Steel Magnolia (album)

Steel Magnolia
Studio album by
ReleasedJanuary 11, 2011 (2011-01-11)
GenreCountry
Length46:08
LabelBig Machine
ProducerDann Huff
Steel Magnolia chronology
Steel Magnolia — EP
(2010)
Steel Magnolia
(2011)
Singles from Steel Magnolia
  1. "Keep On Lovin' You"
    Released: September 14, 2009
  2. "Just By Being You (Halo and Wings)"
    Released: June 21, 2010
  3. "Last Night Again"
    Released: December 6, 2010
  4. "Bulletproof"
    Released: August 22, 2011

by

Steel Magnolia is the only studio album by American country music duo Steel Magnolia. The album was released on January 11, 2011,[1] via Big Machine Records. Prior to the release of the album, the duo released an extended play titled Steel Magnolia — EP on February 23, 2010.

The album features each of Steel Magnolia's three singles: "Keep On Lovin' You", "Just By Being You (Halo and Wings)" and "Last Night Again". The first two singles both reached the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, while the third single was released on December 6, 2010.

"Homespun Love", a song co-written by Keith Urban, was originally recorded by him as a member of American band The Ranch, in 1997.

Reception

Commercial

After many delays of the album's release, it charted within the Top 10 of the Billboard 200 and Billboard Top Country Albums, where it debuted at number 7 and number 3, respectively. In the album's opening week, it sold 28,346 copies in the United States.[2] As of the chart dated April 2, 2011, the album has sold 93,493 copies in the US.[3]

Critical

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[4]
The Boston Globe(favorable)[5]
Country Weekly[6]
Entertainment Weekly(B)[7]
Roughstock[8]
Slant Magazine[9]
Engine 145[10]

Upon its release, Steel Magnolia received generally positive reviews from most music critics.[11] At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 68, based on 6 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews".[11]

Blake Boldt with Engine 145 gave it a three star rating, calling it "a promising start" and saying "Steel Magnolia suffers when the tempo slows. "Just By Being You (Halos and Wings)", a limp romantic ballad, is the worst offender, and the more serious cuts, full of overwrought emotions and overused sentiments, fall flat".[10] Thom Jurek with Allmusic gave it a 2½ rating, and largely criticized the sound of the album, saying "Other than a banjo here and a fiddle or pedal steel there, this may be what passes for country music in the 21st century, but simply put, it's '80s-styled pop with different production".[4]

Sarah Rodman with The Boston Globe was in favor of the album, saying "On their eponymous debut, the duo known as Steel Magnolia continue their winning ways combining her bluesy bruised angel rasp with his slick, keening country pop tenor".[5] Matt Bjorke with Roughstock gave the release a four star rating, saying "While Steel Magnolia may not appeal to fans of the traditionally-minded music; it is nonetheless a solid collection of mainstream country music that introduces a charismatic and dynamic duo ready to become one of country music’s top duos".[8] Jonathan Keefe with Slant Magazine was critical of the album, giving it a two star rating.[9] He referred to the material on the album as "weak" saying "the songs on Steel Magnolia aren't the least bit noteworthy".[9]

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Ooh La La"Joshua Scott Jones, Meghan Linsey3:28
2."Keep On Lovin' You"Chris Stapleton, Trent Willmon3:02
3."Just By Being You (Halo and Wings)"Britton Cameron, Patricia Conroy4:00
4."Edge of Goodbye"Jones, Linsey, Julie Moriva4:25
5."Bulletproof"Lori McKenna, Chris Tompkins3:49
6."Not Tonight"Shane Stevens, Hillary Lindsey4:15
7."Last Night Again"Jones, Linsey, Lindsey3:54
8."Without You"Jones, Linsey, Van Asa Preston3:27
9."Rainbow"Jones, Linsey, Tommy Henriksen, Chioma Eze4:30
10."Eggs Over Easy"Jones, Linsey, Steffon Hamulak3:55
11."Homespun Love"Keith Urban, Vernon Rust3:18
12."Glass Houses"Jones4:05
iTunes bonus track
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
13."Without You" (acoustic version)Jones, Linsey, Preston3:36
iTunes pre-order bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
14."Last Night Again" (acoustic version)Jones, Linsey, Lindsey 
15."Keep On Lovin' You" (acoustic version)Stapleton, Willmon 

Personnel

Steel Magnolia

  • Joshua Scott Jones- lead vocals, background vocals, harmonica
  • Meghan Linsey- lead vocals, background vocals

Additional Musicians

Chart performance

Album

Chart (2011) Peak
position
U.S. Billboard 200[12] 7
U.S. Billboard Top Country Albums[12] 3

Singles

Year Single Peak chart
positions
US Country
[13]
US
[14]
2009 "Keep On Lovin' You" 4 68
2010 "Just By Being You (Halo and Wings)" 25
"Last Night Again"A 24 122
2011 "Bulletproof" 47
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

References

  1. ^ "Steel Magnolia Offers Fans Special Pre-Sale of Debut Albums". Roughstock. Roughstock Staff. December 3, 2010. Retrieved December 11, 2010.
  2. ^ Matt Bjorke (January 19, 2011). "Steel Magnolia Debuts in Country Albums Top 5 This Week". Roughstock. Archived from the original on February 8, 2012. Retrieved January 20, 2011.
  3. ^ "Sara Evans Scores Second Week @ #1 with "Stronger"". Roughstock. 2011-03-23. Retrieved 2011-03-26.
  4. ^ a b Jurek, Thom, Steel Magnolia – Steel Magnolia, Allmusic, retrieved 2011-01-10
  5. ^ a b Rodman, Sarah (2011-01-10), Steel Magnolia, 'Steel Magnolia' – The Boston Globe, The Boston Globe, retrieved 2011-01-10
  6. ^ Phillips, Jessica (2011-01-03), Steel Magnolia : Steel Magnolia - Reviews - Country Weekly Magazine, Country Weekly, retrieved 2011-01-10
  7. ^ Bierly, Mandi (2011-01-06), Steel Magnolia, Entertainment Weekly, archived from the original on January 12, 2011, retrieved 2011-11-10
  8. ^ a b Bjorke, Matt (2011-01-05), Steel Magnolia - Steel Magnolia, Roughstock.com, retrieved 2011-01-10
  9. ^ a b c Keefe, Jonathan (2011-01-09), Steel Magnolia: Steel Magnolia, Slant Magazine, retrieved 2011-01-10
  10. ^ a b Boldt, Blake (2011-01-03), Album Review: Steel Magnolia – Steel Magnolia, Engine 145, retrieved 2010-11-01
  11. ^ a b "Steel Magnolia, Ratings, Credits, and More at Metacritic". Metacritic. Retrieved 2011-01-12.
  12. ^ a b "Steel Magnolia – Steel Magnolia". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved January 20, 2011.
  13. ^ "Steel Magnolia Album & Song Chart History - Country Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved October 21, 2010.
  14. ^ "Steel Magnolia Album & Song Chart History - Hot 100". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved October 21, 2010.
  15. ^ "Bubbling Under Hot 100 Week of June 18, 2011". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved September 13, 2012.