Freight Train (album)
Encyclopedia
Upon its release, Freight Train 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 68, based on 10 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews".
Stephen Thomas Erlewine
with Allmusic gave it a three star rating, saying that Freight Train "rolls along comfortably, never pushing at the edges of Jackson’s comfort zone; [it] doesn’t offer a sustained romantic mood along the lines of 2006’s understated gem Like Red on a Rose. Instead, it’s the sound of a major star gently easing away from the spotlight, deciding that he’s so comfortable in his old clothes that there’s no reason to try something new". Randy Lewis with the Los Angeles Times
gave it a three star rating, saying "this isn’t as consistently deeply moving nor as stylistically outside-the-box as his Alison Krauss
-produced 2006 collection Like Red on a Rose, just down-the-middle country by one of the most dependably rewarding artists that genre has to offer". Dave Heaton with PopMatters
gave it an eight star rating saying it "felt like an LP" and continuing saying "as an Alan Jackson album, Freight Train is so consistently likable that it makes me imagine that he might keep getting better over time, as well".
Jessica Phillips of Country Weekly
gave the release a four star rating, calling it "quality country music", saying that the album "continues to build on his legacy as a 'singer of simple songs'". Stuart Munro with The Boston Globe
called it "a record of slow and midtempo songs", saying "there isn’t anything revelatory or strikingly different here — just the solid, precise craftsmanship of an artist now deep into his career". Ninian Dunnett with BBC Music
gave it a mixed review, saying "Buoyantly produced, it finds the singer leaning a little too comfortably on the conversational Georgia drawl of his baritone, and the writer coming up a little shy on the sort of detail and wordplay that lifts a cliché [...] The eight originals compare poorly to the 17 on 2008’s Good Time".
Matt Bjorke with Roughstock gave the release 3½, saying "Ultimately this record is neither groundbreaking nor is it lacking in future radio hits; while many artists are always constantly changing their sound, Alan remains true to what made him a star in the first place. Freight Train may not win Alan many new fans but it’s unlikely to lose him any and in an era when the genre is getting more rock-n-roll and pop, Alan is remarkably retro or ‘traditional’ here". C.M. Wilcox with The 9513 called it "the first ‘regular’ Alan Jackson album since 2004′s What I Do
", and gave it fours stars out of five. Jon Caramanica with The New York Times
called it "calm" and said "Freight Train is filled with songs that are mature but not wise".
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 68, based on 10 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews".
Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Stephen Thomas Erlewine is a senior editor for Allmusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for Allmusic, as well as a freelance writer, occasionally contributing liner notes. He is also frontman and guitarist for the Ann Arbor-based band Who Dat?Erlewine is the nephew...
with Allmusic gave it a three star rating, saying that Freight Train "rolls along comfortably, never pushing at the edges of Jackson’s comfort zone; [it] doesn’t offer a sustained romantic mood along the lines of 2006’s understated gem Like Red on a Rose. Instead, it’s the sound of a major star gently easing away from the spotlight, deciding that he’s so comfortable in his old clothes that there’s no reason to try something new". Randy Lewis 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....
gave it a three star rating, saying "this isn’t as consistently deeply moving nor as stylistically outside-the-box as his Alison Krauss
Alison Krauss
Alison Maria Krauss is an American bluegrass-country singer, songwriter and fiddler. She entered the music industry at an early age, winning local contests by the age of ten and recording for the first time at fourteen. She signed with Rounder Records in 1985 and released her first solo album in...
-produced 2006 collection Like Red on a Rose, just down-the-middle country by one of the most dependably rewarding artists that genre has to offer". Dave Heaton with PopMatters
PopMatters
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,...
gave it an eight star rating saying it "felt like an LP" and continuing saying "as an Alan Jackson album, Freight Train is so consistently likable that it makes me imagine that he might keep getting better over time, as well".
Jessica Phillips of Country Weekly
Country Weekly
Country Weekly is an American tabloid style weekly magazine established in 1994. The magazine focuses on country music stars and events, and regularly features exclusive interviews with recording artists and country music news...
gave the release a four star rating, calling it "quality country music", saying that the album "continues to build on his legacy as a 'singer of simple songs'". 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 it "a record of slow and midtempo songs", saying "there isn’t anything revelatory or strikingly different here — just the solid, precise craftsmanship of an artist now deep into his career". Ninian Dunnett with BBC Music
BBC Music
BBC Music is a team working in the department of Audio and Music Interactive at the BBC. Responsible for the BBC Music website - the portal site to music content across the BBC website....
gave it a mixed review, saying "Buoyantly produced, it finds the singer leaning a little too comfortably on the conversational Georgia drawl of his baritone, and the writer coming up a little shy on the sort of detail and wordplay that lifts a cliché [...] The eight originals compare poorly to the 17 on 2008’s Good Time".
Matt Bjorke with Roughstock gave the release 3½, saying "Ultimately this record is neither groundbreaking nor is it lacking in future radio hits; while many artists are always constantly changing their sound, Alan remains true to what made him a star in the first place. Freight Train may not win Alan many new fans but it’s unlikely to lose him any and in an era when the genre is getting more rock-n-roll and pop, Alan is remarkably retro or ‘traditional’ here". C.M. Wilcox with The 9513 called it "the first ‘regular’ Alan Jackson album since 2004′s What I Do
What I Do
What I Do is the eleventh studio album by American country music artist Alan Jackson. It was released on September 7, 2004, and produced four singles for Jackson on the Hot Country Songs charts: "Too Much of a Good Thing" and "Monday Morning Church" both reached #5, while "The Talkin' Song Repair...
