Get Off on the Pain
Encyclopedia
Upon its release, Get Off on the Pain received generally positive reviews from most music critics. At Metacritic
, which assigns a normalized
rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average
score of 84, based on 5 reviews, which indicates "universal acclaim".
Giving it four stars out of five, Country Weekly
reviewer Jessica Phillips said that the album "reveal[s] an even more authentic, intense layer" of Allan's personality. She wrote that the title track "sets the stage" for the rest of the album, but thought that "Kiss Me When I'm Down" had weak lyrics. Allmusic critic Todd Sterling also gave a four-star rating, saying that "Get Off on the Pain is a well-crafted, ten-song collection that, to steal a well-worn phrase, is all killer and no filler" and referred to it as his best album, saying it "will likely go down as one of the best albums of his career".
Matt Bjorke with Roughstock praised the production of the album, saying "The production of the record is killer and serves to enhance everything that makes Gary Allan one of country music’s true gems" and called it one of the years best country albums, saying "IF there’s an artist recording mainstream country records who is as real as Gary Allan, I have yet to see them and if you like authentic, yet modern, country music then Get Off On The Pain is just about as good an album as you’re likely to find this year or any year". Jon Caramanica with The New York Times
positively compared Allan to the late Johnny Cash
with the release, and called the years best country album, saying "[Get Off on the Pain] is the year’s best country album so far, almost as brilliantly anguished as Mr. Allan’s 2003 masterpiece, See If I Care
." Bill Friskics-Warren with The Washington Post
called the album "terrific" saying "Allan's by turns gruff and tender vocals nevertheless are undeniably country, as is the stolid resilience with which he confronts heartache".
Jim Malec with American Songwriter gave the album a 4 ½ rating, lauding the songwriting on the release, calling it "eternally substantive" saying "... he breathes a fresh layer of depth and realism into what might otherwise be well-worn stories". He also acclaimed the honesty of the album, saying "Get Off On the Pain may not be the world’s most uplifting listening experience, but what it lacks in cheer it makes up in truth. For fans who appreciate outstanding country music that deals with real issues, that fact may just make the album’s title a perfectly appropriate statement". Slant Magazine
critic Jonathan Keefe also praised Allan's vocal performance on the album, calling Allan "a singer of real grit and depth". He also remarked that the album is "the most consistent set of songs Allan has yet recorded", and rated the album with four stars out of five. Cody Miller with PopMatters
gave it an eight star rating saying it was "contender for year’s end best of list; insightful and rare look into a singer’s psyche, a collection of top-grade Country music or soulful purging. All of them apply, and then some".
Jon Caramanica with The New York Times
placed the album at number six on his "top 10 albums of 2010" saying "Six years after his wife’s death, Mr. Allan has made music to match the hurt. This country singer had a broken voice long before this album, and a sure way with an aching lyric, but here, optimism appears to have been filtered out, leaving only shadows, where Mr. Allan thrives.
Additional musicians
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
, which assigns a normalized
Standard score
In statistics, a standard score indicates how many standard deviations an observation or datum is above or below the mean. It is a dimensionless quantity derived by subtracting the population mean from an individual raw score and then dividing the difference by the population standard deviation...
rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average
Weighted mean
The weighted mean is similar to an arithmetic mean , where instead of each of the data points contributing equally to the final average, some data points contribute more than others...
score of 84, based on 5 reviews, which indicates "universal acclaim".
Giving it four stars out of five, Country Weekly
Country Weekly
Country Weekly is an American tabloid style weekly magazine established in 1994. The magazine focuses on country music stars and events, and regularly features exclusive interviews with recording artists and country music news...
reviewer Jessica Phillips said that the album "reveal[s] an even more authentic, intense layer" of Allan's personality. She wrote that the title track "sets the stage" for the rest of the album, but thought that "Kiss Me When I'm Down" had weak lyrics. Allmusic critic Todd Sterling also gave a four-star rating, saying that "Get Off on the Pain is a well-crafted, ten-song collection that, to steal a well-worn phrase, is all killer and no filler" and referred to it as his best album, saying it "will likely go down as one of the best albums of his career".
Matt Bjorke with Roughstock praised the production of the album, saying "The production of the record is killer and serves to enhance everything that makes Gary Allan one of country music’s true gems" and called it one of the years best country albums, saying "IF there’s an artist recording mainstream country records who is as real as Gary Allan, I have yet to see them and if you like authentic, yet modern, country music then Get Off On The Pain is just about as good an album as you’re likely to find this year or any year". Jon Caramanica with The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
positively compared Allan to the late Johnny Cash
Johnny Cash
John R. "Johnny" Cash was an American singer-songwriter, actor, and author, who has been called one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century...
with the release, and called the years best country album, saying "[Get Off on the Pain] is the year’s best country album so far, almost as brilliantly anguished as Mr. Allan’s 2003 masterpiece, See If I Care
See If I Care
-Album:-Singles:-Certifications:-Personnel:*Richard Bennett – electric guitar*Lisa Cochran – background vocals*Chad Cromwell – drums*Eric Darken – percussion*Dan Dugmore – steel guitar*Stuart Duncan – fiddle*Mike Henderson – electric guitar...
." Bill Friskics-Warren with The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
called the album "terrific" saying "Allan's by turns gruff and tender vocals nevertheless are undeniably country, as is the stolid resilience with which he confronts heartache".
