Most Mismanaged Country "Album Eras"

[lady𝓐fan]

What "album eras" do you think could have been more successful with better management? Feel free to list what was wrong with them and how you would have managed them (singles, promo, etc.). A couple of my picks are:

Golden by Lady Antebellum
What was wrong
• "Goodbye Town" was a bad single choice, especially heading into the summer months.
• Releasing "Compass" after one underperformance wasn't wise either, because it wasn't that big of a hit and it took a pretty length 23 weeks to reach #1 ("Downtown" got there in 12)
• They didn't even release "And the Radio Played"
How I would've managed it
• I would've released "Better Off Now (That You're Gone)" second, "It Ain't Pretty" third
• If they wanted to re-release the album, "Compass" and "And the Radio Played" were good choices

Graffiti U by Keith Urban
What was wrong
• "Female" was a poorly written song and poor lead single choice
• "Coming Home" was just a bad song (imo of course). Keith could have come back from "Female" with a stronger song and he probably would have had a much more successful album
• "Never Comin' Down" was just the absolute wrong single choice. Enough said.
• The 2 surefire hits of this incredibly weak album weren't released to radio ("Parallel Line" and "Horses")
How I would've managed it
• "Parallel Line" as the lead single, would have been a giant hit. "Horses" as the second single (radio would've eaten it up). "Drop Top" could have worked even though it isn't country in the least. "Texas Time" would have probably done okay for Keith.
• I would've tried to find better material 

[onebuffalo]

Hands down, Cry Pretty by Carrie Underwood. Enough said. A terrible introduction by the new label.

[phil1996]

*Wild Ones, Kip Moore

Girl Of The Summer >>> I’m To Blame for lead single

*Up All Night, Kip Moore

Should’ve released Everything But You (or like 5 other songs) instead of moving to new album

*Hard 2 Love, Lee Brice

Friends We Won’t Forget is the song that could’ve made him an A-lister.

[raylatch98]

Carrie Underwood Cry Pretty like onebuffalo said and I will expand.

The album era should have gone:

"End Up With You" as the lead single. Followed by "Drinking Alone" than "Southbound" and finally do "Spinning Bottles". Oh also cut "The Song We Used to Make Love Too" off the album entirely, that song should have never left the cutting room floor.

Another album era that comes to mind

Kelsea Ballerini Unapologetically:

Have "Roses" as the lead single, than "Miss Me More" followed by "In Between" and then the title track.

[bjer127]

There's been plenty of album era's I wished included different singles, BUT were not really detrimental to that album era or that artist. Below are some I can think of that may have derailed the artist's momentum.

Trace Adkins "Proud To Be Here" album era: Trace was coming off his biggest hit in 3+ years with "Just Fishin". The label released "Million Dollar View" which was one of the most generic songs on the album. This album had a alot of solid album tracks. I think they missed it big with "Days Like This", or maybe even "Poor Folks" (would have loved to have seen Ray Scott get a hit as a co-writer). He followed this up with "Them Lips On Mine" and pretty much has vanished.

Jake Owen "American Love" album era: All in all, Jake has remained relevant. But this album had some great tracks on it. They obviously tried to capitolize on the Chris Stapleton song, and then "Good Company". They both failed. They should have gone with the title track, "Everybody Dies Young" or "You Ain't Going Nowhere". Even "VW Van" or "LAX" would have been fun to see on the charts.

Cole Swindell "You Should Be Here": Still was a successful era for him, but the fact that "Home Game" and "Broke Down" were left as album cuts is a crime. Meanwhile, "Stay Downtown" failed and his current era is off to a very slow start.

Rodney Atkins "Take A Back Road": Arguably his best album top-to-bottom, in my opinion. He was on Curb Records, but this guy was the biggest thing in country from 2006-2008 it seems. Instead of "Just Wanna Rock N Roll", they should have released either "Family", "Cabin In The Woods" or "Lifelines". He really hasn't recovered since. But thats Curb...