", and gave it fours stars out of five. Jon Caramanica with The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
called it "calm" and said "Freight Train is filled with songs that are mature but not wise".
Track listing
All songs written by Alan Jackson except where noted.Personnel
Technical- Tracy Baskette-Fleaner - Art Direction, Design
- Judy Forde-Blair - Creative Producer, Liner Notes
- Craig Fruin - Management
- Russ Harrington - Photography
- Howard Kaufman - Management
- John Kelton - Engineer, Mixing
- Kyle LehningKyle LehningKyle Lehning is an American record producer whose work is mainly in the field of country music. He has produced virtually every album released by Randy Travis, who describes their partnership "an interesting relationship." The only exceptions are Travis' 1993 album Wind in the Wire, which was...
- Engineer - Scott McDanielScott McDanielScott McDaniel is an American comics artist who has drawn numerous books, including Marvel Comics' "Fall from Grace" storyline for the Daredevil series...
- Creative Director - Timothy Monnig - Photography
- Matt Rovey - Assistant, Engineer
- Mellissa Schleicher - Stylist
- Steve Short - Assistant
- Trish Townsend - Grooming
- Hank Williams - Mastering
Additional musicians
- Eddie BayersEddie BayersEddie Bayers is an American session drummer who has played on 150 gold and platinum albums. He received the Academy of Country Music 'Drummer of the Year Award' for eight straight years, and has three times won the Nashville Music Awards 'Drummer of the Year'...
- Drums - Jimmy Carter - Bass
- Stuart DuncanStuart DuncanStuart Duncan is a bluegrass musician who plays the fiddle, mandolin, guitar and banjo. Born in Quantico, Virginia and raised in Santa Paula, California, where he played in the school band, he has been a member of the Nashville Bluegrass Band since 1985, and is a much-in-demand session musician...
- Fiddle, Mandolin - Paul FranklinPaul Franklin (musician)Paul Franklin is an American multi-instrumentalist, known mainly for his work as a steel guitarist. He began his career in the 1970s as a member of Barbara Mandrell's road band; in addition he toured with Mel Tillis and Jerry Reed. He has since become a prolific session musician in Nashville,...
- Steel Guitar - Greenwood Hart - Acoustic Guitar
- Andy Leftwich - Fiddle
- Brent MasonBrent MasonBrent Mason is an American session guitarist and occasional songwriter. He is known primarily for his work in the field of country music. In addition to releasing two instrumental studio albums, he holds several credits as a songwriter...
- Acoustic and Electric Guitar - Gary Prim - Hammond B3, Piano, Wurlitzer
- Hargus "Pig" Robbins - Piano, Wurlitzer
- Rhonda VincentRhonda VincentRhonda Lea Vincent is a bluegrass singer, songwriter, mandolin player, guitarist, and fiddle player.Her musical career started as a child in her family's band, The Sally Mountain Show, and has spanned almost four decades...
- Background Vocals - Ryles Vincent - Background Vocals
- Bruce Watkins - Acoustic Guitar, Banjo
- John Wesley - Vocals Background
- Glenn Worf - Bass
Album
| Charts (2010) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia Albums Chart Australian Recording Industry Association The Australian Recording Industry Association is a trade group representing the Australian recording industry which was established in 1983 by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing the Association of Australian Record Manufacturers which was formed in 1956... |
25 |
| Canadian Albums Chart Canadian Recording Industry Association Music Canada is a Toronto-based, non-profit trade organization that was founded 9 April 1963 to represent the interests of companies that record, artists, manufacture, production, promotion and distribution of music in Canada... |
8 |
| Norwegian Albums Chart VG-lista VG-listen is a Norwegian record chart. It is weekly presented in the newspaper VG and the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation program Topp 20. It is considered the primary Norwegian record chart, charting albums and singles from countries and continent around the world. The data is collected by... |
2 |
| Swedish Albums Chart Sverigetopplistan Sverigetopplistan, earlier known as Topplistan and Hitlistan and other names, is since October 2007 the Swedish national record chart, based on sales data from Swedish Recording Industry Association .... |
32 |
| Swiss Albums Chart Swiss Music Charts The Swiss Music Charts are Switzerland's main music sales charts. The charts are a record of the highest-selling singles and albums in various genres in Switzerland.The Swiss Charts include:* Singles Top 75... |
65 |
| U.S. 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... |
7 |
| U.S. Billboard Top Country Albums | 2 |
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... |
194 |
| US Billboard Top Country Albums | 34 |
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... |
US Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
CAN Canadian Hot 100 The Canadian Hot 100 is a music singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine which ranks songs in Canada. The chart debuted in the Billboard issue dated June 16, 2007 and was made available for the first time via their online services on June 7, 2007... |
||
| 2010 | "It's Just That Way It's Just That Way "It's Just That Way" is the title of a song written by Vicky McGehee, Kylie Sackley, and Keith Stegall, and recorded by American country artist Alan Jackson... " |
16 | 103 | — |
| "Hard Hat and a Hammer Hard Hat and a Hammer "Hard Hat and a Hammer" is the title of a song written and recorded by American country artist Alan Jackson. It is the second single to his sixteenth studio album, Freight Train, which was released on March 30, 2010.-Content:... " |
17 | 107 | 99 | |