Wikipedia

Goodnight Rhonda Lee

Goodnight Rhonda Lee is the fourth studio album by American musician Nicole Atkins. It was released in July 2017 under Single Lock Records.

Goodnight Rhonda Lee
The teal cover features a brunette woman wearing a white shirt and black headphones, leaning on her right hand. The artist's name appears above the woman colored in white, and the album title is below the artist's last name.
Studio album by
Nicole Atkins
ReleasedJuly 21, 2017 (2017-07-21)
StudioNiles City Sound
(Fort Worth, Texas)
Genre
Length39:44
LabelSingle Lock
ProducerNiles City Sound
Nicole Atkins chronology
Slow Phaser
(2014) 		Goodnight Rhonda Lee
(2017) 		Italian Ice
(2020)
Singles from Goodnight Rhonda Lee
  1. "A Little Crazy"
    Released: October 20, 2016[4]
  2. "Listen Up"
    Released: May 19, 2017[5]
  3. "Darkness Falls So Quiet"
    Released: June 22, 2017[6]
  4. "Brokedown Luck"
    Released: February 21, 2018[7]

Background

edit

In March 2017, Nicole Atkins announced that she was working on new material for her next album.[8]

Promotion

edit

In March 2017, Atkins announced that along with the new record, she would go on a 22-city spring tour to promote Goodnight Rhonda Lee ahead of its release, starting on March 13 at the Shipping and Receiving Bar in Fort Worth, Texas, and finishing on June 17 at the Mountain Jam festival in Hunter Mountain.[8] On February 21, 2018, Atkins announced a 14-city spring eastern U.S. tour, beginning on April 18 at the Saturn venue at Birmingham, Alabama, and ending on May 5 at the Bearsville Theater in Woodstock, New York.[9] On December 18, Atkins announced an 18-city European tour, starting on April 4, 2019 at The Blue Arrow in Glasgow, and finishing on April 30 at The Lexington in Islington, London.[10]

Critical reception

edit
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic83/100[11]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [12]
American Songwriter     [13]
Drowned in Sound8/10[3]
Exclaim!8/10[14]
The Skinny     [15]
Slant Magazine     [16]
Under the Radar          [1]

Goodnight Rhonda Lee received positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 83, based on 9 reviews.[11]

Marcy Donelson of AllMusic said, "Goodnight Rhonda Lee is hardly Atkins' first stylistic excursion into the past, but here, having an audibly sharp focus, a lot on her mind, and a leave-it-all-on-tape performance ethic make for her strongest impression since her debut."[12] Peter Ellman of Exclaim! said, "Amid soulful, R&B-indebted sounds married smoothly to the more country-leaning, Atkins has created her best and most resounding work yet."[14] Hal Horowitz of American Songwriter called it "a moving, intensely personal and wildly creative set that ranks as one of 2017's finest works", saying, "It might have taken three previous tries and introspective psychological searching to arrive here, but with Goodnight Rhonda Lee, Nicole Atkins gets all the pieces to fit."[13] Josh Hurst of Slant Magazine said, "Everything on Goodnight Rhonda Lee is immediate. Throughout, Atkins's lyrics eschew metaphor in favor of a more confessional mode, and her arrangements are punchy and direct. She also revels equally in her high notes and in her little cracks and imperfections. At no point is there any doubt that this is the album she's always wanted to make."[16] Nick Roseblade of Drowned in Sound said, "Goodnight Rhonda Lee never feels like a pastiche or a rip off of classic soul songs, but a celebration of the genre and life. Yes some songs could be trimmed a bit and maybe some of the motifs would be tighter, but overall this is an album by someone who knows exactly what she wants to say and how she wants to say it."[3]

American Songwriter ranked Goodnight Rhonda Lee number 19 on their list of the Top 25 Albums of 2017. The magazine's writer Hal Horowitz said that Atkins "shifts to full chanteuse mode, mixing countrypolitan with a '60s, Phil Spector-styled approach that sounds like nothing else in contemporary music", calling it "a spectacularly original, compelling work that is exhilarating and timeless."[17] Exclaim! ranked it number five on their list of the Top 10 Folk and Country Albums list. The magazine's writer Alan Ranta said that Atkins performs "songs that feature her greatest assets: her rich, classic voice and revelatory lyrics."[2]