Brad Paisley "This Is Country Music" era: He was at his peak here, and then they released "Camoflauge" which was horrible. This album had tons of strong album tracks, but they should have followed "Remind Me" with either "One of Those Lives" (CMA award type song), "Love Her Like She's Leaving", or "A Man Don't Have To Die". Since then he's been hit or miss, "Wheelhouse" era was weird (so was country in 2013), "Moonshine in The Truck " was a return to form of sorts, but "Love and War" was not a great successful era for him either. And his past few singles have failed.

David Nail "Sound of a Million Dreams": He's the solo version of LBT, every few years a hit single but no successful follow-up. Instead of title cut, I think a few other songs could have fared better, but "Songs For Sale" has been one of my favorite songs of the past decade. A great song.

Miranda Lambert "Platinum" era: I think this was her 2nd best album she ever released, but the singles were botched. "Somethin Bad", "Little Red Wagon" or "Smokin and Drinkin" should not have been released. And this has affected her status with radio since then. I would have gone either "Babies Makin Babies", "Hard Staying Sober", "Another Sunday In The South" or "Holding On To You". Or even the title track. Little Red Wagon was absolutely atrocious.

Tyler Farr "Suffer In Peace" era: They should have never pulled "Withdrawals" for "Better In Boots". Maybe it would have been a slow Top-20 or Top 15 hit. Then followed up with title track (outstanding song) or "Damn Good Friends". He's now released 3 singles in a row that have bombed, and switched producers a few times.



I also agree with poster above on Lady A, "And the Radio Played" or "Golden" should have been both been singles.
Also, I just wish Brett Eldredge would record better material, the talent is there. Ditto Chris Janson

[sabre14]

Tim McGraw - Let It Go

I’m in awe to this day that “Train #10, “Between The River and Me” and “Whiskey and You” weren’t singles but “Suspicions” and “Kristofferson” were, even “Let It Go” and “Nothin’ To Die For” I wouldn’t have picked but at least they reached the top 5.

Tim had new music ready by the summer of 2008 but they decided to bleed two more singles and another year’s worth of radio promo on that album. Absolutely incredible. Tim said on record he wanted “Train #10” as a single and the title of the record but Curb put the kibosh on that with his second Greatest Hits. That ended up his tenth overall record instead. Yikes.

[daddy]

“Play On” - Carrie Underwood as far as singles go. I think many agree that it’s her weakest album, but I think it could have had big and memorable singles if chosen differently:

Cowboy Casanova
What Can I Say (recorded with a bigger artist)
Someday When I Stop Loving You
Undo It (not my fave by a long shot but worked well at radio)
Temporary Home

Regarding people mentioning the “Cry Pretty” era:

I think “Cry Pretty” was a good intro to the era, but think “Low” is that song and should have been the lead. I think it would have garnered nominations that aid album hype and acclaim.

“Love Wins” should have never been a single.

I would have done this order (considering Carrie was pregnant during single #2 - if she weren’t I’d swap 2 and 5)

Low
End Up With You (pregnant)
Southbound (summer single)
Backsliding
Drinking Alone



I think “Low” would be a gamble at radio (as was “Cry Pretty”, but I think the others would definitely do well).

[lady𝓐fan]

Brad Paisley's Wheelhouse. I think he had a little too much creative control on that disastrous album, lol. Not only was it out-there in terms of production and melody, but the quality just wasn't there. Brad never fully recovered from the damage done in the Wheelhouse era, unfortunately.

[codyj100]

Shania Twain - NOW. Not sure what happened here. I think new management was a bad move here. Jason Owen and Sandbox should’ve held on to her longer. It’s almost like the new team didn’t know how to manage each aspect of the era. “Life’s About To Get Good” should’ve been released directly following the Stagecoach debut or they could’ve went with “Home Now” or “Who’s Gonna Be Your Girl” as the lead.

