Nightfall (Little Big Town album) explained
Nightfall is the ninth studio album by American country music group Little Big Town. It was released on January 17, 2020, by Capitol Nashville, and was self produced by Little Big Town with major production assistance from Daniel Tashian and Ian Fitchuk. It includes the singles "Over Drinking", "The Daughters", and "Wine, Beer, Whiskey".[2] It was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Country Album and both "The Daughters" and "Sugar Coat" were nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Country Duo/Group Performance.
Critical reception
Nightfall received positive reviews from music critics, respectively. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has an average score of 74 based on 4 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".
The album placed fourth on the Billboard list of Top Country Albums of 2020. Billboard editors described the band as reaching "substantive emotional richness that few groups can touch" on the album.https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/list/9501472/the-10-best-country-albums-of-2020-staff-picks
Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic wrote that "The labor is evident, particularly in the careful construction of the compositions and the subtle shading on individual tracks" and "it's music for meditative mornings or for afternoons in need of a dose of consolation and comfort." He also compared the band's sound favorably to Fleetwood Mac.[1]
Commercial performance
Nightfall debuted at No. 1 on the Top Country Albums chart with 31,000 equivalent album units, 26,000 in of which are in traditional album sales.[3] As of March 2020, it has sold 43,800 copies in the United States.[4]
Track listing
All tracks are produced by Little Big Town, except where noted.
Personnel
Little Big Town
- Karen Fairchild – vocals, art direction
- Kimberley Schlapman – vocals
- Phillip Sweet – vocals (all tracks), guitar (track 6)
- Jimi Westbrook – vocals (all tracks), guitar (6)
Additional musicians
- Avery Bright – viola (10, 11)
- Tofer Brown – electric guitar (1, 10), programming (6, 10); background vocals, guitar, percussion (6); piano (10, 11); acoustic guitar, baritone guitar, bass guitar, celesta, organ (10); synthesizer (11)
- Jacob Bryant – trumpet (6)
- Zach Casebolt – violin (10, 11)
- Matt Combs – violin (10, 11)
- Spencer Cullum Jr. – pedal steel guitar (4)
- Ian Fitchuk – drums (2, 9, 12); bass guitar, acoustic guitar, keyboards, percussion (9, 12)
- Cara Fox – cello (10, 11)
- Jesse Frasure – programming (5)
- Tim Galloway – guitar (3), acoustic guitar (4)
- Dan Grech-Marguerat – additional programming (1, 7, 8, 10, 11)
- Jon Green – guitar (7)
- Jedd Hughes – guitar (6, 13), background vocals (6), electric guitar (8)
- Claire Indie – cello (10, 11)
- Katelyn Kelly – violin (10, 11)
- Hillary Lindsey – acoustic guitar (5)
- Todd Lombardo – acoustic guitar (2, 9, 12)
- Sean McConnell – background vocals (6); acoustic guitar, programming (8)
- Hubert Payne – drums (1, 3–8, 10, 11, 13), percussion (6)
- K.S. Rhodes – conductor (10, 11)
- Daniel Tashian – electric guitar, programming (2, 9, 12); bass guitar (2); baritone guitar, lap steel guitar, mandolin (9, 12)
- John Thomasson – bass guitar (1, 3–8, 13)
- Akil Thompson – keyboards (1, 4, 5, 7, 8, 13), guitar (1, 6), Hammond B-3 organ (3)
- Foy Vance – piano (3)
- Evan Weatherford – guitar (1, 3–5, 7, 13), slide guitar (8)
- Kristin Weber – violin (10, 11)
- Kris Wilkinson – viola (10, 11)
Technical
- Emily Lazar – mastering
- Dan Grech-Marguerat – mixing (1, 7, 8, 10, 11)
- Ryan Hewitt – mixing (2–4, 6, 9, 12, 13), vocal recording (2, 12)
- Manny Marroquin – mixing (5)
- Jason Hall – recording (1)
- Craig Alvin – recording (2, 9, 12)
- Josh Reynolds – recording (3, 5–8, 10, 11, 13), vocal recording (6, 8)
- Justin Francis – recording (9, 12)
- Tofer Brown – recording (10, 11)
- Chris Galland – mix engineering (5)
- Scott Johnson – production assistance
- Chris Allgood – mastering assistance
- Joel Davies – mixing assistance (1, 7, 8, 10, 11)
- Charles Haydon Hicks – mixing assistance (1, 7, 8, 10, 11)
- Robin Florent – mixing assistance (5)
- Scott Desmarais – mixing assistance (5)
- Zaq Reynolds – recording assistance (1, 3, 5–8, 10, 11), vocal recording assistance (2, 12)
- Zack Pancoast – recording assistance (1, 9, 12)
- Gavin Mellberg – recording assistance (5)
- Dan Davis – recording assistance (9, 12)
- Rachael Moore – recording assistance (10, 11)
Visuals
- Ashley Kohorst – art direction, design
- Reid Long – art direction, design, photography
- Becky Fluke – art direction, photography
- Kelly Russell Jarrell – art direction
- Richard Collins – hair and makeup
- Karan Mitchell – hair and makeup
- Karla Welch – wardrobe styling
- Grace Wrightsell – wardrobe styling assistance
- Kera Jackson – art production
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Notes and References
- Web site: Nightfall review . AllMusic . January 20, 2020 . Stephen Thomas Erlewine.
- Web site: Little Big Town Fans Wake Up to Nightfall. https://web.archive.org/web/20190924024221/http://www.cmt.com/news/1811620/little-big-town-fans-wake-up-to-nightfall/. dead. September 24, 2019. Alison. Bonaguro 9/9/2019. CMT News.
- Web site: Little Big Town Earns Fourth Top Country Albums No. 1 With 'Nightfall,' Dustin Lynch's 'Tullahoma' Starts in Top Five. January 28, 2020 . Jim . Asker. Billboard .
- Web site: Top 10 Country Albums Pure Sales Chart: March 9, 2020 . RoughStock. Matt . Bjorke . March 10, 2020 . March 22, 2020 .
- Web site: ARIA Chart Watch #561. auspOp. January 25, 2020. January 25, 2020.
- Web site: Official Physical Albums Chart Top 100. . July 3, 2021.
- Web site: Top Current Albums – Year-End 2020. Billboard. December 7, 2020.
- Web site: Top Country Albums – Year-End 2020. Billboard. December 7, 2020.
