Kerosene (album)
Encyclopedia
Personnel
Musicians- Richard BennettRichard Bennett (guitarist)Richard Bennett is a touring sideman, session veteran, and record producer. As a touring sideman, he performed with Neil Diamond for 17 years, and Mark Knopfler since 1994. As a session player, he has worked with artists ranging from Billy Joel and Barbra Streisand to Rodney Crowell and Vince Gill...
– guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with... - Chad CromwellChad CromwellChad Cromwell is an American drummer, best known for his work with Neil Young and with Mark Knopfler.- Personal life :Cromwell was born in Paducah, Kentucky, and three years later moved with his family to Memphis, Tennessee...
– drums - Eric Darken – percussion
- Natalie Hemby – background vocals
- Joey Huffman – keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
- Jay Joyce – guitar
- Miranda Lambert – background vocals, lead vocals
- Buddy MillerBuddy MillerBuddy Miller is a country singer, songwriter, musician, recording artist and producer, currently living in Nashville, Tennessee...
– background vocals - Russ Pahl – pedal steel guitarPedal steel guitarThe pedal steel guitar is a type of electric guitar that uses a metal bar to "fret" or shorten the length of the strings, rather than fingers on strings as with a conventional guitar. Unlike other types of steel guitar, it also uses pedals and knee levers to affect the pitch, hence the name "pedal"...
- Mando Saenz – background vocals
- Randy ScruggsRandy ScruggsRandy Scruggs is a music producer, songwriter and guitarist. He had his first recording at the age of 13...
– guitar, mandolinMandolinA mandolin is a musical instrument in the lute family . It descends from the mandore, a soprano member of the lute family. The mandolin soundboard comes in many shapes—but generally round or teardrop-shaped, sometimes with scrolls or other projections. A mandolin may have f-holes, or a single... - Hank Singer – fiddleFiddleThe term fiddle may refer to any bowed string musical instrument, most often the violin. It is also a colloquial term for the instrument used by players in all genres, including classical music...
- Glenn WorfGlenn WorfGlenn Worf is one of the premier Nashville session bassists. He was born in Dayton, Ohio but grew up in Madison, Wisconsin and has concentrated on the bass guitar since he was thirteen. He majored in music at the University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire. Inevitably his talents forced him to abandon the...
– bassBass (instrument)Bass describes musical instruments that produce tones in the low-pitched range. They belong to different families of instruments and can cover a wide range of musical roles... - Mike Wrucke – banjoBanjoIn the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new...
, guitar, keyboards, background vocals
Technical personnel
- Terri Apanasewicz – hair stylist
- Scott Barnes – make-up
- Tracy Baskette-Fleaner – design
- Courtney Clay – project coordination
- Tonya Derry – A&RA&RArtists and repertoire is the division of a record label that is responsible for talent scouting and overseeing the artistic development of recording artists. It also acts as a liaison between artists and the record label.- Finding talent :...
- Tracy Gershon – A&R
- Jack Guy – photography
- Deb Haus – art direction, artist development
- Stephen Marcussen – mastering
- Sylvia Meiler – creative producer
- Sang Park – assistant engineerAudio engineeringAn audio engineer, also called audio technician, audio technologist or sound technician, is a specialist in a skilled trade that deals with the use of machinery and equipment for the recording, mixing and reproduction of sounds. The field draws on many artistic and vocational areas, including...
- Kay Smith – A&R
- Eric Tonkin – assistant engineer
- Stewart Whitmore – digital editing
Critical reception
Entertainment WeeklyEntertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
music critic, Alanna Nash
Alanna Nash
Alanna Nash is an American journalist and biographer.Nash holds a master's degree from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and is the author of several acclaimed books...
gave Kerosene a B+ rating stating, "A Nashville Star finalist and only 20 when she recorded this spunky set of honky-tonk, country-rock, and Sheryl Crow
Sheryl Crow
Sheryl Suzanne Crow is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, musician, and actress. Her music incorporates elements of rock, folk, hip hop, country and pop...
-style ballads last year, Lambert's got Dixie Chicks
Dixie Chicks
The Dixie Chicks are an American country band which has also successfully crossed over into other genres. The band is composed of founding members Martie Erwin Maguire and Emily Erwin Robison, and lead singer Natalie Maines...
-like potential; Her vocals evoke Natalie Maines
Natalie Maines
Natalie Louise Maines Pasdar is an American singer-songwriter who achieved success as the lead vocalist for the female alternative country band, the Dixie Chicks...
, and she clearly knows how to write a killer tune. Nash also praised Lambert's choice of material, calling the songs "torch stuff." Jon Metzger of Music Box gave Kerosene three out of five stars. Metzger criticized the fact that Lambert came to fame because of her success on Nashville Star, but he found her to be more unique than other talent contest winners. Metzger proved his point by saying, "Without a doubt, her fame was derived from a carefully orchestrated marketing campaign, but standing in sharp contrast to almost all of her counterparts, the 21-year-old Texan actually has talent. Not only does Lambert pen her own material, but she also has the wherewithal to deliver it with a strikingly potent level of down-to-earth sincerity."
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...
of Allmusic gave Kerosene a more favorable review, giving the album four out of five stars. Erlewine drew the album's similarities to the production of the material by country artist, Gretchen Wilson
Gretchen Wilson
Gretchen Frances Wilson is an American country music artist. She made her debut in 2004 with the Grammy Award-winning single "Redneck Woman," a number-one hit on the Billboard country charts. The song served as the lead-off single of her debut album, Here for the Party...
, a style which he called, "stylized redneck raunch won." Erlewine also said that Kerosene lost the "gonzo humor" Big & Rich
Big & Rich
Big & Rich is an American country music duo composed of Big Kenny and John Rich. Both members alternate as lead vocalists and play rhythm guitar...
had produced on Wilson's Here for the Party
Here for the Party
-Album:-Singles:-Certifications:-References:...
. He did find however that Lambert was unique in her own musical style, concluding by stating, "Against all odds, this a rarity in modern mainstream country: a piece of product that's friendly, tuneful, sharper, and more genuine than it initially seems. Maybe Miranda needed a show like to Nashville Star to jump-start her career, but the show gave her the opportunity to make this thoroughly winning debut."
Chart performance
Kerosenes lead single titled, "Me and Charlie Talking" was released in October 2004, becoming the highest-debuting single in the week of October 16, debuting at number 42 on the Billboard Hot Country SongsHot 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...
chart, but only peaking at number 27. Kerosene was officially released March 15, 2005, selling 40,000 copies within its first week and debuting at number 1 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart, as well as number 18 on the 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...
. In April, the album released the song, "Bring Me Down," however the song only reached number 32 on the Billboard Country Chart. In October 2005, the title track was spawned as the third single, becoming the highest-debuting single of the week on October 8, 2005. The song became the album's first significant hit, reaching number 15 on the Billboard Country Chart in early 2006. "New Strings" was released as the album's final single in April 2006, peaking within the Top 25.
In December 2005, Kerosene was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America
Recording Industry Association of America
The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States...
, however after the success of the title track, the album eventually was certified platinum in March 2007 and has sold 1,031,234 copies as of September 2010.
Chart positions
Album| Chart (2005) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Top Country Albums | 1 |
| 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... |
18 |
Singles
| Year | Song | 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... |
||||
| 2004 | "Me and Charlie Talking" | 27 | — | ||
| 2005 | "Bring Me Down" | 32 | — | ||
| "Kerosene" | 15 | 61 | |||
| 2006 | "New Strings" | 25 | — | ||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart. | |||||