| The Weight of These Wings | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | November 18, 2016 | |||
| Recorded | 2015–16 | |||
| Studio | The Casino,Nashville, Tennessee | |||
| Genre | Alternative country | |||
| Length | 94:01 | |||
| Label |
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| Producer |
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| Miranda Lambert chronology | ||||
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| Singles from The Weight of These Wings | ||||
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The Weight of These Wings is the sixth studio album by Americancountry music artistMiranda Lambert. It was released on November 18, 2016, viaRCA Records Nashville. The album consists of two discs, with Disc 1 titledThe Nerve, and Disc 2 titledThe Heart.[1] The album debuted at No. 1 on theBillboard Country Albums chart and No. 3 on the all-genre USBillboard 200 chart,[2] and has been certifiedPlatinum by theRecording Industry Association of America (RIAA).[3] In addition to winning Album of the Year at the 2017ACM Awards,[4] it is considered by severalmusic publications as one of the best albums of the year. In 2020, the album was ranked at 480 onRolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list.[5]
In an August 2016 interview withBillboard, Lambert stated she had been working on the album for a year, which included writing and recording. She admitted she was nervous about her new music since she had mostly stayed quiet while writing it.[6] Songwriter Luke Dick was one of the musicians who worked on the album. He co-wrote "Highway Vagabond" withNatalie Hemby andShane McAnally. He found the line "I want to go somewhere nobody knows; and I want to know somewhere that nobody goes" while waiting at a deli and not willing to mix with other people. This became a road song with the word "vagabond" at the center, with a production sounding like countrySiouxsie and the Banshees.[7]
The album's content is about her divorce withBlake Shelton and her subsequent relationship withAnderson East.[8]
The album was released on November 18, 2016, throughRCA Records Nashville.
In support of her album, Lambert started theHighway Vagabond Tour. It started on January 26, 2017, inEvansville, Indiana and concluded on October 21, 2017, inWhite Springs, Florida. A rehearsal show occurred on January 24, 2017, two days before the tour started, at Joe's Bar inChicago. Lambert first announced the tour in October 2016.Old Dominion andAubrie Sellers served as opening acts.[9] The tour marks Lambert's first solo tour dates in Europe (after previously playing shows in the UK as part of theC2C: Country to Country festival in 2016).[10]
"Vice" was released as the album'slead single on July 18, 2016. In its first week it sold 64,000 copies and debuted (and peaked) at number 2 on theHot Country Songs chart.[11] It ultimately reached a peak of number 11 on theCountry Airplay chart. As of March 2017, the song has sold 508,000 copies in the United States.[12]
"We Should Be Friends" was released as the second single on December 12, 2016.[13] It was a Top 30 hit on the Hot Country Songs and Country Airplay charts.[citation needed] "Tin Man" was released as the third single on April 3, 2017,[14] immediately following Lambert's acoustic performance of the song on52nd Academy of Country Music Awards. It peaked in the Top 20 of the Hot Country Songs chart, and the Top 30 of the Country Airplay chart.
