Cass County (album)
| Cass County | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by Don Henley | ||||
| Released | September 25, 2015 | |||
| Recorded | 2014–2015 | |||
| Genre | Country, rock | |||
| Length | 48:43 | |||
| Label | Past Masters Holdings, Capitol Records | |||
| Producer | Henley, Stan Lynch | |||
| Don Henley chronology | ||||
| ||||
Cass County is the fifth solo studio album by American singer-songwriter Don Henley. The album was released on September 25, 2015, by Past Masters Holdings and Capitol Records. It is Don Henley's first new solo album in 15 years since 2000's Inside Job.
Background
In June 2015, Don Henley spoke about recording the album in Nashville, Tennessee, saying: "The great majority [of recording] was done right here in Nashville and I can truthfully say that I enjoyed making this record more than any record I've made in my career. And a lot of the reason is because of the people who participated. There's some amazing musicians here and the best thing about it is, most of them are funny. So it was a real pleasure."[1]
The album is named after the East Texas county where Henley grew up.[2]
Critical reception
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Aggregate scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 72/100[3] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [4] |
| American Songwriter | [5] |
| The Guardian | [6] |
| PopMatters | [7] |
| Rolling Stone | [8] |
Upon its release, Cass County received generally positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 72 based on 9 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews".[3] David Fricke of Rolling Stone said, "Written and produced with Stan Lynch, the original drummer in Tom Petty's Heartbreakers, Cass County is meticulously crafted, sharply written and absolutely free of neo-country additives like reheated Seventies-rock bombast and Twitter-verse vernacular."[8] Dave Heaton of PopMatters stated, "At the album’s best, Henley conjures up the push-pull between restlessness and contentment in a way that jibes well with the musical interest in the traditions of the genre. At its worst, the album makes me want to throw it out the window, either for the cliches or more often the way the persona of the album comes from a lecturing place of “wisdom”; an I’ve-lived, so I know attitude."[7] Jon Caramanica of The New York Times said, "The number and potency of these guests sometimes make Cass County sound like a tribute album to someone not yet gone. They also take away from Mr. Henley, now 68, whose voice has decayed nicely, though it now lacks the wise punch it had on The End of the Innocence, his excellent 1989 album."[9]
Commercial performance
The album debuted at number three on the Billboard 200 and number one on the Top Country Albums on its release. It was also the top selling album of the week, with 87,000 copies of pure albums sold in the United States.[10] The album has sold 259,400 copies in the US as of August 2016.[11]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Bramble Rose" (featuring Mick Jagger & Miranda Lambert) | 4:30 |
| 2. | "The Cost of Living" (featuring Merle Haggard) | 3:40 |
| 3. | "No, Thank You" (featuring Vince Gill) | 3:45 |
| 4. | "Waiting Tables" (featuring Jamey Johnson and Lee Ann Womack) | 4:47 |
| 5. | "Take a Picture of This" | 4:06 |
| 6. | "Too Far Gone" (deluxe edition bonus track featuring Alison Krauss and Jamey Johnson) | 3:43 |
| 7. | "That Old Flame" (featuring Martina McBride) | 4:25 |
| 8. | "The Brand New Tennessee Waltz" (deluxe edition bonus track featuring Alison Krauss) | 3:20 |
| 9. | "Words Can Break Your Heart" (featuring Trisha Yearwood) | 3:40 |
| 10. | "When I Stop Dreaming" (featuring Dolly Parton) | 3:06 |
| 11. | "Praying for Rain" (featuring Molly Felder, Vince Gill, Alison Krauss, Ashley Monroe and Trisha Yearwood) | 5:00 |
| 12. | "Too Much Pride" (deluxe edition bonus track) | 3:45 |
| 13. | "She Sang Hymns Out of Tune" (deluxe edition bonus track featuring Court Yard Hounds and Ashley Monroe) | 3:15 |
| 14. | "Train In the Distance" (featuring Lucinda Williams) | 4:47 |
| 15. | "A Younger Man" | 4:20 |
| 16. | "Where I Am Now" (featuring Trisha Yearwood) | 2:34 |
| Target deluxe edition bonus tracks[12] | ||
|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Length |
| 17. | "It Don't Matter To The Sun" (featuring Stevie Nicks) | 3:40 |
| 18. | "Here Comes Those Tears Again" (featuring Alison Krauss) | 3:50 |
Personnel
- Joe Bolero - Tenor Saxophone on "Too Much Pride"
- Steve Falkner - Trumpet on "Too Much Pride"
- Pat Gullota - Trombone on "Too Much Pride"
- Matt Allen - percussion
- Jeff Babko - pump organ
- Greg Bissonette - drums
- Richard Bowden - electric guitar
- Michelle Branch - background vocals
- Pat Buchanan - electric guitar, harmonica
- Bill Chaplin - percussion
- J.T. Corenflos - electric guitar
- Court Yard Hounds - background vocals on "She Sang Hymns Out Of Tune"
- Richard Davis - cello, keyboards, organ
- John Deaderick - keyboards
- Milo Deering - fiddle, pedal steel guitar
- Jerry Douglas - lap steel guitar
- Dan Dugmore - pedal steel guitar
- Sally Dworsky - background vocals
- Molly Felder - background vocals
- Shannon Forrest - drums, percussion
- Vince Gill - acoustic guitar, electric guitar, background vocals
- Marco Giovino - percussion
- Merle Haggard - vocals on "The Cost of Living"
- Alex Hahn - drums
- Tony Harrell - organ, piano
- Don Henley - lead vocals
- Will Henley - drums
- Jim Hoke - mandolin, pedal steel guitar
- Chris Holt - electric guitar
- Rob Ickes - dobro
- Mick Jagger - harmonica and vocals on "Bramble Rose"
- Jamey Johnson - background vocals
- Jimmy Johnson - bass guitar
