The River & the Thread

The River & the Thread
Studio album by Rosanne Cash
Released January 14, 2014
Genre Country
Length 38:15
Label Blue Note
Producer John Leventhal
Rosanne Cash chronology

The List
(2009)		 The River & the Thread
(2014)

The River & the Thread is the 13th studio album by Rosanne Cash, released in 2014 by Blue Note Records. The album received critical acclaim from music critics. The album won 3 Grammy Awards on February 8, 2015. The album swept all the categories that it was nominated for: "Best Americana Album", "Best American Roots Song" and "Best American Roots Performance" for "A Feather's Not a Bird."

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source Rating
Metacritic 87/100[1]
Review scores
Source Rating
AllMusic [2]
Blurt [3]
Consequence of Sound B[4]
Country Weekly B+[5]
Los Angeles Times [6]
New York Daily News [7]
The New Zealand Herald [8]
Paste 8.8/10[9]
Record Collector [10]
USA Today [11]
Twang Nation [12]

The River & the Thread garnered critical acclaim by music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a mean score from selected critics' ratings and reviews, the album holds a score of 87 (based on 19 reviews), which indicates "universal acclaim."[1] At Los Angeles Times, Randy Lewis rated the album a perfect four stars, proclaiming that "It's an album we'll be looking at in December when it's time to single out the most powerful works of 2014.[6] Holly Gleason of Paste rated the album an eight point eight, noting that "With The River & The Thread, she comes home with the warmth reserved for knowing where we're from."[9] At The New Zealand Herald, Graham Reid rated the album four-and-a-half stars, saying that on this album "Cash proves again she does the darkly philosophical, ruminative stuff better and more convincingly than most."[8] Jerry Shriver of USA Today rated the album a perfect four stars, calling it "a captivating and sometimes haunting album that's among the finest of her career."[11] At Record Collector, Terry Stauton rated the album a perfect five stars, exclaiming that "It's a record that her late father would have been enormously proud of, and the first essential country album of 2014."[10]

At Country Weekly, Tammy Ragusa graded the album a B+, indicating this album "will require multiple listens to truly appreciate, so set aside some time to soak in this one."[5] Tony Hardy of Consequence of Sound graded the album a B, writing that the album is "a consummate piece of work, and an evocative way to honor both personal and public history."[4] At Allmusic, stating that the artist "learned to make every word and every note count, and this album confirms once again that she's matured into a singular artist with the talent and the vision to make these stories of her travels in the South come to vivid and affecting life."[2] Jim Farber of the New York Daily News rated the album four stars, affirming that "As always, Cash's vocals aren’t brimming with character, but their tidiness suits her observational lyrics and considered personality", and this put "Together, they lead her home by a route laid out clearly enough to show just how far she strayed."[7] At Blurt, Lee Zimmerman rated the album four stars, alluding to how the album "manages to surge and sway all at the same time", and noting that "Indeed, it doesn't get much better than this."[3] Baron Lane at the Americana Music blog Twang Nation rated the album 5 trucker girls and stated that “The River & the Thread” is a bountiful work from a soulful traveler." [12] The River and the Thread received a Grammy nomination for Best Americana Album. A Feathers Not a Bird, from that album, also received Grammy nominations for Best American Roots Song and for Best American Roots Performance.

Tracklist

All songs written and composed by Rosanne Cash and John Leventhal, except where noted. 

No. TitleWriter(s) Length
1. "A Feather's Not a Bird"    3:18
2. "The Sunken Lands"    2:56
3. "Etta's Tune"    3:44
4. "Modern Blue"    3:02
5. "Tell Heaven"    2:40
6. "The Long Way Home"    3:17
7. "World of Strange Design"    3:25
8. "Night School"    3:48
9. "50,000 Watts"    2:58
10. "When the Master Calls the Roll"  Cash, Rodney Crowell, Leventhal 5:08
11. "Money Road"    4:01

Chart performance

The album debuted on the Billboard 200 at No. 11 with 19,000 copies sold for the week.[14] The album has sold 94,000 copies in the US as of February 2015.[15]

Weekly charts

Chart (2014) Peak
position
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[16] 4
UK Albums (OCC)[17] 18
US Billboard 200[18] 11
US Top Country Albums (Billboard)[19] 2
US Folk Albums (Billboard)[20] 1

Year-end charts

Chart (2014) Position
US Top Country Albums (Billboard)[21] 58
US Top Folk Albums (Billboard)[22] 13

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Metacritic (January 9, 2014). "Critic Reviews for The River & the Thread". CBS Interactive. Retrieved January 23, 2014.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Deming, Mark (January 9, 2014). "The River & the Thread - Rosanne Cash : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved January 23, 2014.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Zimmerman, Lee (January 14, 2014). "ROSANNE CASH – The River & The Thread". Clash. Retrieved January 23, 2014.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Hardy, Tony (January 22, 2014). "Album Review: Rosanne Cash – The River & the Thread". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved January 23, 2014.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Ragusa, Tammy (January 6, 2014). "The River & the Thread by Rosanne Cash". Country Weekly. Retrieved January 23, 2014.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Lewis, Randy (January 13, 2014). "Album review: An insightful Rosanne Cash". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 23, 2014.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Farber, Jim (January 7, 2014). "'The River & the Thread': Music review". Daily News. Retrieved January 23, 2014.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Reid, Graham (January 23, 2014). "Album review: Rosanne Cash, The River and the Thread". The Observer. Retrieved January 23, 2014.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Gleason, Holly (January 21, 2014). "Roseanne Cash: The River & The Thread". Paste. Retrieved January 23, 2014.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Stauton, Terry (January 9, 2014). "Roseanne Cash - The River & The Thread". Record Collector. Retrieved January 23, 2014.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Shriver, Jerry (January 13, 2014). "Album of the week: Rosanne Cash, 'River & the Thread'". USA Today. Retrieved January 23, 2014.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 "Review: Rosanne Cash – The River & the Thread (Blue Note) last=Lane". Twang Nation. April 4, 2014. Retrieved April 4, 2014. |first1= missing |last1= in Authors list (help)
  13. ↑ http://www.target.com/p/rosanne-cash-the-river-and-the-thread-autographed-insert-only-at-target/-/A-15087587#prodSlot=medium_1_34
  14. ↑ Matt Bjorke (January 23, 2014). "Country Album Chart News: The Week of January 22, 2013: Jennifer Nettles, Jon Pardi, Rosanne Cash Debut In Top 5". Roughstock.
  15. ↑ Matt Bjorke (February 19, 2015). "Country Album Chart Report For February 19, 2015". Roughstock. Sales figure given here
  16. ↑ "Rosanne Cash – River & The Thread". Norwegiancharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved January 24, 2014.
  17. ↑ "2014-02-22 Top 40 UK Albums Archive". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 17, 2014.
  18. ↑ "Rosanne Cash Album & Song Chart History" Billboard 200 for Rosanne Cash.
  19. ↑ "Rosanne Cash Album & Song Chart History" Billboard Top Country Albums for Rosanne Cash.
  20. ↑ "Rosanne Cash Album & Song Chart History" Billboard Folk Albums for Rosanne Cash.
  21. ↑ "Top Country Albums: 2014 Year-End Charts". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved January 16, 2015.
  22. ↑ "Folk Albums: 2014 Year-End Charts". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved January 16, 2015.