Learn to Live was recorded both in Franklin, Tennessee, and Nashville, Tennessee. Brady Vercher of Engine 145 praised the album's overall production and sound, finding nearly every track to, "sound as if it were crafted to be a potential single, with solid hooks and melodies aplenty, but at times the phrasing is more focused on selling those aspects at the expense of emotion."[10]Slant Magazine's Johnathan Keefe praised the album's production, saying that the record makes, "a concerted effort to sound like a modern country album." He also gave credit to the album's producer, Frank Rogers (who had previously produced Brad Paisley's albums), who had co-written most of the album's twelve tracks.[9]
Many of the tracks are a variety of country music styles. The second track, "All I Want" is set in a two-step shuffle, while "Drinkin' and Dialin'" is a "clever barroom crawl," according to
Allmusic.[2] "All I Want" features guitar played by Brad Paisley and its fifth track, "If I Had Wings," features harmony vocals from country artists Vince Gill and Alison Krauss
.
Critical reception
Learn to Live received a score of 66 out of 100 from Metacritic based on "generally favorable reviews".[1] Blake Boldt of PopMatters gave the album overall solid review, praising the single, "Don't Think I Don't Think About It," by calling Rucker's delivery, "honest and heartfelt." Boldt was also pleased with the fact that Rucker attracted, "the attention of the country radio audience with that single, and it’s helped boost the profile of his first full country album, Learn to Live, a release that owns a variety of country music’s common topics and musical techniques." Boldt concluded his review by saying, "Learn to Live is well-produced and well-sung, but too many of the songs fail to fit the artist behind them."[5] Sarah Rodman of The Boston Globe also praised Learn to Live, calling the single, "Alright," an "essential" track. Rodman later stated, "If you're going to be tooling down the middle of the road, "Learn to Live" is perfectly pleasant accompaniment."[6]
Learn to Live was also reviewed by
Craig Morgan, and then concluded by saying, "Such missteps [the song "If I Had Wings"] are few, though, and “Learn to Live” is seamless enough that it almost slips by unnoticed that Mr. Rucker is the first African-American to have a Top 10 country hit (the muscular “Don’t Think I Don’t Think About It”) since Charley Pride."[7]
Commercial performance
The album's lead single, "
Billboard Hot Country Songs chart.[14] The album's seventh track entitled, "Alright," was released as a single shortly afterward. The song became Rucker's third number one single on the Billboard country chart, spending two weeks at #1 in early August.[15] On September 8, 2009, the album's fourth and final single, "History in the Making," was released, debuting at #51 on the Billboard country chart,[16]