- Aaron Kelley - electric guitar, mandolin
- Gordon Kennedy - electric guitar
- Alison Krauss - background vocals
- Miranda Lambert - vocals on "Bramble Rose"
- Stan Lynch - acoustic guitar, electric guitar, percussion
- Gale Mayes - background vocals
- Martina McBride - vocals on "That Old Flame"
- Jerry McPherson - electric guitar
- Ashley Monroe - background vocals
- David Moran - Hammer dulcimer
- Greg Morrow - drums, percussion
- Russ Pahl - pedal steel guitar
- Dolly Parton - vocals on "When I Stop Dreaming"
- David Piltch - bass guitar
- Angela Primm - background vocals
- Michael Rhodes - bass guitar
- Mike Rojas - organ, piano, Wurlitzer
- Jimmie Lee Sloas - bass guitar
- Steuart Smith - bass guitar, acoustic guitar, electric guitar
- Bryan Sutton - acoustic guitar, mandolin
- Lucinda Williams - vocals on "Train In the Distance"
- Lee Ann Womack - background vocals
- Glenn Worf - bass guitar
- Trisha Yearwood - vocals on "Words Can Break Your Heart"
Charts
| Chart (2015) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums (ARIA)[13] | 23 |
| Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[14] | 34 |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[15] | 39 |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[16] | 52 |
| Canadian Albums (Billboard)[17] | 4 |
| Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[18] | 26 |
| Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)[19] | 5 |
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[20] | 21 |
| Irish Albums (IRMA)[21] | 14 |
| Italian Albums (FIMI)[22] | 81 |
| Japanese Albums (Oricon)[23] | 56 |
| New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[24] | 7 |
| Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[25] | 14 |
| Scottish Albums (OCC)[26] | 5 |
| Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[27] | 14 |
| Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[28] | 20 |
| UK Albums (OCC)[29] | 7 |
| US Billboard 200[30] | 3 |
| US Top Country Albums (Billboard)[31] | 1 |
| US Folk Albums (Billboard)[32] | 25 |
References
- ↑ Shelburne, Craig (June 12, 2015). "Don Henley on New Country Album: 'It's Who I Am'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
- ↑ Willman, Chris (September 17, 2015). "Review: Don Henley, 'Cass County'". NPR. Retrieved October 9, 2015.
- 1 2 "Reviews for Cass County by Don Henley". Metacritic. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
- ↑ Stephen Thomas Erlewine (September 18, 2015). "Cass County - Don Henley | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
- ↑ "Don Henley: Cass County". American Songwriter. September 22, 2015. Retrieved October 18, 2015.
- ↑ Caroline Sullivan. "Don Henley: Cass County review – peppery country music from sometime Eagle". The Guardian. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
- 1 2 "Don Henley: Cass County". PopMatters. Retrieved October 18, 2015.
- 1 2 Fricke, David (September 21, 2015). "Don Henley's New Album: Cass County". Rolling Stone. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
- ↑ "Review: 'Cass County,' Don Henley's Latest Album, Embraces Country". The New York Times. September 24, 2015. Retrieved October 18, 2015.
- ↑ "Fetty Wap Debuts at No. 1 on Billboard 200 Albums Chart". Billboard. February 2, 2012. Retrieved October 9, 2015.
- ↑ Bjorke, Matt (August 14, 2016). "Top 10 Country Albums Sales Chart: August 15, 2016". Roughstock.
- ↑ "Don Henley - Cass County - Target Exclusive". Target. Retrieved September 28, 2015.
- ↑ "Australiancharts.com – Don Henley – Cass County". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 3, 2015.
- ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Don Henley – Cass County" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 3, 2015.
- ↑ "Ultratop.be – Don Henley – Cass County" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 2, 2015.
- ↑ "Ultratop.be – Don Henley – Cass County" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 2, 2015.
- ↑ "Don Henley – Chart history" Billboard Canadian Albums Chart for Don Henley. Retrieved October 6, 2015.
- ↑ "Danishcharts.com – Don Henley – Cass County". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 15, 2015.
- ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Don Henley – Cass County" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 2, 2015.
- ↑ "Longplay-Chartverfolgung at Musicline" (in German). Musicline.de. Phononet GmbH. Retrieved October 2, 2015.
- ↑ "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week 40, 2015". Chart-Track. IRMA. Retrieved October 2, 2015.
- ↑ "Italiancharts.com – Don Henley – Cass County". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 2, 2015.
- ↑ "Chart Track". Oricon. Retrieved October 14, 2015.
- ↑ "Charts.org.nz – Don Henley – Cass County". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 16, 2015.
- ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Don Henley – Cass County". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 12, 2015.
- ↑ "Scottish Albums". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 2, 2015.
- ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Don Henley – Cass County". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 4, 2015.
- ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Don Henley – Cass County". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 7, 2015.
- ↑ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 2, 2015.
- ↑ "Don Henley – Chart history" Billboard 200 for Don Henley. Retrieved October 6, 2015.
- ↑ "Don Henley – Chart history" Billboard Top Country Albums for Don Henley. Retrieved October 6, 2015.
- ↑ "Don Henley – Chart history" Billboard Folk Albums for Don Henley. Retrieved June 14, 2016.