Jekyll + Hyde

This article is about the album by Zac Brown Band. For other uses, see Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (disambiguation).
Jekyll + Hyde
Studio album by Zac Brown Band
Released April 28, 2015
Genre
Label Southern Ground, BMLG, Republic, John Varvatos
Producer
Zac Brown Band chronology
Greatest Hits So Far...
(2014)		 Jekyll + Hyde
(2015)
Singles from Jekyll + Hyde
  1. "Homegrown"
    Released: January 12, 2015
  2. "Heavy Is the Head"
    Released: March 6, 2015
  3. "Loving You Easy"
    Released: May 4, 2015
  4. "Junkyard"
    Released: August 4, 2015
  5. "Beautiful Drug"
    Released: September 21, 2015[1]
  6. "Castaway"
    Released: April 25, 2016

Jekyll + Hyde is the fourth major-label studio album by the Zac Brown Band. It was released on April 28, 2015.[2] The album's lead single, "Homegrown", was released on January 12, 2015.[3] "Heavy Is the Head", featuring Chris Cornell, was released two months later to the rock format. "Loving You Easy" is the album's second release to country, and third single overall.

Promotion

The band played the songs "Homegrown" and "Dress Blues" from the album at the 2015 College Football Playoff National Championship pregame show.[4] On March 7, 2015, the band performed "Homegrown" and "Heavy Is the Head" on Saturday Night Live, the latter performed with Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell who provides guest vocals on the track.[5] The band is set to embark on their Jekyll + Hyde Tour beginning in May in promotion of the album.[2]

Commercial performance

The album debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 album chart on the week ending May 3, 2015 selling 228,000 equivalent album units (214,000 copies of traditional sales), making it their third number one album on the Billboard 200 chart.[6] The album was certified Gold by the RIAA on September 11, 2015.[7] As of March 2016, the album has sold 628,300 copies in the United States.[8]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic56/100[9]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[10]
Billboard[11]
Entertainment WeeklyC+[12]
The New York Timesmixed[13]
Rolling Stone[14]

Carl Wilson of Billboard rated it 3.5 out of 5 stars. His review stated that "The album is a good-faith effort to match or even outstrip the band's onstage eclecticism, and the musical personality shifts help relieve the group's tendency to blandness, providing cover for Brown's dutifully generic, if personable voice. Some longer-standing fans, though, might judge the changes as diabolical as the two-faced Robert Louis Stevenson character that lends the album its name." He also thought that "Dress Blues" was the strongest track.[11] Also giving it 3.5 out of 5, Thom Jurek of Allmusic expressed general favor in the variety of stylistic choices, highlighting "Dress Blues", "Junkyard", "Remedy", "Loving You Easy", and "One Day" in particular, adding that "The stylistic range of Jekyll + Hyde proves that ZBB's reach is almost limitless, and this set will more than likely delight the group's legions of fans." However, he criticized "Wildfire" and the acoustic rendition of "Tomorrow Never Comes" as "unnecessary" and thought that the production was "too bright".[10] Giving it 3 out of 5 stars, Will Hermes of Rolling Stone praised the variety of musical styles on the album, but felt that some of the songs were "a little predictable". He thought that "Dress Blues", written and originally recorded by Jason Isbell, was the strongest track.[14]

Writing for Entertainment Weekly, Kyle Anderson rated the album "C+", stating that "Brown rarely fails to push the boundaries of the genre. It’s an admirable outlook to have in the oft-stuffy world of Nashville formalism, and it has led his band to multiplatinum success. But the group’s fourth studio full-length goes miles beyond even their most off-the-beaten-path excursions, and not always for the better...Though Brown’s vocals adjust to Jekyll + Hyde's multiple personalities, he can’t provide enough continuity to keep the album cohesive, and the borderline-goofy gambits are more distracting than interesting. The album certainly proves that ZBB have range. But at some point, experimentation swerves into self-indulgence, and Brown never gets around to solving Jekyll’s identity crisis." He thought that "Young and Wild" and "Heavy Is the Head" were the strongest tracks.[12] Jon Caramanica of The New York Times gave a mixed review, stating that the album "suggests a path forward. Rather than follow the hip-hop hybrids of the day, the album offers a huge amalgam of soft rock, country-rock, hard rock, heavyish metal, big band music, bluegrass and, yes, a touch of electronic music." Caramanica was also critical of Brown's singing, saying that his "unimaginative voice can gum up a song, as it does here on 'Dress Blues,' and he rarely moves past lyrical platitudes. When he evokes Kenny Rogers, as on 'One Day,' it’s effective, but more often it’s a liability." He also thought of the musical arrangements that "Even when Mr. Brown is taking it easy, though, the band is working hard, eager to show it’s trapped inside a flimsy box."[13]

