10,000 Towns is the fourth studio album by American country music group Eli Young Band. It was released on March 4, 2014 via Republic Nashville.[1] The band wrote over half the tracks and co-produced the album with Frank Liddell and Justin Niebank.[2] It includes the number one single "Drunk Last Night."[3] An exclusive version of the album with three bonus tracks is available at Walmart.[4]

10,000 Towns
Studio album by
ReleasedMarch 4, 2014 (2014-03-04)
GenreCountry
LabelRepublic Nashville
Producer
Eli Young Band chronology
Life at Best
(2011)
10,000 Towns
(2014)
Turn It On
(2015)
Singles from 10,000 Towns
  1. "Drunk Last Night"
    Released: July 1, 2013
  2. "Dust"
    Released: February 3, 2014

Background

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Lead singer Mike Eli said of the album: "To still be making music and going through the craziness of life together is something we'd only dreamed of when we met back in college. This album shows another chapter in our lives as a band, as husbands, as fathers and as individuals that we're really excited to share with our amazing fans."[5]

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [6]
Country WeeklyB[7]
The Oakland Press    [8]
Roughstock     [9]
USA Today    [10]

10,000 Towns has received positive reviews from music critics. At USA Today, Brian Mansfield rated the album three out of four stars, stating "That keeps their populist country and heartland rock from setting down roots, but lets these songs resonate everywhere."[10] Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic rated the album three out of five stars, writing that "their strength lies in the sweeter stuff, how they can make crossover country-pop that seems amiable but never cloying."[6] At The Oakland Press, Gary Graff rated the album two-and-a-half stars out of four, saying that the release "touts the virtues of lowest-common-denominator country, filled with sweet melodies, rich vocal harmonies and a careful straddle of the twang/rock divide to maintain its crossover candidacy."[8] Bob Paxman of Country Weekly graded the album a B, and said that the release is "decent but not quite up to the level of those two powerhouses."[7] At Roughstock, Matt Bjorke rated the album four-and-a-half stars out of five, saying that the album "suggests that [the] Eli Young Band has found the right formula for their sound."[9]

Track listing

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No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Drunk Last Night"Josh Osborne, Laura Veltz3:40
2."10,000 Towns"Rodney Clawson, Chris Tompkins, Craig Wiseman3:45
3."Dust"Jon Jones, James Young, Kyle Jacobs, Osborne3:20
4."Angel Like You"Heather Morgan, Liz Rose, Mike Eli3:27
5."Let's Do Something Tonight"Jimmy Robbins, David Lee Murphy, Jon Nite3:37
6."Your Last Broken Heart"Eli, Jones, Young, Sean McConnell3:15
7."What Does"Eli, Jones, Young, McConnell4:21
8."A Lot Like Love"Dylan Altman, Will Hoge3:28
9."Just Add Moonlight"Hoge, Jon Randall3:16
10."Revelations"Eli, Chris Thompson, Jones, Young, McConnell3:45
11."Prayer for the Road"Eli, Jones, Young, Thompson, Jacobs, Billy Montana4:26
Walmart bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
12."Traces"Eli, Thompson, Jones, Young, Lee Brice, Jacobs 
13."June, July, August"Jason Saenz, Jennifer Schott 
14."The Moon's On Fire"Lee Thomas Miller, Chris Stapleton, Al Anderson 

Personnel

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Adapted from liner notes.[11]

Eli Young Band

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Additional Musicians

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Chart performance

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10,000 Towns debuted at No. 5 on the Billboard 200 and No. 1 on the Top Country Albums chart with first week sales of 36,000 copies.[12] The album has sold 95,000 copies in the U.S. as of January 2015.[13]

Weekly charts

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Chart (2014) Peak
position
US Billboard 200[14] 5
US Top Country Albums (Billboard)[15] 1

Year-end charts

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Chart (2014) Position
US Top Country Albums (Billboard)[16] 49

Singles

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Year Single Peak chart positions
US Country
[17]
US Country Airplay
[18]
US
[19]
CAN Country
[20]
CAN
[21]
2013 "Drunk Last Night" 3 1 41 2 51
2014 "Dust" 19 15 79 33
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

References

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  1. ^ Bjorke, Matt (January 7, 2014). "Eli Young Band "10,000 Towns" Tracklist & Cover Art". Roughstock. Archived from the original on 2014-01-07. Retrieved January 7, 2014.
  2. ^ Nicholson, Jessica (January 7, 2014). "Eli Young Band To Release '10,000 Towns' in March". MusicRow. Retrieved January 7, 2014.
  3. ^ Conaway, Alanna (January 7, 2014). "Eli Young Band Prepares New Album, "10,000 Towns"". Country Weekly. Retrieved January 7, 2014.
  4. ^ "Eli Young Band announces soph disc". Country Standard Time. January 7, 2014. Retrieved January 7, 2014.
  5. ^ "Eli Young Band's 10,000 Towns". January 7, 2014. Retrieved January 7, 2014.
  6. ^ a b Erlewine, Stephen Thomas (March 3, 2014). "10,000 Towns - Eli Young Band : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved March 4, 2014.
  7. ^ a b Paxman, Bob (February 25, 2014). "10,000 by Eli Young Band". Country Weekly. Retrieved March 4, 2014.
  8. ^ a b Graff, Gary (February 28, 2014). "The Listening Room: Regina Carter, Eli Young Band and more". The Oakland Press. Retrieved March 4, 2014.
  9. ^ a b Bjorke, Matt (March 2, 2014). "Album Review: Eli Young Band - 10,000 Towns". Roughstock. Archived from the original on 2014-03-17. Retrieved March 4, 2014.
  10. ^ a b Mansfield, Brian (March 3, 2014). "Listen Up: Other notable releases". USA Today. Retrieved March 4, 2014.
  11. ^ 10,000 Towns (CD booklet). Eli Young Band. Republic Records Nashville. 2014. B0019965-02.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  12. ^ Matt Bjorke (March 12, 2014). "Country Album Chart News: The Week of March 12, 2014: Eli Young Band "10,000 Towns" Hits Top Of The Charts". Roughstock. Archived from the original on 2014-03-20. Retrieved 2014-03-12.
  13. ^ Matt Bjorke (January 28, 2015). "Country Album Chart Report For January 28, 2015". Roughstock.
  14. ^ "Eli Young Band Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard.
  15. ^ "Eli Young Band Chart History (Top Country Albums)". Billboard.
  16. ^ "Top Country Albums: 2014 Year-End Charts". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved January 16, 2015.
  17. ^ "Eli Young Band Album & Song Chart History - Country Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved December 7, 2010.
  18. ^ "Eli Young Band Album & Song Chart History - Country Airplay". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved November 8, 2012.
  19. ^ "Eli Young Band Album & Song Chart History - Hot 100". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved December 7, 2010.
  20. ^ "Eli Young Band Album & Song Chart History - Canada Country". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved November 20, 2013.
  21. ^ "Eli Young Band Album & Song Chart History - Canadian Hot 100". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved October 26, 2011.