''Back Road Paradise'' is the sixth studio album by Canadian folk music artist Jimmy Rankin. It was released on April 1, 2014 on Rankin's own Song Dog label and distributed by

Fontana North Fontana North is a Canadian record distribution company and represents the Canadian wing of Fontana Distribution. It is a joint venture between Canadian-based Cadence Music Group and US-based Fontana Distribution. The company was established by ...

. The album is more

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

than Rankin's previous releases. It features collaborations with

Alison Krauss Alison Maria Krauss (born July 23, 1971) is an American bluegrass-country singer, fiddler and music producer. She entered the music industry at an early age, competing in local contests by the age of eight and recording for the first time at ...

and

Jim Cuddy James Gordon Cuddy, (born December 2, 1955) is a Canadian singer-songwriter primarily associated with the band Blue Rodeo. Early life and education Cuddy was born in Toronto, Ontario. His mother Jean Cuddy was an English teacher at Monarch P ...

. The first single released from the album was "Cool Car".

Critical reception

Doug Gallant of ''Ottawa at Home'' gave the album four stars out of five, writing that "Rankin's songwriting is so consistently strong throughout the record I would be hard pressed to point to anything on ''Back Road Paradise'' that I wouldn't put on a playlist." Doug Taylor of '' The Coast'' wrote that "the goal is to be on country radio all over, because with this album he deserves it." Ken Kelley of ''The Musicnerd Chronicles'' stated that "Rankin isn't as much about the bells and whistles and posturing as he is about delivering truly memorable songs, of which there are many."

Critical reception

Track listing

Chart performance

Singles

References