''The Distance'' is the second studio album by

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

blue-eyed soul Blue-eyed soul (also called white soul) is rhythm and blues (R&B) and soul music performed by white artists. The term was coined in the mid-1960s, to describe white artists whose sound was similar to that of the predominantly-black Motown and Stax ...

singer Taylor Hicks, released on March 10, 2009. It is the first release by Hicks under his own

independent label An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels and artists are often represented ...

, Modern Whomp, after parting ways with

Arista Records Arista Records () is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. The label was previously handled by BMG Entertain ...

. ''The Distance'' was produced by

Simon Climie Simon Climie (born 7 April 1957) is an English songwriter/producer and the former lead singer of the UK duo Climie Fisher. Biography Climie was born in London. Beginning his career primarily as a songwriter/session musician, Climie found him ...

and features eleven tracks on the main version, including the single " What's Right Is Right" and "Nineteen", which tells the story of a teenage football star who joins the armed forces after the 9/11 attacks. Several tracks feature

Nathan East Nathan Harrell East (born December 8, 1955) is an American jazz, R&B, and rock bass player and vocalist. With more than 2,000 recordings, East is one of the most recorded bass players in the history of music. East holds a Bachelor of Arts deg ...

and

Doyle Bramhall II Doyle Bramhall II (born December 24, 1968) is an American guitarist, producer and songwriter best known for his work with Eric Clapton and Roger Waters. He is the son of the songwriter and drummer Doyle Bramhall. Early life Bramhall was born i ...

, both longtime members of

Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is often regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s list o ...

's band. "Seven Mile Breakdown" was originally recorded by Alabama indie band Spoonful James. It debuted at number 58 on the Billboard 200 and number five on the Top Independent Albums charts with sales of 9,000 copies in its first week of release.

Reception

Critical reception to the album was mixed to positive, with publications like

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Music ...

saying that "Hicks doesn't show great sensitivity as an interpreter(...) but as an entertainer he pulls out all the stops, determined to get every last person in the joint to crack a smile. It's a trait that served him well in those small clubs and on television, and it still serves him well here." ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular ...

'', however, gave the album a decidedly negative review, with ''Entertainment Weekly'' writer Simon Vozick-Levinson stating that Hicks is "no worse than any of the countless other graying dudes singing what they believe to be the blues in hotel lobbies and dive bars across the nation".

Track listing

Singles

*" What's Right Is Right" peaked at number twenty-four on the US ''

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Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks The Adult Contemporary chart is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary radio stations in the United States. The chart is compiled based on airplay data submitted to ''Billboard'' by stat ...

. *"Seven Mile Breakdown" was released on May 4, 2009 to country radio.

Chart performance

The album sold approximately 9,000 copies in the US during its first official week of released; debuting at number 58 on the ''Billboard'' 200 and number five on the

Top Independent Albums The Independent Albums chart (previously titled Top Independent Albums) ranks the highest-selling independent music albums and extended plays (EPs) in the United States, as compiled by Nielsen SoundScan and published weekly by ''Billboard'' magaz ...

chart. It has sold 52,000 copies to date.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Distance 2009 albums Taylor Hicks albums Modern Whomp Records albums Albums produced by Simon Climie