'' On the Rocks '' is the debut studio album by American country music band

Midland Midland may refer to: Places Australia * Midland, Western Australia Canada * Midland, Albert County, New Brunswick * Midland, Kings County, New Brunswick * Midland, Newfoundland and Labrador * Midland, Ontario India * Midland Ward, Kohima, Nagal ...

. It was released on September 22, 2017 via Big Machine Records. In 2019 it was certified Gold by

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

for selling 500,000 units.

Content

The album features 13 songs, including the singles " Drinkin' Problem", "

Make a Little "Make a Little" is a song recorded by American country music band Midland. It was released on September 25, 2017, as the second single from their debut album ''On the Rocks''. The band members wrote the song with Josh Osborne and Shane McAnally, ...

", and "Burn Out". At least one band member wrote every song on the album.

Josh Osborne Josh Osborne (born c. 1980) is an American songwriter with several number-one singles to his credit. Early life Josh Osborne was born in Pike County, Kentucky, and raised in Virgie, Kentucky. Osborne grew up on US 23, renamed Country Music High ...

, Shane McAnally, and Dann Huff served as producers.

Critical reception

Allmusic reviewer

Stephen Thomas Erlewine Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance writer, occ ...

rated the album 4 out of 5 stars, comparing its sound favorably to Alabama and Dwight Yoakam. He also stated that "the three members construct sturdy songs with a shimmering surface to match." Chris Richards of '' The Washington Post'' described the album as "the year's best country album".

Exclaim! ''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features in-depth coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly Exclaim! print magazine publishes 7 ...

writer Marlo Ashley gave the album a 9 out of 10, comparing "Lonely For You Only" to Sonny James. She also called the album "charming".

Commercial performance

The album debuted at No. 1 on the Top Country Albums chart, selling 17,000 copies (20,000 units including streams and tracks) in the first week. It has sold 112,500 copies in the United States as of March 2019. In November 2019 it was certified Gold by

for selling 500,000 units.

Track listing

Personnel

Adapted from ''On the Rocks'' liner notes. ;Midland * Jess Carson - acoustic guitar (all tracks), background vocals (all tracks) *

Cameron Duddy Cameron Duddy (born December 6, 1985) is an American music video director and musician. As a director, he is known for his work with Bruno Mars, OneRepublic, and Fifth Harmony. He is also the bass guitarist in the country music band Midland. Ca ...

- bass guitar (all tracks), background vocals (all tracks) * Mark Wystrach - lead vocals (all tracks) ;Additional musicians *Vinnie Ciesielski - trumpet (track 4) * Dan Dugmore - steel guitar (tracks 3, 8, 9, 12) * Ian Fitchuk - piano (tracks 3, 9) * Paul Franklin - steel guitar (tracks 1–7, 9-11, 13), steel guitar solo (track 3) * Dann Huff - acoustic guitar (tracks 2, 5, 7, 8, 10, 12), electric guitar (all tracks except 12), guitar solo (tracks 6, 8, 9), gut string guitar (track 1),

12-string acoustic guitar A twelve-string guitar (or 12-string guitar) is a steel-string guitar with 12 strings in six courses, which produces a thicker, more ringing tone than a standard six-string guitar. Typically, the strings of the lower four courses are tuned in o ...

(track 3), wire choir guitar solo (track 10), high-strung guitar (track 12), ganjo (track 13), mandolin (tracks 2, 8), Hammond B-3 organ (track 3) * David Huff - tambourine (track 1), percussion (tracks 2, 6, 7, 13) *Charlie Judge - accordion (track 13), keyboards (tracks 1, 2, 4-13) *Rob McNelley - electric guitar (tracks 9, 12) * Gordon Mote - piano (track 10) * Greg Morrow - drums (all tracks), percussion (track 7) * Danny Rader - acoustic guitar (track 3), mandolin (track 3), bouzouki (track 3) * Mickey Raphael - echo harp (track 7), harmonica (track 13) * Ilya Toshinsky - acoustic guitar (track 12) *Derek Wells - electric guitar (except track 12), guitar solo (tracks 2, 11, 12), 12-string electric guitar (track 12),

baritone guitar The baritone guitar is a guitar with a longer scale length, typically a larger body, and heavier internal bracing, so it can be tuned to a lower pitch. Gretsch, Fender, Gibson, Ibanez, ESP Guitars, PRS Guitars, Music Man, Danelectro, Schec ...

(track 12) ;Technical *Ryan Gore - recording (track 9) *Dann Huff - producer *David Huff - digital editing (except track 3) *Steve Marcontonio - recording (except track 3) * Shane McAnally - producer *Andrew Mendelson - mastering *Seth Morton - recording (track 3) *Sean Neff - digital editing (track 3) *Justin Niebank - recording (track 3), mixing *

- producer *Chris Small - digital editing (except track 3)

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Singles

Notes

Certifications

References

{{Authority control 2017 debut albums Big Machine Records albums Midland (band) albums Albums produced by Shane McAnally Albums produced by Dann Huff