It's About Time (Hank Williams Jr. album)

It's About Time is the fifty-third studio album by Hank Williams Jr. released by Nash Icon Records on January 15, 2016.[4] The album includes re-recordings of previously released material and new songs.[5]

It's About Time
Studio album by
ReleasedJanuary 15, 2016 (2016-01-15)
Recorded2015–2016
Genre
Length43:42
LabelNash Icon
ProducerJulian Raymond[3]
Hank Williams Jr. chronology
Old School New Rules
(2012)
It's About Time
(2016)
Rich White Honky Blues
(2022)
Singles from It's About Time
  1. "Are You Ready for the Country"
    Released: November 2015
  2. "The Party's On"
    Released: May 2016

Reception edit

Critical response edit

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic     [2]
Billboard     [1]
Rolling Stone     [6]

Billboard felt that the album's lyrics sent a mixed message, writing, "On the title track of his new album, It's About Time, billed as his 37th, he complains he has 'had enough of this weird pop-country sound.' But that doesn't stop him from recruiting contemporary country talents and tricks for help."[1] Rolling Stone panned the album, writing "Country vet rocks out, waves guns around, incites snoozes".[6] Allmusic gave the album 4 out of 5, writing "there's not a sense of a bro-country sop because this has swagger and, as the man himself says at the song's end, 'the band played like they were pissed.' All through It's About Time, Hank Jr. and his colleagues play it big and burly, laying into barroom boogies and rocking country as if they never went out of style. Williams knows this isn't true, of course. He notes that 'Those Days Are Gone' -- itself an ode to the days when you could hear Haggard, Coe, and Jones on the radio -- but he sings this ode to olden days without a tear in his eye, possibly because he's having too much fun once again raising a ruckus."[2]

Commercial performance edit

The album debuted at No. 2 on Top Country Albums, the highest he's reached on the chart since the release of Lone Wolf in 1990. The album also debuted at No. 15 on the Billboard 200, selling 24,000 copies in its first week.[7] It sold a further 9,000 copies in its second week.[8] The album has sold 60,800 copies in the US as of March 2016.[9]

Track listing edit

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Are You Ready for the Country" (featuring Eric Church)Neil Young3:29
2."Club U.S.A."Tony Stampley, Bonnie Swayze3:19
3."God Fearin' Man"Chris Janson, Brandon Kinney, Kendell Marvell2:37
4."Those Days Are Gone"Janson, Brice Long, Terry McBride3:41
5."Dress Like an Icon"Hank Williams Jr.4:13
6."God & Guns"Mark Stephen Jones, Travis Meadows, Bud Tower4:50
7."Just Call Me Hank"Williams Jr.3:02
8."Mental Revenge"Mel Tillis2:57
9."It's About Time"Williams Jr.3:29
10."The Party's On"Williams Jr., Joe Kent, Stampley2:59
11."Wrapped Up, Tangled Up in Jesus (God's Got It)"Reverend Charlie Jackson6:21
12."Born to Boogie" (featuring Brantley Gilbert, Justin Moore and Brad Paisley)Williams Jr.2:45

Personnel edit

Charts edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b c "Billboard". Archived from the original on 2018-05-20. Retrieved 2018-04-30.
  2. ^ a b c "allmusic". Archived from the original on 2018-05-01. Retrieved 2018-04-30.
  3. ^ Roughstock. "Hank Williams Jr. "It's About Time" Tracklist & Cover Art". RoughStock. Archived from the original on 2015-12-09. Retrieved 2015-12-25.
  4. ^ "Hank Williams Jr. Joined by Justin Moore, Brantley Gilbert on New LP". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2017-10-27. Retrieved 2017-09-01.
  5. ^ "Hank Williams, Jr. Talks Musical Career & Nash Icon Record Deal - Billboard". Billboard. Archived from the original on 2015-12-12. Retrieved 2015-12-25.
  6. ^ a b "Rolling Stone". Archived from the original on 2018-05-01. Retrieved 2018-04-30.
  7. ^ Asker, Jim (January 26, 2016). "Thomas Rhett Rules Again; Hank Jr. Scores Highest Debut on Country Albums Chart". Billboard. Archived from the original on January 28, 2016. Retrieved February 4, 2016.
  8. ^ Bjorke, Matt (February 2, 2016). "Country Albums Chart Report: February 2, 2016". Roughstock. Archived from the original on February 5, 2016. Retrieved February 4, 2016.
  9. ^ Bjorke, Matt (March 24, 2016). "Country Albums Chart: March 20, 2016". Roughstock. Archived from the original on October 22, 2016. Retrieved April 15, 2016.
  10. ^ "Hank Williams, Jr. Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved January 26, 2016.
  11. ^ "Hank Williams, Jr. Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved January 26, 2016.
  12. ^ "Hank Williams, Jr. Chart History (Top Country Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved January 26, 2016.
  13. ^ "Top Country Albums – Year-End 2016". Billboard. Archived from the original on December 12, 2016. Retrieved July 26, 2020.