"Keeper of the Flame" was released as the fourth single on April 16, 2018.[15]
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AnyDecentMusic? | 7.8/10[16] |
| Metacritic | 81/100[17] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |  [18] |
| Entertainment Weekly | A−[19] |
| Exclaim! | 7/10[20] |
| The Guardian |  [21] |
| Newsday | A[22] |
| Pitchfork | 7.8/10[23] |
| PopMatters | 8/10[24] |
| Rolling Stone | [25] |
| Spectrum Culture | [26] |
| Vice | B+[27] |
The Weight of These Wings received widespread acclaim frommusic critics. AtMetacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has anaverage score of 81 out of 100, which indicates "universal acclaim" based on 11 reviews.[17]Stephen Thomas Erlewine fromAllMusic rated the album at five out of five and in his review stated "It may have mainstream songs, butThe Weight of These Wings isn't produced like a country-pop album, so it demands attention and rewards close listening."[18] Paul Grein ofHITS Daily Double predicted the album to be in contention forAlbum of the Year at the60th Annual Grammy Awards.[28]
The Weight of These Wings won the award for Album of the Year at the 2017ACM Awards.[4] It marks Lambert's fifth consecutive album to win the award, a record for any artist or group.[29]
| Publication | Rank | List |
|---|---|---|
| AllMusic | N/A | Best Albums of 2016[30] |
| American Songwriter | 28 | Top 50 Albums of 2016[31] |
| Billboard | 14 | 50 Best Albums of 2016[32] |
| Entertainment Weekly | 16 | The 50 Best Albums of 2016[33] |
| 3 | The Best Country Albums of 2016[34] | |
| Noisey | 52 | The 100 Best Albums of 2016[35] |
| NPR | 9 | 50 Best Albums of 2016[36] |
| Rolling Stone | 2 | 40 Best Country Albums of 2016[37] |
| 16 | 50 Best Albums of 2016[38] | |
| SPIN | 40 | The 50 Best Albums of 2016[39] |
| Stereogum | 1 | The 20 Best Country Albums of 2016[40] |
| Uproxx | 1 | The 20 Best Country Albums of 2016[41] |
| Variety | 4 | The 10 Best Albums of 2016[42] |
| Year | Association | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | ACM Awards[4] | Album of the Year | Won |
| CMA Awards[43] | Album of the Year | Nominated |
All tracks produced byFrank Liddell,Eric Masse, andGlenn Worf.[44]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Runnin' Just in Case" | 4:33 | |
| 2. | "Highway Vagabond" |
| 3:53 |
| 3. | "Ugly Lights" |
| 3:01 |
| 4. | "You Wouldn't Know Me" | Shake Russell | 3:19 |
| 5. | "We Should Be Friends" | Lambert | 2:50 |
| 6. | "Pink Sunglasses" |
| 4:06 |
| 7. | "Getaway Driver" |
| 3:53 |
| 8. | "Vice" |
| 4:00 |
| 9. | "Smoking Jacket" |
| 4:54 |
| 10. | "Pushin' Time" |
| 3:33 |
| 11. | "Covered Wagon" | Danny O'Keefe | 4:08 |
| 12. | "Use My Heart" |
| 3:50 |
| Total length: | 46:00 | ||
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Tin Man" |
| 4:19 |
| 2. | "Good Ol' Days" |
| 3:18 |
| 3. | "Things That Break" |
| 3:47 |
| 4. | "For the Birds" |
| 3:46 |
| 5. | "Well-Rested" |
| 4:39 |
| 6. | "Tomboy" |
| 4:01 |
| 7. | "To Learn Her" |
| 3:47 |
| 8. | "Keeper of the Flame" |
| 3:59 |
| 9. | "Bad Boy" |
| 4:40 |
| 10. | "Six Degrees of Separation" |
| 3:09 |
| 11. | "Dear Old Sun" |
| 4:56 |
| 12. | "I've Got Wheels" |
| 3:40 |
| Total length: | 48:01 | ||
Credits adapted fromAllMusic.[45]
Vocals
Musicians
Production and imagery
The Weight of These Wings debuted at number one on theBillboard Country Albums chart and number three on the all-genre USBillboard 200 chart, moving 133,000equivalent album units in its first week of release.[2][46] It sold 122,000 copies, with the remainder of its unit total reflecting the album'sstreaming activity andtrack sales.[2] It is Lambert's fifth straight album to debut in the top ten of theBillboard 200, followingPlatinum (number one, 2014),Four the Record (number three, 2011),Revolution (number eight, 2009) andCrazy Ex-Girlfriend (number six, 2007).[2] In its second week of release, the album moved 36,000 units and fell to number nine.[47] Following the52nd Academy of Country Music Awards on April 2, 2017, where Lambert won multiple awards and performed "Tin Man", the album moved 31,000 units, including 23,000 in pure sales, and jumped from number 192 to number 12 on theBillboard 200 chart.[48] The album was certified Platinum on July 10, 2017,[3] and it has sold 438,600 copies in the US as of August 2018.[49]
Weekly charts[edit]
| Year-end charts[edit]
|
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Canada (Music Canada)[63] | Gold | 40,000‡ |
| United States (RIAA)[3] | Platinum | 438,600[49] |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
Source:Amazon.com[64]
| Region | Date | Format(s) | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | November 18, 2016 | RCA Nashville |
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