Mr. Misunderstood
Mr. Misunderstood is the fifth studio album from American country music artist Eric Church. EMI Records Nashville released the album on November 3, 2015, to his fan club, before being released on iTunes the following day. Church worked with long-time music producer Jay Joyce for the production of the album.
Mr. Misunderstood
November 3, 2015
September–October 2015
St. Charles Studios Nashville, Tennessee
38:41
- Jay Joyce
- Arturo Buenahora, Jr. (exec.)
Background[edit]
Church started his songwriting of the album on his guitar, nicknamed "Butter Bean" by his son, in the latter part of the summer.[1] Within just twenty days, he had twenty songs written for the album, when he went into the studio, where twenty days later after some recording sessions, the ten tracks that comprise this album were finished.[1] The recording sessions for this album took place in mid-to-late-September to early-October 2015.[1] Church got Jay Joyce to produce the album, while his label EMI Records Nashville was the imprint used.[2][3] This album was produced at St. Charles Studios in Nashville, Tennessee.[4] The song, "Mixed Drinks about Feelings", featured blues and blue-eyed soul performer, Susan Tedeschi.[4] Its song, "Chattanooga Lucy", featured country artist, Joanna Cotten, while the song, "Kill a Word", has two singers featured, in Kentuckian, Andrea Davidson, and Americana singer, Rhiannon Giddens.[5] Church put on the cover, McKinley James "Mickey" Smay, who is a 14-year old in the ninth grade at a high school located in Rochester, New York, where he also makes an appearance on the music video for this song, while his father is a rock music drummer, Jason Smay.[5]
Release and promotion[edit]
This album was released to his fan club members, known as The Church Choir, where it is a paid membership, on November 3, 2015, via email,[2][3][6] and some select fans and radio-stations got copies of the album on compact disc and vinyl.[1][7] His music club fans posted snippets of the songs on YouTube, where they were quickly removed for copyright infringement.[7] It came out on Apple Inc.'s iTunes, the subsequent day, where it was distributed exclusively through them.[2][3] Church performed, "Mr. Misunderstood", at the 2015 Country Music Association Awards, where the news of the new album became evident.[8]
Music and lyrics[edit]
The musical style of this album has been described as the following; country,[9][10][11][12][13] rock,[9][11] blues,[9][10][11][12][14] folk,[9][12] gospel,[10] soul,[9][11][14][4] funk,[14][15] pop,[14] alternative country,[14] alternative rock,[11][14] country rock,[10][11][12] country blues,[10][11] country gospel,[10] gospel blues,[10][12] bluegrass,[9] folk rock,[12] roots rock,[10] rock and roll,[9] rhythm and blues,[9] Southern gospel,[10] Southern rock,[10][11][15][16] and Southern soul.[11][14][4] His music here has been compared to the likes of The Allman Brothers Band,[10] John Mellencamp,[10] The Marshall Tucker Band,[15] Stevie Wonder,[14] Fleetwood Mac,[14] and Wilco's Jeff Tweedy.[9][14] Stephen Thomas Erlewine believes, "where other country is provincial, Church embraces the world without repudiating his home."[9]
Commercial performance[edit]
Within two days of sales in its first chart week, Mr. Misunderstood debuted at number three on the US Billboard 200 with 76,000 equivalent album units (70,000 from digital sales).[31] The following week, its first to count a full week of sales, the album climbed to number two on the Billboard 200 chart, selling an additional 65,000 units (58,000 pure album sales).[32] The album was certified Platinum by the RIAA on January 3, 2018, for a million units in combined sales and streams. As of June 2018, the album has sold 599,600 copies in the United States.[33]