[drock89]

May 18, 2019 19:59:34 GMT -5 codyj100 said:

Shania Twain - NOW. Not sure what happened here. I think new management was a bad move here. Jason Owen and Sandbox should’ve held on to her longer. It’s almost like the new team didn’t know how to manage each aspect of the era. “Life’s About To Get Good” should’ve been released directly following the Stagecoach debut or they could’ve went with “Home Now” or “Who’s Gonna Be Your Girl” as the lead.

The most "Shania" song on this album is "Swingin' With My Eyes Closed," and it should have led the album. Follow that be "Home Now" and "I'm Alright" or "Life's About To Get Good." Shania is known for her up-tempos, and those songs show that her voice had recovered some of what made her, well, her. I don't think the failure of NOW to have radio or viral hits has anything to do with her management; you know Shania is my "ride and die," but the material just wasn't produced to the standard we associate with Shania Twain. She needs a better producer(s) next go around (like Dan Huff or Nathan Chapman).

[collinkottke]

With Garth-colored glasses on, the "Man Against Machine" era was mishandled, kinda. I hesitate to say mishandled since the era technically spurred one of the most successful concert tours ever, but the singles were messy. 

Garth has worse singles than "People Loving People" and it's a very Garth song, so it doesn't surprise me that it was the lead single, I just think that "Cold Like That" or "You Wreck Me" would have been a big smash as Garth burst back fully on to the scene. Then "Mom" should've never been a radio single. Great and lovely song, again another very Garth song, but it doesn't fly with today's radio (just ask "Stronger Than Me"). 

Again, i probably wouldn't label it a bad era for Garth... I just think he could have been close to a full-blown A-List radio star again if the right singles were chosen out of the gate... Thanks, RCA...

I think I would have went "Cold Like That", "She's Tired of Boys" and "Tacoma" as the three singles of the era. 

[gardyfan]

"All American Kid" was the best song on the album.

[slowmo]

Let's add that damn GhostTunes to the Garth list.

[codyj100]

May 21, 2019 11:40:28 GMT -5 drock89 said:

May 18, 2019 19:59:34 GMT -5 codyj100 said:

Shania Twain - NOW. Not sure what happened here. I think new management was a bad move here. Jason Owen and Sandbox should’ve held on to her longer. It’s almost like the new team didn’t know how to manage each aspect of the era. “Life’s About To Get Good” should’ve been released directly following the Stagecoach debut or they could’ve went with “Home Now” or “Who’s Gonna Be Your Girl” as the lead.

The most "Shania" song on this album is "Swingin' With My Eyes Closed," and it should have led the album. Follow that be "Home Now" and "I'm Alright" or "Life's About To Get Good." Shania is known for her up-tempos, and those songs show that her voice had recovered some of what made her, well, her. I don't think the failure of NOW to have radio or viral hits has anything to do with her management; you know Shania is my "ride and die," but the material just wasn't produced to the standard we associate with Shania Twain. She needs a better producer(s) next go around (like Dan Huff or Nathan Chapman).

I’ve wanted her to work with Dann for YEARS. I think it’s not likely that she’ll use any of Nashville’s heavy hitting producers, though. He’s the closest thing country music has to Mutt, imo and I feel they’d match well.

[CoJoFan]

Jake Owen’s Days Of Gold album. Should’ve never released Days Of Gold at all. Beachin’, What We Ain’t Got, then Ghost Town would’ve been my preference if they’d went with 3 singles. Summer Jam with FGL from the deluxe version could’ve been a huge hit as well I think.

[someguy]

Martina McBride - Waking Up Laughing

"Anyway" was a good choice for the lead single, but big mistakes were made after that. "Everybody Does" certainly should have been the second single, and then "House Of A Thousand Dreams" should have probably come after that. "How I Feel" (which was released second) might have been an ok fourth or fifth single, but "For These Times" (which was released third) should have never seen the light of day.

