High Noon

by Jerrod Niemann

Overview

Jerrod Niemann freed the music on his second album but the music found no home. Compared to his 2010 debut, which topped Billboard's Country Albums charts on the strength of the doo wop swing of "Lover, Lover," the 2012 sophomore set sank without a hit single to its name. Some critics loved Niemann's willingness to be weird, but reviews don't sell records, so the singer decided to straighten up and fly right for 2014's High Noon. Here, the hints of hip-hop are streamlined -- they're present in the embarrassing, stiff novelty "Donkey" and a cameo by professional buffoon Colt Ford on the closing "She's Fine"-- and when Niemann sings "in the country/we know how to rock," he's not conjuring the ghost of Waylon Jennings or attempting to run with renowned outsider Eric Church, he's as happy and sunny as the laid-back dudes of Florida Georgia Line. Despite the cowboy stance of its title, there isn't much swagger on High Noon: it's all slick, smooth and rather slow; so mellow that even the odes to "Day Drinkin'" and "Beach Baby" barely quicken the pulse. Niemann acquits himself well, sounding soulful on the blues crawl of "The Real Thing," doing his best Luke Bryan on "Drink to That All Night," and navigating the adult contemporary turns of "Space" with aplomb, but his pro versatility only serves to highlight the timidity of the album. Coming after the untrammeled Free the Music, this conservatism is certainly a disappointment but the crushing thing is, High Noon isn't merely cautious, it's boring. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Product Details

Release Date:	03/25/2014
Label:	Sony Music
UPC:	0888837874229

Tracks

1. Space
2. Buzz Back Girl
3. Drink to That All Night
4. I Can't Give In Anymore
5. We Know How to Rock
6. Come On, Come On
7. Lucky #7
8. Donkey
9. Day Drinkin'
10. The Real Thing
11. Beach Baby
12. Refill
13. She's Fine

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Jerrod Niemann   Primary Artist,Guitar (Acoustic),Vocals (Background)
Adam Shoenfeld   Guitar (Electric)
Paul Franklin   Guitar (Steel)
Blair Masters   Keyboards
Danny Rader   Banjo,Dobro,Bouzouki,Mandolin,Accordion,Guitar (Acoustic)
Russell Terrell   Vocals (Background)
Chris McHugh   Drums
Tom Bukovac   Guitar (Electric)
Greg Morrow   Drums
Troy Lancaster   Guitar (Electric)
Derek George   Vocals (Background)
Jimmie Lee Sloas   Bass,Piano,Ukulele
Smith Curry   Guitar (Steel)
Brad Passons   Vocals (Background)
Lance Miller   Vocals (Background)
Eric Darken   Percussion
Rob McNelley   Guitar (Acoustic),Guitar (Electric)
Jerry McPherson   Bouzouki,Guitar (Electric)
Phil Madeira   Lap Steel Guitar
Fred Eltringham   Drums
Colt Ford   Vocals,Featured Artist
David Tolliver   Animal Sounds,Vocals (Background)
Will Doughty   Piano,Keyboards
Tim Teague   Guitar (Electric)
Charlie Judge   Keyboards
Ilya Toshinskiy   Banjo,Mandolin,Guitar (Acoustic)

Technical Credits

Brian Davis   Composer
Darrin Dickerson   Photography
Blair Masters   Programming
Billy Montana   Composer
Ben Fowler   Engineer
Derek Bason   Mixing
Derek George   Composer
Jimmie Lee Sloas   Producer
Richie Biggs   Assistant
Chris Wilkinson   Assistant
Brad Passons   Composer
Todd Tidwell   Engineer
Brett Warren   Composer
Lance Miller   Composer
Brandon Epps   Digital Editing
Brad Warren   Composer
Chris Ashburn   Assistant
Fred Wilhelm   Composer
Colt Ford   Composer
Joe Leathers   Composer
Kyle Jacobs   Composer
Rob Hatch   Composer
Phillip Lammonds   Composer
Stephen Gause   Composer
David Tolliver   Composer
Jerrod Niemann   Composer,Producer
Mike "Frog" Griffith   Production Coordination
Lee Brice   Composer
Hank Williams   Mastering
Justin Cortelyou   Mixing,Engineer,Digital Editing
Richie Brown   Composer
Nick Spezia   Assistant
Leann Bennett   Production Coordination
Tom Freitag   Assistant
Chris Small   Assistant
Sorrel Brigman   Assistant
Jarod Snowden   Digital Editing