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Feb 11, 2014On his fourth studio album, the terrifyingly creative The Outsiders, Eric Church pulls off what so many before him have tried: successfully merging the bedrock sounds of country music (plinking banjo, crying Dobro and a Hank Williams twang) with those of seemingly disparate genres like rock, heavy metal and especially R&B to create an utterly unique product.
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Feb 10, 2014Mostly he surprises, whether rapping in "That's Damn Rock & Roll" or constructing "Roller Coaster Ride" like its name, driving to a chorus so suddenly airy you can feel your stomach drop. As with all of The Outsiders' thrills, it's both thumpingly obvious and exquisitely executed.
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Feb 10, 2014Mostly, this is the kind of record critics imagine Kanye keeps making: a freakish statement of confidence and power from an artist in full command of his gifts.
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Feb 12, 2014While it’s not quite as transcendent and monumental as Chief, it’s a fine step forward and more than enough reason to think that Church is one worth following in the months and years to come.
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Feb 11, 2014Church is a crafty, ambitious songwriter with a sensitive, rueful side.
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Feb 10, 2014Church gets to have it both ways on The Outsiders, writing several irresistible hits while boasting repeatedly to the press about the ten some-odd surefire number one singles he decided, alongside producer Jay Joyce, to not include on the album.
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Feb 10, 2014The reckoning continues on the superb follow-up The Outsiders.
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Feb 21, 2014This might be cynicism, but pop music is as much about the sizzle as it is about the steak, and no one plays both ends against the middle as efficiently as Church.
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Feb 12, 2014The more pedestrian half of this album effectively tests whether Mr. Church sings these sorts of songs with more authority, or more vision, than his contemporaries--in essence, whether he’s allowed to get away with it, whether he’s somehow earned the right. Generally, the answer is no. One argument in his favor, though: He knows how to tip his beat-up ball cap to the road most traveled and then peel off onto a back alley.... And Mr. Church is nothing if not a wise songwriter.
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Feb 10, 2014Church has made the conscious decision to try a little bit of everything in his quest to be a savior to both rock and country, and if he doesn't quite knock it out of the park when he swings for the fences, he nevertheless scores.
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Feb 20, 2014An album with a radical spirit but a conservative heart.
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 18 out of 22
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Mixed: 1 out of 22
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Negative: 3 out of 22
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Jun 5, 2014
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May 28, 2014
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Mar 20, 2014