Little Big Town: Jimi Westbrook, Karen Fairchild, Kimberly Roads, Philiip Sweet.
Additional personnel includes: Dave Cleveland, Billy Panda (acoustic guitar); Jonathan Yudkin (mandolin, cello); Mark Childers (drums).
Recorded at Westwood Sound Studio, Nashville, Tennessee.
Personnel: Paul Worley (acoustic guitar, electric guitar, slide guitar); Dave Cleveland (acoustic guitar, 12-string guitar, mandolin); Darrell Scott (acoustic guitar, 12-string guitar); Phillip Sweet, Billy Panda (acoustic guitar); Dan Dugmore (electric guitar, steel guitar, dobro); David Lyndon Huff (electric guitar, drums, percussion, programming); Gary Burnette, Jerry McPherson (electric guitar); Jonathan Yudkin (mandolin, violin, viola, cello); Aubrey Haynie (mandolin, fiddle); Jelly Roll Johnson (harmonica); Tony Harrell (Wurlitzer organ, keyboards); Steve Nathan (keyboards); Mark Childers, Jimmie Lee Sloas (bass guitar); Matt Chamberlain (drums).
Audio Mixer: George Massenburg.
Recording information: El Dobbs Productions, Franklin, TN; Madison Garage; The Money Pit, Nashville, TN; Westwood Sound Studio, Nashville, TN.
Photographer: Dana Tynan.
Little Big Town is a vocal quartet consisting of two men and two women who sing their songs by mixing up lead vocals and harmonies, such that one may start a song only to have another take the second verse, while some other combination sings the choruses. This, of course, is not typical of country music, nor are the song arrangements, which lean heavily to a folk-rock sound with prominent acoustic guitars and rhythm section, but only touches of fiddle and steel guitar; nor, for that matter, are the songs themselves, most of them written by the group members, which tend toward a pop sensibility with their generalized romantic sentiments. In the inevitable game of describing a new act by its antecedents, one must throw out names like Fleetwood Mac rather than any specifically country artists. Actually, Little Big Town does call to mind certain country acts of the past. They may remind knowledgeable country fans of such late-'80s performers as Foster & Lloyd and Kennedy Rose, duos that earned critical kudos (especially from non-country critics), but struggled to earn a commercial footing and ultimately found greater success behind the scenes as writers. Championed by Monument Records, the same label that changed the parameters of conventional country success with the Dixie Chicks, Little Big Town may succeed by rewriting the Nashville rule book in a similar way. ~ William Ruhlmann
Little Big Town is a vocal quartet consisting of two men and two women who sing their songs by mixing up lead vocals and harmonies, such that one may start a song only to have another take the second verse, while some other combination sings the choruses. This, of course, is not typical of country music, nor are the song arrangements, which lean heavily to a folk-rock sound with prominent acoustic guitars and rhythm section, but only touches of fiddle and steel guitar; nor, for that matter, are the songs themselves, most of them written by the group members, which tend toward a pop sensibility with their generalized romantic sentiments. In the inevitable game of describing a new act by its antecedents, one must throw out names like Fleetwood Mac rather than any specifically country artists. Actually, Little Big Town does call to mind certain country acts of the past, though not prominent ones. They may remind knowledgeable country fans of such late-'80s performers as Foster & Lloyd and Kennedy Rose, duos that earned critical kudos (especially from non-country critics), but struggled to earn a commercial footing and ultimately found greater success behind the scenes as writers. Championed by Monument Records, the same label that changed the parameters of conventional country success with the Dixie Chicks, Little Big Town may succeed by re-writing the Nashville rule book in a similar way. But probably not. The Dixie Chicks had great songs, a powerful image, and an undeniable connection to hardcore country. Little Big Town does not have great songs, their image is diffuse, and they seem ready to cross over to pop at any minute. At least on their first album, the group is more a concept than a fully formed entity, which will make revolutionizing country music a challenge. ~ William Ruhlmann minimize