Eric Church Album Series: Album Tracks (Due Oct 15th)

[recordyear]

7. Without You Here
Track 8 written by Eric Church, Brandon Church and Jeremy Spillman

Without you here everything's in black and white
Without you here I'm upside down
Without you here honey I'm a melody
Living in a world that can't hear sound



Total: 110
Average: 6.470588235
SD: 4.670066789 (3rd highest)

austin 1
bboat11 1
🌺CountryLineDancer 1
someguy 2


castleoblivion26 5
recordyear 6
Kanenrá:ke 7
gonecountry 8
fearlessarrow 8
zack97 8
Tim 10
George Strait Junkie 13
kw9461 13
.indulgecountry 13
gardyfan 14

[recordyear]

Without You Here got a special feat as a Brandon Church cowrote (RIP) and also would be a cute single? The bouncy banjo gives enough catchiness. The abrupt ending when Eric sings "can't hear sound" is smooth. The American Pie reference in "my mind caught the last train for the coast" is part of his signature writing style.

I would not expect this got three #1 rankings and becomes 3rd most divisive song in the rankdown though. Condolences to austin, bboat11 and 🌺CountryLineDancer. Kanenrá:ke got a perfect ranking.

[recordyear]

6. Smoke a Little Smoke
Track 7 written by Eric Church, Jeff Hyde and Driver Williams
#11 of 31 in artist rankdown

I set my sails for a new direction
But the wind got in my way
I changed my course
But my definition of change
Just ain't the same



Total: 101
Average: 5.941176471
SD: 5.700459464 (highest)

recordyear 1
gonecountry 1
fearlessarrow 1
Tim 1
gardyfan 1
castleoblivion26 4
zack97 4
Kanenrá:ke 5
austin 6
George Strait Junkie 8
kw9461 10
🌺CountryLineDancer 14
someguy 14
bboat11 15
.indulgecountry 16

[austin]

I LOVE "Without You Here". Still one of my all-time favorite Church songs.

[recordyear]

Can't reveal this at 4:20 somewhere but at least this reveal happened on April 20th . I always expected this would be the most divisive song in this because the subject matter, the more funky rhythm and the falsettos are inherently divisive. I just love the cocky energy this song gives. Sometimes you just feel to give a middle finger to something and a little cloud 9 experience so I get that. And clearly lots of his new fans during that time get it as opposed to those fans of Love Your Love The Most.

This missing top 5 here is quite unexpected though especially this got five (the most) #1s including gonecountry, fearlessarrow, Tim, gardyfan and mine. .indulgecountry will be glad his last place is finally gone. austin got a perfect ranking. This should also gives how close the songs are in this rankdown.

[recordyear]

Top 5
Where She Told Me to Go
Carolina
Hell On the Heart
Those I've Loved
His Kind Of Money (My Kind Of Love)

SPOILER: Click to show

{This rankdown is happening faster than my angels can fly}1. recordyear
2. gonecountry
3. Kanenrá:ke
4. someguy
5. Tim
6. austin
7. bboat11
8. gardyfan
9. zack97
10. 🌺CountryLineDancer
11. George Strait Junkie
12. .indulgecountry
13. castleoblivion26
14. fearlessarrow
15. kw9461

[🌺CountryLineDancer]

Without You Here is a jam. Glad to see some other posters liking it as much as I did. It might not be the strongest material lyrically, the melody is really catchy.

Smoke a Little Smoke, on the other hand, is not my style at all. However, I would say it was an interesting single choice that made him sort of stand out in country radio.

[fearlessarrow]

I also love the funkiness of "Smoke a Little Smoke" and I think it also has a ton of character and those make for a fun listen!

[castleoblivion26]

how in the world is the boring "Hell On The Heart" higher than "Smoke A Little Smoke". Absolutely baffled by some of those ranks.

Love the other 4 songs in the Top 5 so I hope to see HOTH be #5 so the better songs can be the Top 4!

[gonecountry]

Apr 20, 2022 13:44:55 GMT -5 castleoblivion26 said:

how in the world is the boring "Hell On The Heart" higher than "Smoke A Little Smoke". Absolutely baffled by some of those ranks.

Love the other 4 songs in the Top 5 so I hope to see HOTH be #5 so the better songs can be the Top 4!