Track listing

edit
Goodnight Rhonda Lee track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."A Little Crazy"
3:46
2."Darkness Falls So Quiet"Atkins4:46
3."Listen Up"
  • Atkins
  • Vincent John
  • Ryan Spraker
3:10
4."Goodnight Rhonda Lee"
  • Atkins
  • Isaak
2:33
5."If I Could"
3:24
6."Colors"
  • Atkins
  • David Michael Sherman
2:46
7."Brokedown Luck"
3:43
8."I Love Living Here (Even When I Don't)"
  • Atkins
  • Sherman
3:32
9."Sleepwalking"
  • Atkins
  • Reno Bo
3:46
10."A Night of Serious Drinking"
  • Atkins
  • Sclavunos
4:10
11."A Dream Without Pain"
  • Atkins
  • Kenny Childers
4:08

Personnel

edit

Credits adapted from the album's liner notes.[18]

Charts

edit
Chart Peak
position
US Folk Albums (Billboard)[19] 21
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[20] 18

References

edit
  1. ^ a b c Stone, Aug (July 25, 2017). "Nicole Atkins: Goodnight Rhonda Lee". Under the Radar. Archived from the original on November 27, 2021. Retrieved May 12, 2024.
  2. ^ a b c Exclaim! Staff (December 4, 2017). "Exclaim!'s Top 10 Folk and Country Albums of 2017". Exclaim!. Archived from the original on September 26, 2021. Retrieved March 9, 2019.
  3. ^ a b c Roseblade, Nick (July 20, 2017). "Album Review: Nicole Atkins - Goodnight Rhonda Lee". Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on October 4, 2018. Retrieved March 9, 2019.
  4. ^ BrooklynVegan Staff (October 20, 2016). "Nicole Atkins prepping new LP with ex-White Denim members, touring w/ Wolf!". BrooklynVegan. Archived from the original on December 8, 2023. Retrieved May 12, 2024.
  5. ^ Gilchriest, Gil (May 19, 2017). "Watch Nicole Atkins Get a Handle on Past Mistakes in 'Listen Up' [Fresh Vid]". Nashville Scene. Archived from the original on May 12, 2024. Retrieved May 12, 2024.
  6. ^ Wyatt, John (June 22, 2017). "Nicole Atkins Releases New Song "Darkness Falls So Quiet"". mxdwn. Archived from the original on September 20, 2021. Retrieved May 12, 2024.
  7. ^ "Nicole Atkins - Brokedown Luck (Video Premiere)". The Skinny. February 21, 2018. Archived from the original on November 27, 2020. Retrieved May 12, 2024.
  8. ^ a b Harvey, Christopher (March 6, 2017). "Nicole Atkins Announces Spring 2017 Tour and New Album Goodnight Rhonda Lee for 2017 Release". mxdwn. Archived from the original on June 24, 2021. Retrieved May 12, 2024.
  9. ^ Kreps, Daniel (February 21, 2018). "Nicole Atkins Sets Spring Tour, Drops 'Brokedown Luck' Video". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on November 25, 2020. Retrieved May 12, 2024.
  10. ^ "Nicole Atkins returns for full European tour in April 2019". Sedate Bookings. December 18, 2018. Archived from the original on April 18, 2024. Retrieved May 12, 2024.
  11. ^ a b "Goodnight Rhonda Lee by Nicole Atkins". Metacritic. Archived from the original on November 5, 2020. Retrieved March 9, 2019.
  12. ^ a b Donelson, Marcy. "Goodnight Rhonda Lee - Nicole Atkins". AllMusic. Archived from the original on August 29, 2021. Retrieved March 9, 2019.
  13. ^ a b Horowitz, Hal (July 18, 2017). "Nicole Atkins: Goodnight Rhonda Lee". American Songwriter. Archived from the original on October 23, 2021. Retrieved March 9, 2019.
  14. ^ a b Ellman, Peter (July 20, 2017). "Nicole Atkins - Goodnight Rhonda Lee". Exclaim!. Archived from the original on July 30, 2021. Retrieved May 12, 2024.
  15. ^ Kaill, Gary (July 17, 2017). "Nicole Atkins – Goodnight Rhonda Lee". The Skinny. Archived from the original on January 13, 2021. Retrieved May 12, 2024.
  16. ^ a b Hurst, Josh (July 4, 2017). "Review: Nicole Atkins, Goodnight Rhonda Lee". Slant Magazine. Archived from the original on January 26, 2021. Retrieved May 12, 2024.
  17. ^ "American Songwriter's Top 25 Albums of 2017". American Songwriter. December 4, 2017. Archived from the original on September 19, 2021. Retrieved March 9, 2019.
  18. ^ Goodnight Rhonda Lee (booklet). Nicole Atkins. Single Lock. 2017. SL021.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  19. ^ "Nicole Atkins Chart History (Top Americana/Folk Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved March 9, 2019.
  20. ^ "Nicole Atkins Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved March 9, 2019.
Retrieved from "https://en.wiki.x.io/w/index.php?title=Goodnight_Rhonda_Lee&oldid=1223595431"