Midwest Farmer's Daughter

Midwest Farmer's Daughter is the debut studio album by American country singer Margo Price. Released on March 25, 2016, it was the first country album to be released on Third Man Records.[5][6] Despite the album's limited commercial success, peaking at No. 189 on the Billboard 200,[7] it is considered by many publications and music critics to be one of 2016's best albums.[8]

Midwest Farmer's Daughter
Studio album by Margo Price
Released	March 25, 2016
Genre	Country
Length	43:30
Label	Third Man
Producer	Alex Muñoz[1] & Matt Ross-Spang
Margo Price chronology
Midwest Farmer's Daughter (2016) All American Made (2017)
Singles from Midwest Farmer's Daughter
"Hurtin' (On the Bottle)" Released: December 4, 2015[2][3] "Hands of Time" Released: March 11, 2016[4]

Production

Midwest Farmer's Daughter was recorded live to analog tape at the famed Sun Studio in Memphis, Tennessee and mixed at the nearby Ardent Studios.[9]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	86/100[10]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[11]
Exclaim!	8/10[12]
The Guardian	[13]
The Observer	[14]
Pitchfork	7.0/10[15]
Rolling Stone	[16]
Spin	8/10[17]
The Times	[18]
Uncut	8/10[19]
Vice	A−[20]

Midwest Farmer's Daughter received highly positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has an average score of 86 out of 100, which indicates "universal acclaim" based on 13 reviews.[10]

Will Hermes of Rolling Stone gave the album a favorable review, describing the vocal style of Price as "restrained yet mighty, her songcraft amazingly vivid, and the arranging instinct spot on". Hermes noted that Price had a "taste for retro styling", and that starting from the opening song, "Hands of Time", "you're reminded of the incredible power that lies in tradition well-used. It's a power the rest of this record makes plain."[16] Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic saw Loretta Lynn as the primary inspirations of Price, but thought that even though the album may drift toward the traditional in some songs, "Price's sensibility is modern, turning these old-fashioned tales of heartbreak, love, loss, and perseverance into something fresh and affecting."[11] Paul Grein of Hits Daily Double predicted the album would be in contention for the Album of the Year award at the 59th Annual Grammy Awards.[21]

Accolades

Publication	Rank	List
AllMusic	N/A	Best Albums of 2016[22]
American Songwriter	3	Top 50 Albums of 2016[23]
BrooklynVegan	23	Top Albums of 2016[24]
Cosmopolitan	11	The 15 Best Albums of 2016[25]
Entertainment Weekly	15	The 50 Best Albums of 2016[26]
	2	The Best Country Albums of 2016[27]
Exclaim!	3	Top 10 Folk & Country Albums of 2016[28]
FLOOD Magazine	25	Best Records of 2016[29]
The Guardian	32	The Best Albums of 2016[30]
NME	33	50 best albums of 2016[31]
NPR	20	50 Best Albums of 2016[32]
Paste	12	The 50 Best Albums of 2016[33]
PopMatters	30	The 70 Best Albums of 2016[34]
Rolling Stone	3	40 Best Country Albums of 2016[35]
	21	50 Best Albums of 2016[36]
Rough Trade	3	Albums of the Year[37]
Slant Magazine	17	The 25 Best Albums of 2016[38]
Stereogum	7	The 20 Best Country Albums of 2016[39]
Uncut	23	Albums of the Year[40]

Commercial performance

Midwest Farmer's Daughter debuted at No. 189 on the Billboard 200.[41] It also debuted at No. 10 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart, the first time in the history of the chart (which started in 1964) a solo female has debuted in the top 10 with her first release without also having any history on the Hot Country Songs chart.[42] As of June 2017 the album has sold 52,600 copies in the United States.[43]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Hands of Time"	Margo Price	6:10
2.	"About to Find Out"	Price, Jeremy Ivey	3:12
3.	"Tennessee Song"	Price, Ivey	4:40
4.	"Since You Put Me Down"	Price, Ivey	4:52
5.	"Four Years of Chances"	Price	4:33
6.	"This Town Gets Around"	Price	2:55
7.	"How the Mighty Have Fallen"	Mark Fredson	3:10
8.	"Weekender"	Price	4:40
9.	"Hurtin' (On the Bottle)"	Price, Fredson, Ivey, Caitlin Rose	4:12
10.	"World's Greatest Loser"	Price, Ivey	1:34
11.	"Desperate and Depressed"		3:30
Total length:			43:30

