Enjoy Yourself (Billy Currington album) explained

Enjoy Yourself
Type:Studio
Artist:Billy Currington
Cover:BCEnjoyYourself.jpg
Border:yes
Genre:Country
Length:34:05
Label:Mercury Nashville
Producer:Carson Chamberlain
Billy Currington
Prev Title:Little Bit of Everything
Prev Year:2008
Next Title:Icon
Next Year:2011

Enjoy Yourself is the fourth studio album by American country music artist Billy Currington. It was released on September 21, 2010, via Mercury Nashville. Four singles were released from the album, including the Number Ones "Pretty Good at Drinkin' Beer" and "Let Me Down Easy."

Background

In an interview with The Boot, Currington talked about the album, and how if reflects who he is as a person. “It’s a great mix, it reflects who I am. I’m definitely not just one thing. I’m the beach guy, I’m the country guy, I love my dirt roads and fishin’, but I love New York City and L.A. and Miami, too.[1] "It's been a process for this particular project for like five years when I go back through my songs. I've been stashing all these songs that I get pitched every year in this one little spot on my computer – it's probably been more like 10 years of songs now – and so I feel like I'm so stashed up with songs that I didn't need to write or look for them."[1]

Recording

Currington explained the recording behind Enjoy Yourself, saying "This record was about recording songwriter’s songs, I could have gone back and recorded a bunch of mine that I’ve written, but there were a lot of writers I wanted to record, like Shawn and Troy. I had to put their songs on this album.”[1]

Reception

Commercial

The album debuted at number nine on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart after selling 45,000 copies, becoming his first Top 10 album on that chart.[2] It also peaked at number two on the U.S. Billboard Top Country Albums chart. As of the chart dated June 25, 2011, the album has sold over 329,489 copies in the United States.[3]

Critical

Upon its release, Enjoy Yourself received generally positive reviews from most music critics.[4] 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 4 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews".[4]

Matt Bjorke with Roughstock gave it a three and a half out of five star rating, saying that Currington "has perfected his formula; Enjoy Yourself is a mostly jovial affair that really feels like a tight collection of escapist, feel-good music.[5] Stephen Thomas Erlewine with Allmusic also gave it a three and a half out of five star rating, saying "Everything rolls just a little bit too easily [...] its mellow vibes and occasional soft romantic touch feel true to Currington."[6] Greg Victor with Parcbench gave it a 3½ rating, commenting "This album is full of music makes you want to dance and laugh and sing along; this album is the one I put on for my own enjoyment."[7]

The Associated Press' Michael McCall said that "[on] Enjoy Yourself he zeroes in on an easy-going soul vibe, a sound that brings out a likable quality in Currington's Georgia-raised tenor."[8] Bill Friskics-Warren with The Washington Post gave it a mixed review, saying that "[Currington] can pride himself on having made a record with the sort of warmth and intimacy that gives the work of neo-traditionalist elders such as George Strait and Alan Jackson such staying power."[9] He also called the track "Like My Dog" "The only real misstep".[9]

Jessica Phillips with Country Weekly gave it three stars, commented saying that it is "a perfect sleepy and summery soundtrack; this collection largely falls headlong into leisurely tales of drinking and fishing rather than the more spirited or smouldering fare that spurred earlier hits."[10] Blake Boldt with Engine 145 gave it two and a half stars out of five, calling it a "pretty bland modern country album" and said that Currington "is a little too spic-and-span. None of these ten songs is even remotely suspenseful; conflicts and concerns are neatly wrapped up within four minutes."[11] Dave Heaton with PopMatters gave it five out of ten stars, and criticized the songwriting on the album, saying " on a songwriting level, Currington has dropped any real storytelling emphasis or attention to specific details.[12]

Personnel

Production
Additional musicians

Chart performance

Year-end charts

Chart (2010)Position
US Top Country Albums (Billboard)[13] 47
Chart (2011)Position
US Billboard 200[14] 113
US Top Country Albums (Billboard)[15] 26
Chart (2012)Position
US Top Country Albums (Billboard)[16] 64

Singles

YearSinglePeak chart positions
width=40US Countrywidth=40USwidth=40CAN
2010"Pretty Good at Drinkin' Beer"14150
"Let Me Down Easy"14671
2011"Love Done Gone"115883
"Like My Dog"A24102
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Billy Currington : News : THATNASHVILLESOUND.COM – Billy Currington Article . theboot.com . September 10, 2010.
  2. Web site: Zac Brown Band Bows At No. 1 on Billboard 200 . Caulfield . Keith . . September 29, 2010 . September 29, 2010.
  3. Web site: Ronnie Dunn Lands #1 on Album Sales Chart . Roughstock . June 15, 2011 . June 15, 2011 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110620075117/http://www.roughstock.com/blog/ronnie-dunn-lands-1-on-album-sales-chart . June 20, 2011 .
  4. Web site: Enjoy Yourself Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More at Metacritic . . October 5, 2010.
  5. Web site: Billy Currington – Enjoy Yourself . Bjorke . Matt . roughstock.com . September 20, 2010 . September 23, 2010 . https://web.archive.org/web/20100924073425/http://www.roughstock.com/reviews/billy-currington-enjoy-yourself . September 24, 2010 . dead .
  6. Web site: [{{AllMusic|class=album|id=r1955356|pure_url=yes}} Enjoy Yourself – Billy Currington ]. Erlewine . Stephen Thomas . . September 23, 2010.
  7. Web site: "Enjoy Yourself" with Billy Currington's new album (Review) . Victor . Greg . parcbench.com . September 21, 2010 . October 18, 2010.
  8. Web site: Currington finds his vibe on CD . McCall . Michael . heraldtribune.com . . September 20, 2010 . September 23, 2010.
  9. Web site: Review of Billy Currington's 'Enjoy Yourself' . Friskics-Warren . Friskics-Warren . . September 21, 2010 . September 23, 2010.
  10. Web site: Enjoy Yourself : Billy Currington – Reviews – Country Weekly Magazine . Phillips . Jessica . . September 21, 2010 . September 23, 2010.
  11. Web site: Album Review: Billy Currington – Enjoy Yourself . Boldt . Blake . Engine 145 . September 13, 2010 . September 23, 2010 . https://web.archive.org/web/20141218105229/http://www.engine145.com/album-review-billy-currington-enjoy-yourself/ . December 18, 2014 . dead .
  12. Web site: Billy Currington: Enjoy Yourself < PopMatters . Heaton . Dave . . October 1, 2010 . October 5, 2010.
  13. Web site: Top Country Albums – Year-End 2010. Billboard. April 19, 2021.
  14. Web site: Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2011. Billboard. April 19, 2021.
  15. Web site: Top Country Albums – Year-End 2011. Billboard. April 19, 2021.
  16. Web site: Top Country Albums – Year-End 2012. Billboard. April 19, 2021.
  17. Web site: Bubbling Under Hot 100 Week of February 11, 2012. Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. September 13, 2012.