Revolution (Miranda Lambert album)

Revolution
Studio album by Miranda Lambert
Released	September 29, 2009 (2009-09-29)
Recorded	2009
Genre	Country
Length	50:52
Label	Columbia Nashville
Producer	Frank Liddell Mike Wrucke
Miranda Lambert chronology
Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (2007) Revolution (2009) Four the Record (2011)
Singles from Revolution
"Dead Flowers" Released: May 4, 2009 "White Liar" Released: August 17, 2009 "The House That Built Me" Released: March 8, 2010 "Only Prettier" Released: July 26, 2010 "Heart Like Mine" Released: January 10, 2011

Revolution is the third studio album by American country music singer Miranda Lambert. The album was released on September 29, 2009, by Columbia Nashville. The album includes the singles "Dead Flowers", "White Liar," "The House That Built Me," "Only Prettier" and "Heart Like Mine," all of which have charted on the U.S. Billboard country chart.

Revolution won the Album of the Year award at the Academy of Country Music Awards^[1] and at the Country Music Association Awards^[2] in 2010.

Content

Lambert began working on Revolution in February 2009. She wrote or co-wrote all but four of the album's 15 tracks. The album includes co-writes with her husband, then boyfriend, Blake Shelton,^[3] who also provides background vocals on "Maintain the Pain",^[4] and former Columbia Records artist Ashley Monroe. Charles Kelley and Dave Haywood of Lady Antebellum co-wrote "Love Song," on which they also sing background vocals.^[3][5] The album also includes covers of Fred Eaglesmith's "Time to Get a Gun" and John Prine's "That's the Way the World Goes 'Round".

To help promote the album, an EP titled Dead Flowers was released on September 8, 2009.^[6]

The album's lead single, "Dead Flowers", was released in May 2009 following Lambert's performance on the 44th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards. The song reached a peak of number 37 in July 2009 after spending sixteen weeks on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. "White Liar" was released as the album's second single in August 2009. In November 2009, Lambert performed "White Liar" on the 2009 CMA Awards; following this performance, the single became her first Top 40 hit on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, jumping from number 66 to number 38. It reached a peak of number 2 in February 2010 on the U.S. country chart. "The House That Built Me," the third single, was released in March 2010. It became Lambert's fastest-rising single to date, and became her first Number One hit for the week of June 12, 2010, on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, staying at number 1 for 4 consecutive weeks. "Only Prettier" was released as the fourth single on July 26, 2010, and debuted at number 45 for the week of July 17, 2010. It reached a peak of number 12 in December 2010. The fifth and final release, "Heart Like Mine", was released on January 10, 2011.

On September 24, 2009, Lambert performed all the tracks on Revolution in sequence at the Ryman Auditorium, five days before the album's scheduled release date.^[3]

Promotion

In promotion for Revolution, Lambert made appearances on Good Morning America, Late Show with David Letterman, and The Ellen DeGeneres Show throughout the first week of the album's release.^[7] Additionally, she was featured on the cover story of Country Weekly magazine; she also made appearances in several other magazines, including Rolling Stone and US Weekly.^[7]

Lambert began her first headlining tour in support of Revolution. The Roadside Bars & Pink Guitars tour kicked off in March 2010 and included at least 22 stops, including a performance at the Bonnaroo Music Festival.^[8]

Reception

Commercial

Revolution debuted at number 1 on the U.S. Billboard Top Country Albums chart, her third consecutive Number One album on the chart.^[9] It also debuted at number 8 on the U.S. Billboard 200. The album sold approximately 66,000 copies in the first week of release, her highest first week total to date.^[9] In February 2010, Revolution was certified Gold, and in October 2010 the album was certified Platinum by the RIAA. As of January 2015, the album has sold 1,750,000 copies in the US.^[10]

Critical

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	(85/100)[11]
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[12]
Country Universe	[13]
Entertainment Weekly	(A)[14]
Pop Matters	[15]
Robert Christgau	(A-)[16]
Rolling Stone	[17]
Slant Magazine	[18]
Twang Nation	[19]
About.com	[20]

Upon its release, Revolution received general acclaim from most music critics.^[11] At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 85, based on 11 reviews, which indicates "universal acclaim".^[11]

Rolling Stone magazine praised the album saying, "Lambert remains country's most refreshing act, and not just because she makes firearms seem like a matter-of-fact female accessory." Entertainment Weekly magazine said, "She's found stylistic shades of songwriters twice her age..." and that the album is "...a portrait of an artist in full possession of her powers, and the best mainstream-country album so far this year." Boston Globe commented that “Revolution’’ is the sound of Miranda Lambert coming into her own." Slant magazine also had high praises reserved for the album saying, "Miranda Lambert expands on her fascinating, fully realized artistic persona on Revolution."