Personnel

Adapted from AllMusic.[44]

Musicians Jeremy Ivey – bass guitar, acoustic guitar, harmonica Kevin Black – background vocals Jamie Davis – electric guitar Eleonore Denig – violin Josh Hedley – harmony Micah Hulscher – Fender Rhodes, organ, piano Larissa Maestro – cello Alex Munoz – Dobro, acoustic guitar, mandolin, background vocals Dillon Napier – drums, percussion Margo Price – acoustic guitar, harmony, vocals Matt Ross-Spang – wah-wah guitar Luke Schneider – pedal steel guitar Kristin Weber – fiddle, violin, harmony, background vocals Eric Whitman – background vocals

Technical personnel John Baldwin – mastering Danielle Holbert – photography Alex Munoz – engineer, producer Matt Ross-Spang – engineer, mixing, producer Nathanio Strimpopulos – artwork

Chart positions

Weekly charts Chart (2016) Peak position UK Country Albums (OCC)[45] 1 US Billboard 200[46] 189 US Top Country Albums (Billboard)[47] 10 US Folk Albums (Billboard)[48] 5 US Independent Albums (Billboard)[49] 11

Year-end charts Chart (2016) Position US Top Country Albums (Billboard)[50] 62

References

1. "Margo Price - Pickathon". Pickathon. Retrieved April 24, 2016.
2. "Margo Price - Hurtin' On the Bottle / Desperate and Depressed - Amazon.com Music". Amazon.com. Retrieved April 24, 2016.
3. Cooper, Duncan (December 3, 2015). "Country's Next Star, Margo Price, Debuts "Hurtin' on the Bottle" | The FADER". The Fader. Retrieved April 24, 2016.
4. Breihan, Tom (March 11, 2016). "Margo Price – "Hands Of Time" - Stereogum". Stereogum. SpinMedia. Retrieved April 24, 2016.
5. "MARGO PRICE RAISES HELL IN "HURTIN' (ON THE BOTTLE)" VIDEO". Third Man Records. December 3, 2015. Retrieved April 24, 2016.
6. Hermes, Will (March 25, 2016). "Margo Price's New Album: Midwest Farmer's Daughter". Rolling Stone. Retrieved April 24, 2016.
7. "Margo Price - Chart history - Billboard". Billboard. Retrieved December 2, 2016.
8. "Margo Price - Midwest Farmer's Daughter - Albumoftheyear.org". Albumoftheyear.org. Retrieved December 2, 2016.
9. Horowitz, Steve (March 23, 2016). "Margo Price - Midwest Farmer's Daughter". PopMatters. Retrieved March 18, 2017.
10. "Reviews for Midwest Farmer's Daughter by Margo Price". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved June 22, 2016.
11. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Midwest Farmer's Daughter – Margo Price". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved November 16, 2019.
12. Henderson, Stuart (March 23, 2016). "Margo Price: Midwest Farmer's Daughter". Exclaim!. Retrieved October 8, 2018.
13. Hann, Michael (April 21, 2016). "Margo Price: Midwest Farmer's Daughter review – tears and triumphs in startling debut". The Guardian. Retrieved July 11, 2016.
14. Spencer, Neil (April 17, 2016). "Margo Price: Midwest Farmer's Daughter review – a gritty, defiant debut". The Observer. Retrieved October 8, 2018.
15. Deusner, Stephen M. (March 24, 2016). "Margo Price: Midwest Farmer's Daughter". Pitchfork. Retrieved July 11, 2016.
16. Hermes, Will (March 25, 2016). "Midwest Farmer's Daughter". Rolling Stone. Retrieved July 11, 2016.
17. McKenna, Brittney (June 10, 2016). "SPIN Country Report: Robert Ellis Is Trying to Break Your Heart, Margo Price Fills Your Old Jukebox". Spin. Retrieved July 11, 2016.
18. Hodgkinson, Will (April 15, 2016). "Margo Price: Midwest Farmer's Daughter". The Times. Retrieved May 11, 2019.