Track listing

No. TitleWriter(s)Producer Length
1. "Beautiful Drug"  Zac Brown, Niko MoonIn the Arena Productions 3:11
2. "Loving You Easy"  Brown, Moon, Al AndersonIn the Arena Productions 2:35
3. "Remedy"  Brown, Moon, Wyatt Durrette, Keb' Mo'In the Arena Productions, Darrell Scott 3:51
4. "Homegrown"  Brown, Moon, DurretteZac Brown, Jay Joyce 3:25
5. "Mango Tree" (featuring Sara Bareilles)Brown, Moon, Anna HarwoodIn the Arena Productions, Scott, Jim Hoke 3:41
6. "Heavy Is the Head" (featuring Chris Cornell)Brown, Moon, Durrette, John Driskell Hopkins, Jimmy De Martini, Darrell ScottIn the Arena Productions, Scott 3:59
7. "Bittersweet"  Brown, Moon, DurretteBrown, Joyce 5:10
8. "Castaway"  Brown, Moon, Durrette, Coy Bowles, HopkinsIn the Arena Productions 3:08
9. "Tomorrow Never Comes"  Brown, Moon, DurretteIn the Arena Productions 3:58
10. "One Day"  Brown, Durrette, Rich Robinson, Sarah Dugas, Christian Dugas, Matt ManganoIn the Arena Productions, CeeLo Green 3:49
11. "Dress Blues"  Jason IsbellIn the Arena Productions 5:30
12. "Young and Wild"  Brown, Moon, Durrette, Amos Lee, BowlesIn the Arena Productions 3:14
13. "Junkyard" (contains elements of "Is There Anybody Out There?" by Pink Floyd)Brown, Roger WatersIn the Arena Productions 7:13
14. "I'll Be Your Man (Song for a Daughter)"  Brown, Moon, Durrette, Bowles, Scott, HopkinsIn the Arena Productions, Scott 5:48
15. "Wildfire"  Brown, Eric Church, Durrette, Liz Rose, Clay CookIn the Arena Productions 2:46
16. "Tomorrow Never Comes" (acoustic version)Brown, Moon, DurretteIn the Arena Productions 4:36
Total length:
 1:06:02

Personnel

Compiled from liner notes.[15]

Musicians

Zac Brown Band
Additional musicians

Choir on "Remedy" and "I'll Be Your Man": Darrell Scott, Maureen Murphy, Sarah Dugas, John Cowan, Odessa Settles, Rick Jones, Jason Eskridge

Technical

Charts

Album

Chart (2015) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[16] 6
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[17] 1
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[18] 66
US Billboard 200[19] 1
US Top Country Albums (Billboard)[20] 1

Certifications

Region Certification Sales/shipments
Canada (Music Canada)[21] Gold 40,000
United States (RIAA)[22] Gold 628,300[8]

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone
xunspecified figures based on certification alone

Singles

Year Single Peak chart positions
US Country US Country Airplay US Rock US Rock Airplay US Main. Rock US CAN Country CAN Rock CAN
2015 "Homegrown" 2 1 — — — 35 1 — 43
"Heavy Is the Head" — — 14 11 1 — — 1 —
"Loving You Easy" 4 1 — — — 40 2 — 55
"Junkyard" — — — — 32 — — 49 —
"Beautiful Drug" 5 1 — — — 52 2 — 68
2016 "Castaway"A 43 34 50
Preceded by
Love Somebody by Reba McEntire
Just as I Am by Brantley Gilbert
NOW That's What I Call Country Volume 8 by Various Artists		 Billboard Top Country Albums number-one album
May 16–30, 2015
June 13, 2015
July 4, 2015 		Succeeded by
Just as I Am by Brantley Gilbert
Django & Jimmie by Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard
Pageant Material by Kacey Musgraves

References

  1. ↑ https://www.countryaircheck.com/pdf_publication/Issue_463%20-%20August%2031,%202015.pdf
  2. 1 2 "News". Zac Brown Band. Retrieved 2015-04-24.
  3. ↑ Dunkerley, Beville (2015-01-12). "Zac Brown Band, 'Homegrown' Is First Single From New Label Partnership". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2015-04-24.
  4. ↑ "Zac Brown Band to Headline College Football Tailgate". Tasteofcountry.com. Retrieved 2015-04-24.
  5. ↑ Dunkerley, Beville (2015-03-05). "Zac Brown Band Announce New Album 'Jekyll + Hyde' and Tour Dates". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2015-04-24.
  6. ↑ Keith Claufield (May 6, 2015). "Zac Brown Band Earns Third No. 1 Album on Billboard 200 Chart". Billboard. (Prometheus Global Media). Retrieved May 8, 2015.
  7. ↑ "RIAA – Gold & Platinum: Zac Brown Band albums". RIAA.com. Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved September 19, 2015.
  8. 1 2 Bjorke, Matt (April 2, 2016). "Country Album Sales Chart: April 4, 2016". Roughstock.
  9. ↑ "Jekyll + Hyde Reviews". Metacritic.com. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
  10. 1 2 Jurek, Thom. "Jekyll + Hyde". Allmusic. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
  11. 1 2 Wilson, Carl (28 April 2015). "Album Review: Zac Brown Band Captures Its Onstage Madness With ‘Jekyll + Hyde’". Billboard. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
  12. 1 2 Anderson, Kyle (28 April 2015). "Jekyll + Hyde by Zac Brown Band: EW review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
  13. 1 2 Caramanica, Jon (28 April 2015). "Review: Zac Brown Band’s ‘Jekyll + Hyde’". The New York Times. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
  14. 1 2 Hermes, Will (28 April 2015). "Jekyll + Hyde review". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
  15. ↑ Jekyll + Hyde (CD booklet). Zac Brown Band. John Varvatos/BMLG/Southern Ground/Republic. 2015. B0022962-02.
  16. ↑ "Australiancharts.com – Zac Brown Band – Jekyll + Hyde". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 9, 2015.
  17. ↑ "Zac Brown Band – Chart history" Billboard Canadian Albums Chart for Zac Brown Band.
  18. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Zac Brown Band – Jekyll + Hyde". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 11, 2015.
  19. ↑ "Zac Brown Band – Chart history" Billboard 200 for Zac Brown Band.
  20. ↑ "Zac Brown Band – Chart history" Billboard Top Country Albums for Zac Brown Band.
  21. ↑ "Canadian album certifications – Zac Brown Band – Jekyll + Hyde". Music Canada.
  22. ↑ "American album certifications – Zac Brown Band – Jekyll + Hyde". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH
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