Jim Malec with American Songwriter gave the album a 4 ½ rating, lauding the songwriting on the release, calling it "eternally substantive" saying "... he breathes a fresh layer of depth and realism into what might otherwise be well-worn stories". He also acclaimed the honesty of the album, saying "Get Off On the Pain may not be the world’s most uplifting listening experience, but what it lacks in cheer it makes up in truth. For fans who appreciate outstanding country music that deals with real issues, that fact may just make the album’s title a perfectly appropriate statement". Slant Magazine
Slant Magazine
Slant Magazine is an online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New York Film Festival.- History :...
critic Jonathan Keefe also praised Allan's vocal performance on the album, calling Allan "a singer of real grit and depth". He also remarked that the album is "the most consistent set of songs Allan has yet recorded", and rated the album with four stars out of five. Cody Miller with PopMatters
PopMatters
PopMatters is an international webzine of cultural criticism that covers many aspects of popular culture. PopMatters publishes reviews, interviews, and detailed essays on most cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, films, books, video games, comics, sports, theater,...
gave it an eight star rating saying it was "contender for year’s end best of list; insightful and rare look into a singer’s psyche, a collection of top-grade Country music or soulful purging. All of them apply, and then some".
Jon Caramanica with The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
placed the album at number six on his "top 10 albums of 2010" saying "Six years after his wife’s death, Mr. Allan has made music to match the hurt. This country singer had a broken voice long before this album, and a sure way with an aching lyric, but here, optimism appears to have been filtered out, leaving only shadows, where Mr. Allan thrives.
Track listing
- Live tracks were recorded at House of BluesHouse of BluesHouse of Blues is a chain of 13 live music concert halls and restaurants in major markets throughout the United States. House of Blues first location was in Cambridge's Harvard Square. It was opened in 1992 by Isaac Tigrett, co-founder of Hard Rock Cafe, and Dan Aykroyd, star of The Blues Brothers...
ChicagoChicagoChicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
in 2009.
Personnel
Technical- Gary AllanGary AllanGary Allan Herzberg is an American country music artist, known professionally as Gary Allan.Signed to Decca Records in 1996, Allan made his debut on the United States country music scene with the release of his single "Her Man", the lead-off to his gold-certified debut album Used Heart for Sale,...
- Producer - Cragi Allen - Art Direction, Design
- Zach Allen - Assistant
- Joseph Anthony Baker - Photography
- Rob Beckham - Booking
- Greg Droman - Engineer, Electric Guitar, Mixing, Producer
- Liza Goggins - Hair Stylist, Make-Up
- Carie Higdon - Project Coordinator
- Aaron Kasdorf - Assistant
- Daewoo Kim - Assistant
- Renee Layher - Wardrobe
- John Lytle - Management
- Leslie Richter - Assistant
- Rick Shipp - Booking
- Derek Silverman - Assistant
- Todd Tidwell - Assistant
- Kris Wilkinson - Arranger, Strings
- Hank Williams - Mastering
- Mark Wright - Producer
Additional musicians
- David Angell - Strings
- John Catchings - Strings
- Perry Coleman - Background Vocals
- Chad CromwellChad CromwellChad Cromwell is an American drummer, best known for his work with Neil Young and with Mark Knopfler.- Personal life :Cromwell was born in Paducah, Kentucky, and three years later moved with his family to Memphis, Tennessee...
- Drums - Eric Darken - Percussion, Vibraphone
- David Davidson - Strings
- Dan Dugmore - Acoustic Guitar, Steel Guitar
- Stuart DuncanStuart DuncanStuart Duncan is a bluegrass musician who plays the fiddle, mandolin, guitar and banjo. Born in Quantico, Virginia and raised in Santa Paula, California, where he played in the school band, he has been a member of the Nashville Bluegrass Band since 1985, and is a much-in-demand session musician...
- Fiddle - Kenny Greenberg - Electric Guitar
- Wes Hightower - Background Vocals
- Rami JaffeeRami JaffeeRami Jaffee, born March 11, 1969, in Los Angeles, is best known as the keyboardist of The Wallflowers and work for several bands and artists, including Foo Fighters, Pete Yorn, Soul Asylum, Pearl Jam, Stone Sour, Joseph Arthur and Coheed and Cambria....
- Hammond B3 - Charlie Judge - Strings
- Steve Nathan - Hammond B3, Keyboards, Piano, Wurlitzer
- Russ Pahl - Banjo
- Michael Rhodes - Bass
- Brent Rowan - Baritone Guitar, Electric Guitar
- Mary Kathryn Van Osdale - Strings
- John Willis - Acoustic Guitar
Album
| Chart (2010) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Top Country Albums | 2 |
| U.S. Billboard 200 Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
5 |
End of year charts
| Chart (2010) | Year-end 2010 |
|---|---|
| US Billboard 200 Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
167 |
| US Billboard Top Country Albums | 30 |
Singles
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| US Country Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales... |
US Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
||
| 2010 | "Today Today (Gary Allan song) "Today" is a song recorded by the country music artist Gary Allan. It is the lead-off single to an eighth studio album, Get Off on the Pain, released on March 9, 2010... " |
18 | 106 |
| "Get Off on the Pain Get Off on the Pain (song) "Get Off on the Pain" is the title of a song written by Brett James, Bill Luther and Justin Weaver, and recorded by American country music singer Gary Allan. It is the second single from his 2009 album of the same name... " |
18 | 101 | |
| "Kiss Me When I'm Down Kiss Me When I'm Down "Kiss Me When I'm Down" is a song written by Andrew Dorff, Josh Kear, and Chris Tompkins and recorded by American country music singer Gary Allan. It is the third single off his eighth studio album Get Off On The Pain.- Content :... " |
38 | — | |