On the Rocks (Midland album)

On the Rocks is the debut studio album by American country music band Midland. It was released on September 22, 2017 via Big Machine Records.[2] In 2019 it was certified Gold by RIAA for selling 500,000 units.

On the Rocks
Studio album by Midland
Released	September 22, 2017
Genre	Neotraditional country
Label	Big Machine
Producer	Josh Osborne Shane McAnally Dann Huff[1]
Midland chronology
Midland (2016) On the Rocks (2017) Let It Roll (2019)
Singles from On the Rocks
"Drinkin' Problem" Released: February 27, 2017 "Make a Little" Released: September 25, 2017 "Burn Out" Released: April 9, 2018

Content

The album features 13 songs, including the singles "Drinkin' Problem", "Make a Little", and "Burn Out". At least one band member wrote every song on the album. Josh Osborne, Shane McAnally, and Dann Huff served as producers.[1]

Critical reception

Allmusic reviewer Stephen Thomas Erlewine rated the album 4 out of 5 stars, comparing its sound favorably to Alabama and Dwight Yoakam. He also stated that "the three members construct sturdy songs with a shimmering surface to match."[3] Chris Richards of The Washington Post described the album as "the year's best country album".[4] Exclaim! writer Marlo Ashley gave the album a 9 out of 10, comparing "Lonely For You Only" to Sonny James. She also called the album "charming".[5]

Commercial performance

The album debuted at No. 1 on the Top Country Albums chart, selling 17,000 copies (20,000 units including streams and tracks) in the first week.[6] It has sold 112,500 copies in the United States as of March 2019.[7] In November 2019 it was certified Gold by RIAA for selling 500,000 units.[8]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Lonely for You Only"	Jess Carson, Cameron Duddy, Mark Wystrach, Rhett Akins, Josh Osborne	3:50
2.	"Make a Little"	Carson, Duddy, Wystrach, Shane McAnally, Osborne	3:02
3.	"Drinkin' Problem"	Carson, Duddy, Wystrach, McAnally, Osborne	3:41
4.	"At Least You Cried"	Carson, Duddy, Wystrach, Jonathan Singleton	2:39
5.	"Burn Out"	Carson, Duddy, Wystrach, McAnally, Osborne	3:09
6.	"Out of Sight"	Carson, Duddy, Wystrach, Luke Laird, McAnally	4:23
7.	"More Than a Fever"	Carson, Duddy, Wystrach, McAnally, Osborne	3:43
8.	"Check Cashin' Country"	Carson	3:50
9.	"Nothin' New Under the Neon"	Carson, Duddy, Wystrach, McAnally, Osborne	3:47
10.	"This Old Heart"	Carson, Wystrach, David Lee Murphy, Singleton	3:14
11.	"Altitude Adjustment"	Carson, Duddy, Wystrach, Akins, Rodney Clawson	3:27
12.	"Electric Rodeo"	Carson, Duddy, Wystrach, McAnally, Osborne	3:20
13.	"Somewhere on the Wind"	Carson, Duddy, Wystrach, Akins, Osborne	3:18

Personnel

Adapted from On the Rocks liner notes.[9]

Midland

• Jess Carson - acoustic guitar (all tracks), background vocals (all tracks)
• Cameron Duddy - bass guitar (all tracks), background vocals (all tracks)
• Mark Wystrach - lead vocals (all tracks)

Additional musicians

• Vinnie Ciesielski - trumpet (track 4)
• Dan Dugmore - steel guitar (tracks 3, 8, 9, 12)
• Ian Fitchuk - piano (tracks 3, 9)
• Paul Franklin - steel guitar (tracks 1–7, 9-11, 13), steel guitar solo (track 3)
• Dann Huff - acoustic guitar (tracks 2, 5, 7, 8, 10, 12), electric guitar (all tracks except 12), guitar solo (tracks 6, 8, 9), gut string guitar (track 1), 12-string acoustic guitar (track 3), wire choir guitar solo (track 10), high-strung guitar (track 12), ganjo (track 13), mandolin (tracks 2, 8), Hammond B-3 organ (track 3)
• David Huff - tambourine (track 1), percussion (tracks 2, 6, 7, 13)
• Charlie Judge - accordion (track 13), keyboards (tracks 1, 2, 4-13)
• Rob McNelley - electric guitar (tracks 9, 12)
• Gordon Mote - piano (track 10)
• Greg Morrow - drums (all tracks), percussion (track 7)
• Danny Rader - acoustic guitar (track 3), mandolin (track 3), bouzouki (track 3)
• Mickey Raphael - echo harp (track 7), harmonica (track 13)
• Ilya Toshinsky - acoustic guitar (track 12)
• Derek Wells - electric guitar (except track 12), guitar solo (tracks 2, 11, 12), 12-string electric guitar (track 12), baritone guitar (track 12)

