Where We Started [Black with Gold Swirl 2 LP]

by Thomas Rhett

Overview

As an album title, Where We Started conveys a similar sentiment as Country Again, the two-part album Thomas Rhett began in 2021 but put on the backburner so he could get this 15-song collection out in the marketplace. Rhett claims the title track for Where We Started kicked off another round of songwriting that stood separately from the Country Again project, thereby necessitating the release of a lengthy record smack dab in the middle of a magnum opus. If this seems likes a distinction without difference, that's not wrong. Rhett is working with a larger canvass than he did on Country Again: Side A, using the extra time to bring in such guests as Riley Green, Tyler Hubbard, Russell Dickerson, and Katy Perry. Perhaps Perry's presence suggests that Where We Started may be an overtly pop move from Rhett, but that's not the case. "Where We Started," his duet with Perry, does simmer to a modern R&B rhythm, but that merely positions it squarely within the country sounds made in the wake of Sam Hunt's Montevallo. It's also not far removed from "Bring the Bar" or "Paradise," two breezy, mellow pop songs with a distinct yacht rock vibe which are, in turn, not far removed from the nostalgic "Slow Down Summer" or the carefree "Simple as a Song." Save for the tender opener "The Hill" and maybe "Death Row" -- a mawkish attempt to see the good in everybody made stickier by Hubbard's hamminess --everything on Where We Started is sunny and sweet, an ideal soundtrack for any afternoon activity from housecleaning to day drinking: it sustains its cheerful mood from stem to stern. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Product Details

Release Date:	10/07/2022
Label:	Valory
UPC:	0843930082346
Rank:	427155

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Thomas Rhett   Primary Artist,Vocals,Vocals (Background)
Riley Green   Primary Artist,Vocals,Featured Artist
Tyler Hubbard   Primary Artist,Featured Artist,Vocals
Katy Perry   Primary Artist,Vocals
Russell Dickerson   Primary Artist,Vocals,Featured Artist
Dann Huff   Synthesizer,Synthesizer Bass,Guitar (Electric),Synthesizer Flute,Flute,Sitar,Guitar,Soloist,Mandolin
Monisa Angell   Viola
Stuart Duncan   Fiddle
Sari Reist   Cello
Chris Kimmerer   Drums,Percussion
Derek Wells   Guitar,Soloist,Guitar (Electric)
Jesse Frasure   Piano,Synthesizer,Synthesizer Bass,Guitar (Electric),Synthesizer Strings,Vocals (Background)
Christopher Farrell   Viola
Charlie Judge   Organ,Piano,Keyboards,Wurlitzer,Synthesizer,Fender Rhodes
Ilya Toshinskiy   Banjo,Dobro,Ukulele,Mandolin,Guitar (Acoustic),Gut String Guitar,Guitar (Nylon String)
Conni Ellisor   Violin
Jun Iwasaki   Violin
Paul Franklin   Guitar (Steel)
David Davidson   Violin
Tom Bukovac   Guitar (Electric)
Shannon Forrest   Drums
Jimmie Lee Sloas   Bass,Guitar (Bass)
Karen Winkelmann   Violin
David Angell   Violin
Jerry Roe   Drums
Jon Bellion   Vocals (Background)
Alicia Enstrom   Violin
Teddy Swims   Vocals (Background)
Stevie Frasure   Vocals (Background)
Julian Bunetta   Guitar (Acoustic)
Betsy Lamb   Viola
Jenny Bifano   Violin
Austin Hoke   Cello
Kevin Bate   Cello
Josh Reedy   Vocals (Background)
Matt Dragstrem   Piano,Synthesizer,Guitar (Electric),Vocals (Background)
Luke Laird   Synthesizer,Synthesizer Bass,Synthesizer Strings

Technical Credits

Dann Huff   Programming,Producer
Al Jacobs   Composer
Buckley Miller   Engineer,Recording
Drew Bollman   Mixing,Engineer,Recording,Mixing Engineer
Adam Ayan   Mastering,Mastering Engineer
John Shearer   Photography
Steve Marcantonio   Recording,String Engineer
Lori McKenna   Composer
Jimmy Brewster   Composer
Jimmie Crane   Composer
Julian Bunetta   Composer,Producer
Matt Dragstrem   Engineer,Producer,Composer,Recording,Programming
David Huff   Digital Editing,Editing,Programming
Justin Niebank   Mixing,Programming
Jesse Frasure   Composer,Producer,Programming
Josh Thompson   Composer
Justin Ford   Graphic Design
Zach Crowell   Composer
Mark Zellmer   Engineer,Recording
Chris Small   Editing,Digital Editing
Allison Jones   A&R
Kam Luchterhand   Engineer,Assistant Engineer
Serban Ghenea   Mixing
Kristin Wilkinson   Arranger,String Arrangements
Joe Baldridge   Engineer,Recording
Shane McAnally   Composer
Jon Bellion   Composer
Ashley Gorley   Composer
Rhett Akins   Composer
David Angell   Contractor,Contracting
Jordan Reynolds   Composer
Thomas Rhett   Composer,Art Direction
Parker Welling   Composer
Joshua Miller   Composer
Sean R. Badum   Assistant Engineer
Josh Ditty   Assistant Engineer
Chase McGill   Composer
Emily Weisband   Composer
Michael Walter   Assistant Engineer
Sean Douglas   Composer
Jory Roberts   Engineer,Assistant Engineer
Ernest Keith Smith   Composer
Joel McKenney   Engineer,Assistant Engineer
Bryce Bordone   Mixing,Mixing Engineer
Jaten Dimsdale   Composer
Will Bundy   Composer
Mike "Frog" Griffith   Product Manager,Production Coordination
Amy Wadge   Composer
Scott Cooke   Editing,Digital Editing
Stephen Lamb   Copyist,Contractor,Contracting
Luke Laird   Composer,Producer,Programming