''How Country Feels'' is the third studio album by American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

artist

Randy Houser Shawn Randolph Houser (born December 18, 1975) is an American country music singer and songwriter. Houser has racked up over half a dozen hits and over 1 billion streams. His How Country Feels album topped the country radio charts with the title ...

. It was released on January 22, 2013, through Stoney Creek Records. Houser wrote seven of the album's fifteen tracks. The album was produced by Derek George, a former member of the bands

Pearl River The Pearl River (, or ) is an extensive river system in southern China. "Pearl River" is often also used as a catch-all for the watersheds of the Pearl tributaries within Guangdong, specifically the Xi ('west'), Bei ('north'), and Dong ( ...

and Williams Riley. The album's first single, the

title track A title track is a song that has the same name as the album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-t ...

, became Houser's first Number One song on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

Country Airplay Country Airplay is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States since October 20, 2012, although the magazine also retrospectively recognizes the Hot Country Songs charts from January 20, 1990, through October 13, 2012, ...

chart. Its second single, " Runnin' Outta Moonlight", was released to country radio on March 4, 2013. Both singles were certified Platinum by the

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 ...

. The album's third single, " Goodnight Kiss", was released to country radio on September 23, 2013. The album's fourth single, "

Like a Cowboy "Like a Cowboy" is a song recorded by American country music artist Randy Houser. It was released in May 2014 as the fourth single from his third studio album, ''How Country Feels''. Houser wrote the song with Brice Long. Critical reception The s ...

", was released to country radio on May 19, 2014. The third and fourth singles were certified Gold. The album had sold 228,000 copies in the US as of January 2015. sales figures give
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Content

The album features a duet with

Kristy Lee Cook Kristy Lee Cook (born January 18, 1984) is an American country music singer and television personality. She was the seventh place finalist on the seventh season of ''American Idol''. In 2005, Cook released her first album called ''Devoted''. In ...

on "Wherever Love Goes," which was later re-recorded and released in August 2013 as a single with Cook as the lead artist and Houser as the featured artist.

Critical reception

Giving ''How Country Feels'' an A-minus, Tammy Ragusa of ''

Country Weekly ''Country Weekly'' (known as ''Nash Country Weekly'' from 2015–16) was an American magazine about country music. It was in circulation between April 1994 and May 2016. The publisher, Cumulus Media, now maintains the site Nash Country Daily. O ...

'' praised the "authenticity" of Houser's voice and said that the "project is overflowing with hooky, singalong tracks." ''

Taste of Country Townsquare Media, Inc. (formerly Regent Communications until 2010) is an American radio network and media company based in Purchase, New York. The company started in radio and expanded into digital media toward the end of the 2000s, starting wit ...

'' gave the album four stars out of five, saying that it was an "even effort with no bruises, but few moments that take your breath away," and saying Houser proved he "is one of country music’s top male vocalists."

Track listing

Personnel

Musicians and Vocals *

– vocals *

Derek George Derek George (born in Philadelphia, Mississippi) is an American country music singer, songwriter, and guitarist currently signed to Spirit Music Group. He is known for his work in Pearl River and Williams Riley, and his frequent collaborations ...

– keyboards, programming, acoustic guitar, electric guitar,

harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica incl ...

, backing vocals *

Steve Nathan Steven Jay Nathan (born April 20, 1951) is an American keyboardist. He is known for his session work in Muscle Shoals and Nashville studios. Biography Nathan was born and raised in Buffalo, New York. In 1977, Nathan moved to Muscle Shoals, A ...

– keyboards * John Henry Trinko – keyboards * Casey Wood – keyboards,

accordion Accordions (from 19th-century German language, German ', from '—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a Reed (mou ...

, percussion *

Tom Bukovac Tom Bukovac (born December 20, 1968) is an American session guitarist and producer. He is also a popular YouTube personality with over 100,000 subscribers. He is a five-time winner of Music Row's Top Ten Album All-Stars award in the guitar categ ...

– electric guitar *

J.T. Corenflos Jerry Troy "J. T." Corenflos (November 6, 1963 – October 24, 2020), was an American session musician and country guitarist, who played on an estimated 75 Number One hit records as well as hundreds of other recordings and hits. He received 14 n ...

– electric guitar * Troy Lancaster – electric guitar * B. James Lowry – acoustic guitar * Rob McNelley – electric guitar * James Mitchell – electric guitar * Mike Johnson –

pedal steel guitar The pedal steel guitar is a console steel guitar with pedals and knee levers that change the pitch of certain strings, enabling more varied and complex music to be played than with other steel guitar designs. Like all steel guitars, it can play ...

* Scotty Sanders – pedal steel guitar * Lee Hendricks – bass * Michael Rhodes – bass *

Lonnie Wilson Lonnie Wilson is an American drummer, songwriter, and record producer, known primarily for his work in country music. Life and career Born in Monroe, Louisiana, Wilson was originally the lead singer of the band Bandana, which charted ten single ...

– drums, percussion *

Mickey Raphael Michael Siegfried Raphael (born November 7, 1951) is an American harmonica player, music producer and actor likely best known for his work with Willie Nelson, with whom he has toured as part of The Family since 1973. He has performed or record ...

– harmonica * Larry Hall – string arrangements * Vanessa Campagna – backing vocals *

– backing vocals, vocals (7) * Wes Hightower – backing vocals * Russell Terrell – backing vocals Production * Derek George – producer, additional recording, editing * Casey Wood – recording, mixing, additional recording, editing, production coordinator * Elijah Sandoval – assistant engineer * Andrew Mendelson – mastering at Georgetown Masters (Nashville, Tennessee) * Mike Molinar – production coordinator * Glenn Sweitzer – art direction, design, photography * David McClister – photography * Alicia Yantz – photography * Tina Crawford – label copy * Fitzgerald Hartley, Co. – management

Chart performance

Album

Certifications

References

{{Authority control 2013 albums Randy Houser albums BBR Music Group albums Albums produced by Derek George