| Lonestar | |
| Type: | studio |
| Artist: | Lonestar |
| Cover: | Lonestaralbum.jpg |
| Recorded: | Soundshop Studio "A" (Nashville, Tennessee) |
| Length: | 33:22 |
| Label: | BNA |
| Next Title: | Crazy Nights |
| Next Year: | 1997 |
Lonestar is the debut studio album by American country music band Lonestar. Released in 1995 on BNA Records (see 1995 in country music), it features five singles: "Tequila Talkin'", "No News", "Runnin' Away With My Heart", "Heartbroke Every Day", and "When Cowboys Didn't Dance", of which "No News" was a Number One hit on the Billboard country charts. The album has been certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America for shipping 500,000 copies in the United States.
The album's lead-off single was "Tequila Talkin'", which reached a peak of number eight on the Billboard country charts. Following this song was the band's first number-one hit, "No News" (the B-side to "Tequila Talkin'"), which spent three weeks at the top of the country charts. "Runnin' Away With My Heart" also peaked at number eight, followed by the number 45 "When Cowboys Didn't Dance" (which was much more successful in Canada, peaking at number 18 there), and finally, the number eighteen "Heartbroke Every Day".[1] The latter overlapped on the charts with "Maybe He'll Notice Her Now," a duet between Lonestar's then-lead singer Richie McDonald and Mindy McCready, who also recorded on BNA at the time.[2]
Also included on the album is a cover of Roy Clark's 1982 single "Paradise Knife and Gun Club".
The album received mixed critical reception. Stephen Thomas Erlewine gave it four stars out of five in his Allmusic review, where he called the album's sound "an accomplished and impassioned hardcore honky tonk."[3] Brian Wahlert of Country Standard Time magazine gave a mostly-favorable review, saying that the album was "solid [and] traditional," but also saying "Lonestar seems very similar to Shenandoah — energetic and fun, but not spectacular."[4] Rick Mitchell of New Country magazine gave a one-and-a-half star rating, with his review criticizing the album for relying on a large number of studio musicians and background singers, and calling the sound "lite rock with a twang."[5]
As listed in liner notes.[6] Lonestar
Additional musicians
Production
| Chart (1995) | Peak position | |
|---|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Top Country Albums | 11 | |
| U.S. Billboard 200 | 69 | |
| U.S. Billboard Top Heatseekers | 2 | |
| Canadian RPM Country Albums | 2 |