10,000 Towns Explained

10,000 Towns
Type:	studio
Artist:	Eli Young Band
Cover:	10000Towns.jpg
Genre:	Country
Label:	Republic Nashville
Prev Title:	Life at Best
Prev Year:	2011
Next Title:	Turn It On
Next Year:	2015

10,000 Towns is the fourth studio album by American country music group Eli Young Band. It was released on March 4, 2014 via Republic Nashville.^[1] The band wrote over half the tracks and co-produced the album with Frank Liddell and Justin Niebank.^[2] It includes the number one single "Drunk Last Night."^[3] An exclusive version of the album with three bonus tracks is available at Walmart.^[4]

Background

Lead singer Mike Eli said of the album: "To still be making music and going through the craziness of life together is something we'd only dreamed of when we met back in college. This album shows another chapter in our lives as a band, as husbands, as fathers and as individuals that we're really excited to share with our amazing fans."^[5]

Critical reception

10,000 Towns has received positive reviews from music critics. At USA Today, Brian Mansfield rated the album three out of four stars, stating "That keeps their populist country and heartland rock from setting down roots, but lets these songs resonate everywhere." Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic rated the album three out of five stars, writing that "their strength lies in the sweeter stuff, how they can make crossover country-pop that seems amiable but never cloying." At The Oakland Press, Gary Graff rated the album two-and-a-half stars out of four, saying that the release "touts the virtues of lowest-common-denominator country, filled with sweet melodies, rich vocal harmonies and a careful straddle of the twang/rock divide to maintain its crossover candidacy." Bob Paxman of Country Weekly graded the album a B, and said that the release is "decent but not quite up to the level of those two powerhouses." At Roughstock, Matt Bjorke rated the album four-and-a-half stars out of five, saying that the album "suggests that [the] Eli Young Band has found the right formula for their sound."

Personnel

Adapted from liner notes.^[6]

Eli Young Band

• Mike Eli- lead vocals
• Jon Jones- bass guitar, background vocals
• Chris Thompson- drums, percussion
• James Young- electric guitar, background vocals

Additional Musicians

• Tom Bukovac- electric guitar
• J.T. Corenflos- electric guitar
• Eric Darken- percussion
• Dan Dugmore- steel guitar
• Kenny Greenberg- acoustic guitar, electric guitar
• Tony Harrell- keyboards
• Wes Hightower- background vocals
• David Huff- programming
• Charlie Judge- accordion, Hammond B-3 organ, keyboards, piano, synthesizer, synthesizer strings, Wurlitzer
• Tony Lucido- bass guitar
• Jerry McPherson- electric guitar
• Heather Morgan- background vocals
• Greg Morrow- percussion
• Justin Niebank- keyboards, programming
• Russ Pahl- steel guitar
• Danny Rader- accordion, bouzouki, acoustic guitar, mandolin
• Cale Richardson- acoustic guitar, Hammond B-3 organ, piano
• Adam Shoenfeld- electric guitar
• Ilya Toshinsky- acoustic guitar

Chart performance

10,000 Towns debuted at No. 5 on the Billboard 200 and No. 1 on the Top Country Albums chart with first week sales of 36,000 copies.^[7] The album has sold 95,000 copies in the U.S. as of January 2015.^[8]

Singles

Year	Single	Peak chart positions
		US Country ^[10]	US Country Airplay ^[11]	US ^[12]	CAN Country ^[13]	CAN ^[14]
2013	"Drunk Last Night"	3	1	41	2	51
2014	"Dust"	19	15	79	33	—
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

Notes and References

1. News: Bjorke. Matt. Eli Young Band "10,000 Towns" Tracklist & Cover Art. January 7, 2014. Roughstock. January 7, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140107204223/http://www.roughstock.com/blog/eli-young-band-10-000-towns-tracklist-cover-art#. 2014-01-07. dead.
2. News: Nicholson. Jessica. Eli Young Band To Release '10,000 Towns' in March. January 7, 2014. MusicRow. January 7, 2014.
3. News: Conaway. Alanna. Eli Young Band Prepares New Album, "10,000 Towns". January 7, 2014. Country Weekly. January 7, 2014.
4. News: Eli Young Band announces soph disc. January 7, 2014. Country Standard Time. January 7, 2014.
5. News: Eli Young Band's 10,000 Towns. January 7, 2014. January 7, 2014.
6. 10,000 Towns . Eli Young Band . 2014 . CD booklet . Republic Records Nashville . B0019965-02.
7. News: Country Album Chart News: The Week of March 12, 2014: Eli Young Band "10,000 Towns" Hits Top Of The Charts . Matt Bjorke . March 12, 2014 . Roughstock . 2014-03-12 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140320121317/http://www.roughstock.com/blog/country-album-chart-news-the-week-of-march-12-2014-eli-young-band-10-000-towns-hits-top-of-the-charts- . 2014-03-20 . dead .
8. News: Country Album Chart Report For January 28, 2015 . Matt Bjorke . January 28, 2015 . Roughstock .
9. Top Country Albums: 2014 Year-End Charts. Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. January 16, 2015.
10. [{{BillboardURLbyName|artist=eli young band|chart=Country Songs}} Eli Young Band Album & Song Chart History - Country Songs]. Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. December 7, 2010.
11. [{{BillboardURLbyName|artist=eli young band|chart=Country Airplay}} Eli Young Band Album & Song Chart History - Country Airplay]. Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. November 8, 2012.
12. [{{BillboardURLbyName|artist=eli young band|chart=all}} Eli Young Band Album & Song Chart History - Hot 100]. Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. December 7, 2010.
13. [{{BillboardURLbyName|artist=eli young band|chart=Canada Country}} Eli Young Band Album & Song Chart History - Canada Country]. Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. November 20, 2013.
14. [{{BillboardURLbyName|artist=eli young band|chart=Country Songs}} Eli Young Band Album & Song Chart History - Canadian Hot 100]. Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. October 26, 2011.