Completely agree, HOTH is a snoozer.  Am all in for Carolina and His Kind of Money (My Kind of Love).

[recordyear]

Going to finish this within the next hour or so.

SPOILER: Click to show

{You're gonna miss me baby, ha!}1. recordyear
2. gonecountry
3. Kanenrá:ke
4. someguy
5. Tim
6. austin
7. bboat11
8. gardyfan
9. zack97
10. 🌺CountryLineDancer
11. George Strait Junkie
12. .indulgecountry
13. castleoblivion26
14. fearlessarrow
15. kw9461

[recordyear]

5. Hell On the Heart
Track 11 written by Eric Church, Deric Ruttan and Jeremy Spillman
#12 of 31 in artist rankdown

When she's yours she brings the sunshine
When she's gone the world goes dark
Yeah she's heaven on the eyes
But boy she's hell on the heart



Total: 100
Average: 5.882352941
SD: 4.287301293 (5th largest)

someguy 1
Tim 2
bboat11 2
austin 3
🌺CountryLineDancer 3
.indulgecountry 5
fearlessarrow 6
gardyfan 6
zack97 6
kw9461 7
gonecountry 10
castleoblivion26 10
George Strait Junkie 11
Kanenrá:ke 13
recordyear 15

[recordyear]

Hell on the Heart won by 1 point and barely made in top 5, and it's disappointing to me. I think this is also a sellout single with pretty weak first and second verse, and I don't really care about the melody. However, the paraphrasing of heart as "old ticker" is fresh to me as I have never heard about this phrase before. I guess his casual languages at earlier albums add their appeal to his fans?

Condolences to someguy for losing his #1, but he did save this song from a low start and the song keeps steadily increases throughtout the submission. .indulgecountry got a perfect ranking.

[recordyear]

4. Where She Told Me to Go
Track 4 written by Eric Church and Casey Beathard

This place ain't on no map
But how was I to know
It's everywhere that she ain't at
How did she know that I'd wind up
Where she told me to go



Total: 99
Average: 5.823529412
SD: 4.067291131

.indulgecountry 2
zack97 2
Kanenrá:ke 2
kw9461 3
bboat11 4
George Strait Junkie 4
recordyear 4
someguy 7
Tim 8
castleoblivion26 8
fearlessarrow 9
gonecountry 9
🌺CountryLineDancer 10
austin 11


gardyfan 16

[.indulgecountry]

Underrated single. Definitely the best of the era imo and glad to see it reflected in the results here.


ETA: "Where She Told Me to Go" was great. That would've made for a solid single.

[recordyear]

Of three album tracks in the top 5, Where She Told Me To Go is the first to go.

The remaining album tracks are quite underrated, but this is easily the most overlooked one. For an album that mostly talks about haunting past relationships, this has got the most vivid scene of the "living hell". Just look at the first verse using different senses, and the personification of time in second verse. The music itself also grew on me, particularly the fiddle in the outro that is a bit whimsical at first.

bboat11, George Strait Junkie and I got a perfect ranking. gardyfan is the last one to lose his last place rank.

[recordyear]

3. Carolina
Track 10 written by Eric Church

But I got to play the star in some little town again tonight
Don't get me wrong
I love what I do
It's just another song about missing you



Total: 86
Average: 5.058823529
SD: 4.283967898

fearlessarrow 2
gonecountry 2
zack97 3
Kanenrá:ke 3
recordyear 3
castleoblivion26 3
gardyfan 3
someguy 4
🌺CountryLineDancer 4
austin 4
bboat11 6
.indulgecountry 10
kw9461 12
Tim 12


George Strait Junkie 15

[recordyear]

The album title track made to top 3 here. This is an ode to Eric's home while he is on the road most of the time.

I really like the belting in the chorus. It's cool. Nice steady build to the chorus too.

Whopping five people got a perfect ranking, including zack97, Kanenrá:ke, castleoblivion26, gardyfan and me. In fact this was #1 until the last list from kw9461, so the top region from the rankdown is competitive.

[recordyear]

Top 2
Those I Loved
His Kind of Money (My Kind of Love)

Find out whether an album track or a single won this in 10 minutes.

