magazine placed it at number five calling it an "acoustic confessions and rugged boogie blues, big weepers and grim reapers, cover tunes and novelty ditties". Spin
Spin (magazine)
Spin is a music magazine founded in 1985 by publisher Bob Guccione Jr.-History:In its early years, the magazine was noted for its broad music coverage with an emphasis on college-oriented rock music and on the ongoing emergence of hip-hop. The magazine was eclectic and bold, if sometimes haphazard...
placed it at number five on their "The 40 Best Albums of 2010" list, saying "Johnson's double-album opus isn't one of the past decade's best country records because he's a boundary-pushing subversive. It's because his haunting baritone artfully inhabits every cranny of Nashville's sylvan McMansion of the Mind". Allison Stewart with The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
placed it at number four on her "top 10 albums of 2010" calling it "Two discs of solid, stolid country the way Haggard did it".
Sarah Rodman with The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe is an American daily newspaper based in Boston, Massachusetts. The Boston Globe has been owned by The New York Times Company since 1993...
placed it at number one on her "top 10 CDs of 2010" list saying "Here is that rare gem: a double album where every cut is vital, from the blackly morose ballads to the firewater-breathing honky-tonk blasts. A towering achievement from a country singer-songwriter whose talent for penning vivid narratives and choosing the right ones to cover appears to be growing exponentially". Chris Richards with The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
placed it at number two on his "top 10 albums of 2010" saying "He sings in the baritone of God and carries a guitar covered in Sharpie squiggles — autographs from the likes of Haggard, Nelson and other country music royalty. Now Johnson’s sweeping double album raises the question: How long before he has to sign it himself"?
Track listing
Personnel
Production- Arlis Albritton - Producer
- Ross Alexander - Associate Engineer
- Beau Boggs - Assistant Engineer
- T.W. Cargile - Engineer, Mixing, Overdub Engineer
- Melinda J.P. Harlan - Photography
- Rick Humes - Associate Engineer
- J.L. Jamison - Associate Engineer
- Zach Kasik - Assistant Engineer
- The Kent Hardly Playboys - Producer
- Randy LeRoy - Mastering
- James Minchin III - Photography
- Karen Naff - Art Direction, Design
- Mark Rains - Engineer
- Bob Scott - Associate Engineer
- John Scott - Synthesizer
- Phillip Stein - Production Assistant
- Eric Torres - Engineer
- Brian Wright - A&R
Additional musicians
- Brian Allen - Bass
- Wayd Battle - Acoustic and Electric Guitar, Background Vocals
- Jim "Moose" Brown - Acoustic Guitar, Piano, Soloist, Synthesizer
- Melanie Cannon - Background Vocals
- Dave Cobb - Electric Guitar, Producer
- Jason Cope - Guitar, Acoustic and Electric Guitar, Soloist
- Kacey CoppolaKate & KaceyKate & Kacey is an American country music duo consisting of identical twin sisters Kate Coppola and Kacey Coppola. In early 2008 they competed as a duo on the CMT series Can You Duet, where they took fourth place. In August 2008, they signed a recording contract with Big Machine Records...
- Background Vocals - Kate CoppolaKate & KaceyKate & Kacey is an American country music duo consisting of identical twin sisters Kate Coppola and Kacey Coppola. In early 2008 they competed as a duo on the CMT series Can You Duet, where they took fourth place. In August 2008, they signed a recording contract with Big Machine Records...
- Background Vocals - Mark Crum - Bass
- Eric Darken - Percussion
- Keith GattisKeith GattisKeith Gattis is an American country music artist. Gattis has released two studio albums. He also charted one single on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart: "Little Drops of My Heart", which peaked at #53 in 1996...
- Electric Guitar - Kevin Grantt - Bass, Tic Tac
- Randy HouserRandy HouserShawn Randolph "Randy" Houser is an American country music artist. Signed to the Universal South Records label in 2008, he charted the single "Anything Goes" that year...
- Background Vocals - Jamey JohnsonJamey JohnsonJamey Johnson is an American Grammy Award nominated country music artist. Signed to BNA Records in 2005, Johnson made his debut with his single "The Dollar," the title track to his 2006 album The Dollar...
- Acoustic and Electric Guitar, Background Vocals - Mike Kennedy - Drums
- Cowboy Eddie Long - Dobro, Steel Guitar
- Fred MandelFred MandelFred Mandel is a keyboard player and guitarist.Mandel became involved in music from an early age. He started playing the piano and age 4 and picked up the guitar aged 8...
- Piano - Dave McAfee - Drums
- Mac McAnallyMac McAnallyLyman Corbitt "Mac" McAnally, Jr. is an American country music singer-songwriter, session musician and record producer. In his career, he has recorded ten studio albums and eight singles. Two of his singles were hits on the Billboard Hot 100, and six more on the Hot Country Songs charts...
- Acoustic Guitar - Chris Powell - Drums
- Rivers RutherfordRivers RutherfordRivers Rutherford is an American country music songwriter. Active since the mid-1990s as a songwriter, he has penned several Number One country hits, including "Ain't Nothing 'bout You" by Brooks & Dunn, which was the Number One country song of 2001 according to Billboard...
- Acoustic Guitar - Michael Spriggs - Acoustic Guitar
- John Henry Trinko - Piano
- Curtis WrightCurtis WrightCurtis Blaine Wright is an American country music artist. He made his debut in 1989 with the single "She's Got a Man on her Mind" on a branch of MCA Records, before recording a solo album in 1992 on Liberty Records...
-Background Vocals
Charts
| Chart (2010) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Country Albums | 1 |
| U.S. Billboard 200 | 4 |
Certifications
| Country | Certification |
|---|---|
| United States Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States... |
Gold |
End of year charts
| Chart (2010) | Year-end 2010 |
|---|---|
| US Billboard 200 Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
180 |
| US Billboard Top Country Albums | 36 |
Singles
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions |
|---|---|---|
| US Country 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... |
||
| 2009 | "My Way to You" | 52 |
| 2010 | "Playing the Part" | 39 |
| 2011 | "Heartache" | 51 |