Technical

• Ryan Gore - recording (track 9)
• Dann Huff - producer
• David Huff - digital editing (except track 3)
• Steve Marcontonio - recording (except track 3)
• Shane McAnally - producer
• Andrew Mendelson - mastering
• Seth Morton - recording (track 3)
• Sean Neff - digital editing (track 3)
• Justin Niebank - recording (track 3), mixing
• Josh Osborne - producer
• Chris Small - digital editing (except track 3)

Charts

Album

Weekly charts Chart (2017–18) Peak position Canadian Albums (Billboard)[10] 45 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[11] 82 UK Country Albums (OCC)[12] 8 US Billboard 200[13] 20 US Top Country Albums (Billboard)[14] 2

Year-end charts Chart (2018) Position US Top Country Albums (Billboard)[15] 66 Chart (2019) Position US Top Country Albums (Billboard)[16] 69

Singles

Year	Single	Peak positions					Sales	Certifications
		US Country [17]	US Country Airplay [18]	US [19]	CAN [20]	CAN Country [21]
2017	"Drinkin' Problem"	4	3	45	98	1	US: 401,000[22]	RIAA: Gold[23]
	"Make a Little"	23	15	—[lower-alpha 1]	—	12
2018	"Burn Out"	11	3	63	—	36

Notes

1. "Make a Little" did not enter the Hot 100, but peaked at number 21 on Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles, which acts as a 25-song extension of the Hot 100.[24]

References

1. Carr, Courtney. "Midland's Debut Album Coming Sept. 22". The Boot. Retrieved September 5, 2017.
2. "Midland's New Album: Release Date & Details | Billboard" 6/23/2017 by Taylor Weatherby
3. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "On the Rocks review". Allmusic. Retrieved 24 September 2017.
4. Richards, Chris (September 28, 2017). "An underwear model and his pals just dropped the year's best country album". Washington Post.
5. Ashley, Marlo (September 20, 2017). "Midland On the Rocks". Exclaim!. Retrieved January 2, 2018.
6. Asker, Jim (October 3, 2017). "'Pretty' Good: Kenny Chesney Scores 28th Country Airplay No. 1; Midland, Home Free And Chris Janson Make Top 10 Debuts On Country Albums". Billboard.
7. Bjorke, Matt (March 5, 2019). "Top 10 Country Albums: March 5, 2019". Roughstock. Retrieved April 13, 2019.
8. "American certifications – Midland – On the Rocks". Recording Industry Association of America. November 12, 2019. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
9. On the Rocks (CD backing card). Midland. Big Machine Records. 2017. BMRML0100H.CS1 maint: others (link)
10. "Midland Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved October 3, 2017.
11. "Swisscharts.com – Midland – On the Rocks". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 19, 2018.
12. "Official Country Artists Albums Chart Top 20". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 24, 2018.
13. "Midland Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved October 3, 2017.
14. "Midland Chart History (Top Country Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved October 3, 2017.
15. "Top Country Albums – Year-End 2018". Billboard. Retrieved July 11, 2020.
16. "Top Country Albums – Year-End 2019". Billboard. Retrieved July 11, 2020.
17. "Midland – Chart history (Country Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved April 17, 2018.
18. "Midland – Chart history (Country Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved April 17, 2018.
19. "Billboard Hot 100 results for Midland". Billboard. Retrieved September 4, 2017.
20. "Midland – Chart history Canadian Hot 100". Billboard.
21. "Canada Country results for Midland". Billboard. Retrieved September 4, 2017.
22. Bjorke, Matt (April 30, 2018). "Top 30 Digital Country Singles: April 30, 2018". Roughstock. Retrieved April 30, 2018.
23. "American single certifications – Midland – Drinkin' Problem". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH. 
24. "Bubbling Under Hot 100 peaks". Billboard. Retrieved 14 March 2018.