[recordyear]

2. Those I've Loved
Track 12 written by Eric Church and Brett Beavers

You see they’re my best friends
They’re the life I live
And I hope they put a smile on the face
Of those that I’ve loved along the way



Total: 83
Average: 4.882352941
SD: 4.085980677

zack97 1
castleoblivion26 1
recordyear 2
kw9461 2
someguy 3
.indulgecountry 3
Tim 3
fearlessarrow 4
gonecountry 4
gardyfan 7
Kanenrá:ke 9
🌺CountryLineDancer 9
bboat11 10
George Strait Junkie 12
austin 13

---

1. His Kind Of Money (My Kind Of Love)
Track 16 written by Eric Church, Casey Beathard and Shane Minor
#13 of 31 in artist rankdown

Cause I ain't got his kind of money
And I probably never will
But I got a buck that says
His twenties and his hundred-dollar bills
Ain't gonna satisfy you forever



Total: 78
Average: 4.588235294
SD: 3.255764119 (3rd lowest)

kw9461 1
Kanenrá:ke 1
castleoblivion26 2
austin 2
gonecountry 3
bboat11 3
recordyear 5
fearlessarrow 5
🌺CountryLineDancer 5
someguy 6
George Strait Junkie 7
gardyfan 8
Tim 9
zack97 10
.indulgecountry 11

[Tim]

This is such a head-scratching top 2, but maybe I shouldn't be all that surprised as they're probably two of the least polarizing songs amongst the group. Speaking of, I also think that this is quite reflective of how polarizing Eric and his songs can be on Pulse.  I do wish that "Hell on the Heart" had at least managed to make it a bit further into the top 5.

Anyways, I'm rooting for "Those I've Loved" since that is the last song remaining in my top 3 .

[Tim]

Welp...so much for that!

[Tim]

Considering that "His Kind of Money (My Kind of Love)" exited just before both "Hell on the Heart" and "Smoke a Little Smoke" in Eric's artist rankdown, I certainly didn't have it pegged as coming out on top here. But again, I think that the end result is just more indicative of his polarization amongst both us Tractors and of Pulse overall.

With that in mind, I think we can probably continue to expect the unexpected as we continue along in the album series. Thanks again, recordyear, and looking forward to the next one!

[recordyear]

Here you go! It's not surprising that the often billed underrated single won over an album track, but it is close. Those I've Loved is a sensational song of thankful to your close ones even though he may not be a big artist (he got no top 10 singles before this album). I loved the guitar solo outro especially.

His Kind Of Money (My Kind Of Love) is about a guy who is telling the girl that broke up with him for a rich guy that she’s going to regret her decision. "I got a buck that says/His twenties and his hundred-dollar bills/Ain't gonna satisfy you forever" is such a well-written line, and the outto is definitely another moment showing his carefree mentality at his earlier albums.

After tanking title track, kw9461 got himself a perfect top 2. I got a perfect ranking for Those I've Loved and Kanenrá:ke got one for His Kind Of Money (My Kind Of Love) as well. Condolences to zack97 and castleoblivion26 as their #1 narrowly missed the top spot. His Kind Of Money (My Kind Of Love) is just a #1 contender most of the time.

[.indulgecountry]

Awful winner. "Those I've Loved" shat all over "My Kind of Flop." :(

[recordyear]

SPOILER: Click to show

{Final stats}
1 His Kind Of Money (My Kind Of Love) 78
2 Those I've Loved 83
3 Carolina 86
4 Where She Told Me to Go 99
5 Hell On the Heart 100
6 Smoke a Little Smoke 101
7 Without You Here 110
8 Ain't Killed Me Yet 111
9 Love Your Love the Most 131
10 My Heart's Got A Memory 146
11 Lotta Boot Left to Fill 147
12 Young and Wild 160
13 Longer Gone 162
14 Faster Than My Angels Can Fly 166
15 Leave My Willie Alone 179
16 You Make It Look So Easy 181

SPOILER: Click to show

{Rankdown closeness}
1. castleoblivion26 2.5
2. gonecountry 2.625
3. recordyear 2.875
(=). austin 2.875
5. fearlessarrow 3
6. someguy 3.125
(=). kw9461 3.125
8. bboat11 3.375
(=). zack97 3.375
10. Tim 3.5
11. Kanenrá:ke 4.125
12. gardyfan 4.125
13. 🌺CountryLineDancer 4.75
(=). .indulgecountry 4.75
15. George Strait Junkie 5.5