19. Snapes, Laura (April 12, 2016). "Margo Price – Midwest Farmer's Daughter". Uncut. Archived from the original on April 28, 2016. Retrieved October 8, 2018.
20. Christgau, Robert (May 27, 2016). "Roots Rock Radicals: Expert Witness with Robert Christgau". Vice. Retrieved October 8, 2018.
21. Grein, Paul (July 8, 2016). "GREIN ON GRAMMYS: BEYONCÉ, ADELE, DRAKE AND THE CLASS OF 2016 (PART ONE)". Hits Daily Double. Retrieved July 9, 2016.
22. AllMusic staff. "AllMusic Best Albums of 2016". AllMusic. Retrieved December 10, 2016.
23. American Songwriter staff (December 1, 2016). "Top 50 Albums Of 2016". American Songwriter. Retrieved December 2, 2016.
24. BrooklynVegan Staff (December 20, 2016). "BrooklynVegan's Top Albums of 2016". BrooklynVegan. Retrieved December 21, 2016.
25. Eliza Thompson (December 9, 2016). "The 15 Best Albums of 2016". Cosmopolitan. Retrieved December 10, 2016.
26. EW staff (December 8, 2016). "The 50 Best Albums of 2016". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved December 8, 2016.
27. Madison Vain (December 14, 2016). "The Best Country Albums of 2016". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved December 15, 2016.
28. Exclaim! staff (December 2, 2016). "Exclaim!'s Top 10 Folk & Country Albums". Exclaim!. Retrieved December 6, 2016.
29. FLOOD staff (December 11, 2016). "FLOOD's Best Records of 2016". FLOOD Magazine. Retrieved December 18, 2016.
30. The Guardian staff. "The Best Albums of 2016". The Guardian. Retrieved December 10, 2016.
31. "NME's Albums Of The Year 2016". NME. November 24, 2016. Retrieved November 25, 2016.
32. NPR staff. "50 Best Albums of 2016". NPR. Retrieved December 8, 2016.
33. Hilary Saunders (November 30, 2016). "The 50 Best Albums of 2016". Paste. Retrieved December 6, 2016.
34. PopMatters staff (December 13, 2016). "The 70 Best Albums of 2016". PopMatters. Retrieved December 15, 2016.
35. Rolling Stone staff (December 6, 2016). "40 Best Country Albums of 2016". Rolling Stone. Retrieved December 8, 2016.
36. Rolling Stone staff (November 28, 2016). "50 Best Albums of 2016". Rolling Stone. Retrieved November 29, 2016.
37. "Albums of the Year". Rough Trade. November 14, 2016. Retrieved November 15, 2016.
38. Slant Magazine staff (December 8, 2016). "The 25 Best Albums of 2016". Slant Magazine. Retrieved December 8, 2016.
39. Stephen Deusner (December 16, 2016). "The 20 Best Country Albums of 2016". Stereogum. Retrieved December 19, 2016.
40. "Albums of the Year". Uncut. November 14, 2016. Retrieved November 25, 2016.
41. "Billboard 200". Billboard. April 16, 2016.
42. Jim Asker (April 5, 2016). "Margo Price Makes History on Top Country Albums Chart; Keith Urban & Jason Aldean Bow on Country Airplay". Billboard.
43. Bjorke, Matt (June 19, 2017). "Top 10 Country Album Sales: June 19, 2017". Roughstock. Retrieved June 19, 2017.
44. "Midwest Farmer's Daughter – Margo Price | Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic.
45. "Official Country Artists Albums Chart Top 20". Official Charts Company.
46. "Margo Price Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard.
47. "Margo Price Chart History (Top Country Albums)". Billboard.
48. "Margo Price Chart History (Top Americana/Folk Albums)". Billboard.
49. "Margo Price Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard.
50. "Top Country Albums – Year-End 2016". Billboard. Retrieved July 25, 2020.

External links

• Midwest Farmer's Daughter at AllMusic
• Midwest Farmer's Daughter at Discogs (list of releases)