Chill Factor (album)
Chill Factor | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | November 1987 | |||
Genre | Country | |||
Length | 35:42 | |||
Label | Epic | |||
Producer | Merle Haggard, Ken Suesov | |||
Merle Haggard chronology | ||||
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Chill Factor is the forty-fourth studio album by American country music singer Merle Haggard, with backing by the Strangers, released on the Epic label in 1987.
Background
Chill Factor was released in the midst of the "
After the relatively disappointing chart performance of his previous album Out Among the Stars, Chill Factor was a commercial comeback for Haggard, who wrote or co-wrote all the songs on the album except one. In addition to the chart-topping "Twinkle, Twinkle Lucky Star", the title track was also a top ten hit, peaking at number 9, but two other singles, "We Never Touch at All" and "You Babe," failed to crack the top 20.[3]
Critical reception
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Robert Christgau | B−[5] |
Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic wrote "...while this sound dates the album somewhat, it’s also easy to hear beyond it, to recognize that this is one of Haggard’s strongest collection of songs of the '80s, a record where he remains a peerless craftsman and has yet to succumb completely to the streak of bitter nostalgia that sometimes tainted his records of the '90s."[4]
Spin said, "This is more than just another good Merle Haggard record. His gone-to-hell-and-back voice is sounding better the growlier it gets. The simple, understated production surrounds Haggard with more than a touch of blues."[6]
Track listing
All songs written by Merle Haggard unless otherwise indicated.
- "Chill Factor" – 3:20
- "Twinkle, Twinkle Lucky Star" – 3:22
- "Man From Another Time" (Haggard, Freddy Powers) – 2:42
- "We Never Touch at All" (Haggard, Hank Cochran) – 3:41
- "You Babe" (Sanger D. Shafer) – 3:50
- "Thanking The Good Lord" – 2:31
- "After Dark" – 3:45
- "1929" – 3:38
- "Thirty Again" – 3:09
- "I Don't Have Any Love Around" – 3:19
- "More Than This Old Heart Can Take" (Haggard, Powers) – 2:25
Personnel
- Merle Haggard – lead vocals, background vocals, rhythm guitar, lead guitar
- Norm Hamlet – dobro, pedal steel guitar
- Bobby Wayne – rhythm guitar
- Clint Strong – rhythm guitar, lead guitar
- Mark Yeary – keyboards
- Biff Adam – drums
- Jim Belken – fiddle
- Don Markham – saxophone, trumpet
- Gary Church – trombone
with:
- Grady Martin – lead guitar
- Red Lane – guitar
- Bonnie Owens – background vocals
and:
- Steve Gibson – rhythm guitar, lead guitar
- Mike Leech – bass guitar
- Joe Chemay - background vocals
- Jim Haas – background vocals
- Jon Joice – background vocals
References
- ISBN 978-0-671-45275-9.
- ISBN 0-06-109795-0.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944-2006, Second edition. Record Research. p. 148.
- ^ a b Erlewine, Steven Thomas. "Chill Factor > Review". AllMusic. Retrieved February 22, 2015.
- ^ Christgau, Robert. "Chill Factor > Review". Robert Christgau. Retrieved February 22, 2015.
- ^ Amy Linden (June 1988). "Spins". Spin. No. 36. p. 76.