SPOILER: Click to show

{Perfect rankings}
George Strait Junkie 4
.indulgecountry 4
recordyear 3
Kanenrá:ke 3
someguy 3
Tim 2
austin 2
bboat11 2
kw9461 2
gardyfan 1
zack97 1
castleoblivion26 1
gonecountry 0
🌺CountryLineDancer 0
fearlessarrow 0

[recordyear]

Chief (2011)



Creepin'
Drink In My Hand
Keep On
Like Jesus Does
Hungover & Hard Up
Homeboy
Country Music Jesus
Jack Daniels
Springsteen
I'm Gettin' Stoned
Over When It's Over
Lovin' Me Anyway








It's time for a rankdown for Eric Church's most commercially successful album, Chief. The album title draws from the nickname originally from his late grandfather (as a chief of police in Eric's hometown).

This album has five singles, including his first two number one hits on the Hot Country Songs chart Drink in My Hand and Springsteen, as well as top 10 songs Creepin' and Like Jesus Does, and top 20 Homeboy. The album itself debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 and the Top Country Albums chart, selling 145,000 copies in its first week of release and dethroning Adele's 21. It was certified triple Platinum by the RIAA on August 31, 2016. As of April 2017, the album has sold 1,957,700 copies in the United States. It is 74th in decade-end of Billboard 200 and 10th in Top Country Albums.

Featuring more hard rock influences in its music style, its critical reception is not too shabby either. It is nominated for Best Country Album at the 54th Grammy Awards and won Album of the Year at the CMA Awards and ACM Awards. In 2020, the album was ranked at 419 on newest version of Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list, noting "the songwriting is so confident, even the ballads swagger a bit".

The certifications for tracks include:
Creepin' - Platinum
Drink In My Hand - 3x Platinum
Like Jesus Does - Platinum
Homeboy - 2x Platinum
Jack Daniels - Gold
Springsteen - 6x Platinum
Over When It's Over - Gold

The album cover features his signature look (indoor sunglass man with baseball hat), and the designer has to photoshop the reflections on the glasses (#themoreyouknow). Did I mention the influence on the future works such as Cam's first album and Maren Morris' latest album?

Lovin' Me Anyway is a limited time digital bonus track of the album that technically doesn't have a legal way to obtain anymore.

Instructions:
1) Rank the songs from #1 (most favorite) to #12 (least favorite).
2) Send your list to me via PM on or before June 1st.

Participants:
1. recordyear
2. Tim
3. George Strait Junkie
4. gonecountry
5. gardyfan
6. austin
7. HeyHeyHey
8. bigd79
9. someguy
10. castleoblivion26
11. Kanenrá:ke
12. 🌺CountryLineDancer
13. fearlessarrow
14. zack97
15. bboat11
16. .indulgecountry

Tags
312999 Adrian C. 🍓 austin BB🌕 bboat11 bigfan101 George Strait Junkie taylor castleoblivion26 ccarter1023 cedric Cody Wants Out... HeyHeyHey ClevelandRox g8erboi Tim LBTrocks 🌺CountryLineDancer Crimsonio ethanhunt Fancy fearlessarrow gardyfan hydraflare Sambalada CagedJuggalo The Third Tanker .indulgecountry jamesflame James Leo ✔ born Kanenrá:ke The Brazilian Guy 🇧🇷 lady𝓐fan Mylo13 💜 netti RobbyFlorida schnetzka someguy zaclord 🌈 SwiftlySheeran $pooky Ho toomuchboy twigs @xfer zack97 Trilogy

[fearlessarrow]

Wow I did not see that coming for #1! But it is great seeing the top 2 songs do as well as they did, those were among my top discoveries from this - I had never listened to this album or the Caldwell County EP in full before. Thanks again recordyear and I'm definitely planning on sending for Chief as well!

[gonecountry]

Thanks recordyear for a great rankdown.  Wild finish and one of my favorite lost classics from EC.

Bring on Chief!

[bigd79]

Chief is one of my favorite country albums ever. Im def in for this one