The song "The House That Built Me" was ranked number 1 on Engine 145's Best Country Songs of 2009.^[21] Two additional songs from Revolution also made the list; "White Liar" at number 11 and "Only Prettier" at number 37.^[21]

Awards and nominations

Award	Category	Result
45th Academy of Country Music Awards	Album of the Year	Won
1st American Country Awards	Album of the Year	Nominated
2010 Teen Choice Awards	Choice Album - Country	Nominated
44th Country Music Association Awards	Album of the Year	Won
2010 American Music Awards	Favorite Country Album	Nominated
53rd Grammy Awards	Best Country Album	Nominated

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"White Liar"	Miranda Lambert, Natalie Hemby	4:48
2.	"Only Prettier"	Lambert, Hemby	3:09
3.	"Dead Flowers"	Lambert	3:59
4.	"Me and Your Cigarettes"	Lambert, Ashley Monroe, Blake Shelton	2:24
5.	"Maintain the Pain"	Lambert	2:17
6.	"Airstream Song"	Lambert, Hemby	2:48
7.	"Makin' Plans"	Lambert	3:50
8.	"Time to Get a Gun"	Fred Eaglesmith	3:55
9.	"Somewhere Trouble Don't Go"	Julie Miller	3:21
10.	"The House That Built Me"	Tom Douglas, Allen Shamblin	3:56
11.	"Love Song"	Lambert, Shelton, Charles Kelley, Dave Haywood	2:49
12.	"Heart Like Mine"	Lambert, Monroe, Travis Howard	2:57
13.	"Sin for a Sin"	Lambert, Shelton	3:28
14.	"That's the Way That the World Goes 'Round"	John Prine	3:25
15.	"Virginia Bluebell"	Lambert, Hemby, Jennifer Kennard	3:46

Charts and certifications

Album Chart (2009) Peak position U.S. Billboard 200 8 U.S. Billboard Top Country Albums 1

Certifications Region Provider Certification United States RIAA Platinum[22]

End of year charts

Chart (2010)	Year-end 2010
US Billboard 200	27[23]
US Billboard Top Country Albums	7[24]

Singles

Year	Single	Peak chart positions
		US Country	US	CAN
2009	"Dead Flowers"	37	—	—
	"White Liar"	2	38	67
2010	"The House That Built Me"	1	28	52
	"Only Prettier"	12	61	—
2011	"Heart Like Mine"	1	44	69
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

Preceded by Fearless by Taylor Swift

Top Country Albums number-one album October 17, 2009

Succeeded by American Ride by Toby Keith

Credits

Credits adapted from CD edition liner notes.

Sounding Vocals – Miranda Lambert Background vocals - Natalie Hemby, Kim Keyes, Mike Wrucke Guest vocal appearance – Charles Kelley of Lady Antebellum (on "Love Song") Guest vocal appearance - Buddy Miller (on "Somewhere Trouble Don't Go") Guest vocal appearance - Ashley Monroe (on "Me and Your Cigarettes") Guest vocal appearance - Randy Scruggs (on "That's the Way That the World Goes 'Round") Guest vocal appearance - Blake Shelton (on "Maintain the Pain") Guest vocal appearance - Chris Stapleton of The Steeldrivers (on "Time to Get a Gun")

On Instruments Chad Cromwell - Drums Fred Eltringham - Drums Glenn Worf – Bass Richard Bennett - Guitar Jim Hoke - Guitar, Utility Jay Joyce - Guitar Randy Scruggs – Guitar Mike Wrucke – Banjo, Guitar, Mandolin, Electric Guitar, Keyboards, B-3 Organ Chuck Leavell – B-3 Organ Eric Darken – Percussion Greg Leisz – Steel guitar Russ Pahl – Steel guitar

Technical and production Recorded at Blackbird Studios, Nashville, TN Adittional recording at Wrucke's House Studio, OmniSound Studios and Blackbird Studios, Nashville, TN Mixed at Wrucke's House Studio, Nashville, TN Mastering at Marcussen Mastering, Hollywood, CA Digital Edition at Marcussen Mastering, Hollywood, CA Mike Wrucke - engineering, mixing, producer Eric Tonkin – assistant engineering, mixing assistant Mark Petaccia – assistant engineering Oran Thornton – assistant engineering, mixing assistant Stephen Marcussen -mastering Stewart Whitmore - digital editing Brittany Hamlin – production coordination Frank Liddell – producer

Visuals and imagery Randee St. Nicholas – photography Tracy Baskette-Fleaner – creative director, design Judy Forde-Blair – creative producer, liner notes Tammie Harris Cleek – imaging, photo production Enzo Angileri – hair stylist Mylah Morales – make-up David Thomas - stylist Managerial Lisa Ramsey-Perkins – A&R

References

Miranda Lambert Discography Studio albums Kerosene Crazy Ex-Girlfriend Revolution Four the Record Platinum Extended plays Dead Flowers Tours Free and Easy Tour Locked and Loaded Tour Miranda Lambert & Blake Shelton Co-Headlining Tour Roadside Bars & Pink Guitars Tour CMT on Tour: Miranda Lambert Revolution On Fire Tour Locked and Reloaded Tour Platinum Tour Related topics Pistol Annies Nashville Star Epic Records Columbia Records RCA Records Blake Shelton