The Outsiders
by Eric Church
  • Record Label: Capitol
  • Release Date: Feb 11, 2014
User Score
7.7

Generally favorable reviews- based on 22 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 18 out of 22
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 22
  3. Negative: 3 out of 22

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  1. Mab_987
    May 28, 2014
    6
    To call this album a mixed bag is a big understatement. While The Outsiders definitely has enough quality songs to be worthwhile (overlooking some of the cheesy pseudo-outlaw posturing), it also has its fair share of baffling clunkers, and the way it shifts so drastically in feel from track to track makes this one of the least focused albums I've heard in a while.

    (To see a more    To call this album a mixed bag is a big understatement. While The Outsiders definitely has enough quality songs to be worthwhile (overlooking some of the cheesy pseudo-outlaw posturing), it also has its fair share of baffling clunkers, and the way it shifts so drastically in feel from track to track makes this one of the least focused albums I've heard in a while.

    (To see a more in-depth track-by-track review, look up "Spin It! Reviews" on YouTube.)    … Expand

Awards & Rankings

70
#70 Best Album of 2014

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
82

Universal acclaim - based on 11 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 10 out of 11
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 11
  3. Negative: 0 out of 11
  1. PopMatters
    Feb 21, 2014
    70
    This 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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  2. The Guardian
    Feb 20, 2014
    60
    An album with a radical spirit but a conservative heart.
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  3. The New York Times
    Feb 12, 2014
    70
    The 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.
    Read full review
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