''Town Line'' is the first EP by American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

musician

Aaron Lewis Aaron Francis Lewis (born April 13, 1972) is an American musician who is best known as the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist and founding member of the alternative metal band Staind, with whom he released eight studio albums. Since 2010, he has p ...

, and is his first solo release. An

extended play An extended play (EP) is a Sound recording and reproduction, musical recording that contains more tracks than a Single (music), single but fewer than an album. Contemporary EPs generally contain up to eight tracks and have a playing time of 1 ...

consisting of

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, ...

songs, it was released on March 1, 2011, on Stroudavarious Records. As of the chart dated September 3, 2011, the album has sold 200,208 copies in the US.

Content

The first single, " Country Boy", which features

George Jones George Glenn Jones (September 12, 1931 – April 26, 2013) was an American Country music, country musician, singer, and songwriter. He achieved international fame for a long list of hit records, and is well known for his distinctive voice an ...

Charlie Daniels Charles Edward Daniels (October 28, 1936 – July 6, 2020) was an American singer, musician, and songwriter. His music fused rock, country, blues and jazz, and was a pioneering contribution to Southern rock and progressive country. He was ...

, and Chris Young, was released on December 7, 2010. This song has charted on both

Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data along with digital sales and streaming. ...

and

Rock Songs Hot Rock & Alternative Songs (formerly known as Rock Songs and Hot Rock Songs) is a record chart published by ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' magazine. From its debut on June 20, 2009, through October 13, 2012, the chart ranked the airplay of ...

. The track "Tangled Up in You" is a re-recording of a song from Staind's album ''

The Illusion of Progress ''The Illusion of Progress'' is the sixth studio album by American rock band Staind. It was released on August 19, 2008. ''The Illusion of Progress'' was produced by Johnny K and recorded in lead singer Aaron Lewis's home studio. It debuted at No ...

''. Live versions of the songs "Vicious Circles" and "Country Boy" also appear on the deluxe edition of Lewis' 2012 album, ''

The Road ''The Road'' is a 2006 post-apocalyptic novel by American writer Cormac McCarthy. The book details the grueling journey of a father and his young son over several months across a landscape blasted by an unspecified cataclysm that has destroyed ...

''.

Critical reception

Giving it three stars out of five, Jessica Phillips 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 ...

'' thought that the songs were "rich with imagery." She also praised Lewis for "resist ngthe temptation to don a faux twang", but criticized the single "Country Boy" as "an unfortunately overextended string of rural impressions." Sam Gazdziak of ''Engine 145'' rated it two stars out of five, calling "Country Boy" "turgid" and "polarizing", also criticizing the three versions present on the EP.

Track listing

Personnel

Adapted from liner notes. *

Eddie Bayers Eddie Bayers (born January 28, 1949) is an American session drummer who has played on 300 gold and platinum albums. He received the Academy of Country Music 'Drummer of the Year Award' for fourteen years, has three times won the Nashville Music ...

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

*Alexa Carter - background vocals on "Tangled Up in You" *

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

fiddle A fiddle is a Bow (music), bowed String instrument, string musical instrument, most often a violin or a bass. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including European classical music, classical music. Althou ...

, and recitation vocals on "Country Boy" * Paul Franklin -

steel guitar A steel guitar () is any guitar played while moving a steel bar or similar hard object against plucked strings. The bar itself is called a "steel" and is the source of the name "steel guitar". The instrument differs from a conventional guitar i ...

*Tony Harrell - B-3 organ,

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

- guest vocals on "Country Boy" *Ben Kitterman -

dobro Dobro () is an American brand of resonator guitars owned by Gibson and manufactured by its subsidiary Epiphone. The term "dobro" is also used as a generic term for any wood-bodied, single-cone resonator guitar. The Dobro was originally a gui ...

acoustic guitar An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked, its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...

, lead vocals *

Brent Mason Brent Mason (born July 13, 1959) is an American country music guitarist, songwriter and session musician. ''Guitar World'' magazine listed Mason as one of the "Top Ten Session Guitarists of All Time". Discovered and mentored by Chet Atkins, Maso ...

electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external electric Guitar amplifier, sound amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar. It uses one or more pickup (music technology), pickups ...

*Larry Paxton -

bass guitar The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an Electric guitar, electric but with a longer nec ...

*Scotty Sanders - steel guitar *

Biff Watson Fletcher Bangs "Biff" Watson (born 1952) is an American guitarist, songwriter, and producer. His musicianship has been a part of recording sessions for many artists. Biography Early years Raised in Chatham, Virginia, Watson learned how to play ...

- acoustic guitar * Chris Young - background vocals on "Country Boy"

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Singles

References

{{Authority control 2011 debut EPs Aaron Lewis albums Albums produced by James Stroud R&J Records albums