[someguy]

May 18, 2019 19:59:34 GMT -5 codyj100 said:

Shania Twain - NOW. Not sure what happened here. I think new management was a bad move here. Jason Owen and Sandbox should’ve held on to her longer. It’s almost like the new team didn’t know how to manage each aspect of the era. “Life’s About To Get Good” should’ve been released directly following the Stagecoach debut or they could’ve went with “Home Now” or “Who’s Gonna Be Your Girl” as the lead.

Working with the material on Now, I think I would have done this with the singles:

1. Swinging With My Eyes Open
2. Home Now
3. Who's Gonna Be Your Girl
4. Life's About To Get Good

I also think I would have focused a bit more on radio as a strategy. It seems like after initial pushes, they didn't really work on releasing music to country radio. Both "Home Now" and "Who's Gonna Be Your Girl" could have been decent sized hits, but it would have taken awhile to get there.

[bboat11]

Jun 1, 2019 21:50:08 GMT -5 someguy said:

Martina McBride - Waking Up Laughing

"Anyway" was a good choice for the lead single, but big mistakes were made after that. "Everybody Does" certainly should have been the second single, and then "House Of A Thousand Dreams" should have probably come after that. "How I Feel" (which was released second) might have been an ok fourth or fifth single, but "For These Times" (which was released third) should have never seen the light of day.

To be honest, the same thing could be said for literally every album Martina released after the Greatest Hits album... The fact that her radio run lasted as long as it did given the way some of those albums were mishandled is absolutely remarkable!

-Martina: Probably the least-mishandled era post Greatest Hits. I don't think "God's Will" was at all a good choice to close the album on, but that's my only complaint. "In My Daughter's Eyes" isn't my favorite, but there's no denying it made a large impact with a targeted demographic that undoubtedly brought plenty of success to the album.

-Timeless: Very important album for her commercially, but it should have NEVER been treated like a regular radio album.... Ideally this would have been an album to tie us over for about 6 months while she put out a lead single for another album of new material. And still, if they HAD to pick singles from this album, "'Til I Can Make It On My Own" is the only thing resembling a modern hit on the entire album...

-Waking Up Laughing: One of her weaker albums to begin with, but you hit the nail right on the head. Should have been "Anyway", "Everybody Does", "House Of A Thousand Dreams", and then maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaybe "How I Feel" if they were really just feeling gregarious. This era was crucial, after essentially choosing to put herself on radio's back burner by wasting 2 years on the covers project, and yet after "Anyway" she essentially chose to buy herself another 2 years of wasted time. I'm surprised her career didn't end here looking back in retrospect.

-Shine: AMAZING album, SO many single choices! They could have gone 5-6 singles deep if this had come out around the same time as Evolution. And yet, of all the single choices they could have made, "I Just Call You Mine" clearly didn't help the era. The other two singles were good, but seemed to come out in the wrong order. It should have gone "Wrong Baby Wrong", followed by "Walk Away", followed by "Ride". And then take a risk and throw out "Lies" as a 4th single. We at least would have gotten some intense awards show performances out of it

-Eleven: Just, what the hell. This era makes me mad... "Teenage Daughters" seems to have a pretty good reception on Pulse, surprisingly, but absolutely caught the listening public off guard in all the wrong ways... And then "Marry Me" was literally the ONE song on the album that would have bombed following the huge success of IGLYTI... The singles from this album should have been "I'm Gonna Love You Through It", followed by "One Night", followed by "Whatcha Gonna Do". That sequence might have even been successful enough to release a 4th single, either "Broken Umbrella" to be safe, or "You Can Get Your Lovin' Right Here" if they wanted to take a bit of a risk.

If Eleven had played out better, we probably would have gotten another album of new material next instead of Everlasting. It's hard to say how successful that would have been, but it's safe to say that it probably would have been mismanaged as well...

[Kat5Kind]

Hunter Hayes- Storyline.

Invisible should have been nothing but a quick buzz single.
Tattoo or Storyline should have been the lead, followed by You Think You Know Somebody in the fall. Then Wild Card could have closed out the era.