For a decade, every single Dierks Bentley release placed at least in Billboard's Country Top 20, usually making it to the Top Ten.
That streak came to an end in 2013, when "Bourbon in Kentucky" -- the first single from his in-the-works seventh album, Riser, and a duet with 2013's hot star Kacey Musgraves to boot -- stiffed, going no further than 40 on the country charts.
Such a thing doesn't happen to a big country star, so action needed to be taken: Bentley revised Riser, adding some levity to an album that nevertheless remains highly contemplative.
As Bentley notes in his brief liner notes for the album, he made Riser during a period when his father died and his first son was born, so the fact so much of the album is reflective is little surprise, but Riser remains subdued even as Dierks loosens up: "Drunk on a Plane" isn't raucous; it's a diligent march that suits its tale of post-breakup revelry.
Apart from "Sounds of Summer" and "Back Porch," two not-bad attempts to reckon with bro-country, this is all mature and measured stadium-sized modern country, with the guitars not twanging but echoing like the Edge.
Riser isn't an outsider's manifesto, it's the work of a guy taking stock as he's facing middle age, reconciling his dreams with his reality, finding strength in his family and the music he loves.
With all these big issues, it's no wonder that Riser doesn't quite feel brimming with lighthearted singles, but it's a sturdy, often absorbing record from a singer who is determined to be in it for the long haul.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bourbon in KentuckyHillary Lindsey, Gordie Sampson, Ryan Tyndell | Dierks Bentley | Play | 03:45 | 8 MB | 23 MB |
| 2 | Say You DoShane McAnally, Trevor Rosen, olha | Dierks Bentley | Play | 03:40 | 8 MB | 24 MB |
| 3 | I Hold OnDierks Bentley, Brett James | Dierks Bentley | Play | 04:40 | 10 MB | 30 MB |
| 4 | Pretty GirlsJessi Alexander, Dierks Bentley, Jon Randall | Dierks Bentley | Play | 03:39 | 8 MB | 25 MB |
| 5 | Here on EarthDierks Bentley, Ross Copperman, Ryan Tyndell | Dierks Bentley | Play | 04:25 | 10 MB | 27 MB |
| 6 | Drunk on a PlaneDierks Bentley, Josh Kear, Chris Tompkins | Dierks Bentley | Play | 04:14 | 9 MB | 28 MB |
| 7 | FiveDierks Bentley, Ross Copperman, Ryan Tyndell | Dierks Bentley | Play | 04:45 | 10 MB | 32 MB |
| 8 | RiserTravis Meadows, Steve Moakler | Dierks Bentley | Play | 04:11 | 9 MB | 26 MB |
| 9 | Sounds of SummerZach Crowell, Matt Jenkins, Adam Sanders | Dierks Bentley | Play | 03:23 | 7 MB | 23 MB |
| 10 | Damn These DreamsDierks Bentley, Ross Copperman, Jaren Johnston | Dierks Bentley | Play | 03:25 | 7 MB | 17 MB |
| 11 | Back PorchCary Barlowe, Jaren Johnston, Hillary Lindsey | Dierks Bentley | Play | 03:12 | 7 MB | 21 MB |
| 12 | Hurt SomebodyMatt Fleener, Shane McAnally, Mark Nesler | Dierks Bentley | Play | 02:57 | 6 MB | 16 MB |
| 46 mins | 106 MB | |||||
| 46 mins | 300 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jessi Alexander | Composer, Vocals (Background) |
| 2 | Sam Ashworth | Vocals (Background) |
| 3 | Cary Barlowe | Composer |
| 4 | Dierks Bentley | Composer, Primary Artist |
| 5 | Arturo Buenahora, Jr. | Executive Producer |
| 6 | Ross Copperman | Composer, Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric), Keyboards, Mandolin, Mixing, Overdub Engineer, Producer, Programming, Vocal Engineer, Vocals (Background) |
| 7 | Paul Cossette | Assistant |
| 8 | Zach Crowell | Composer |
| 9 | Dan Dugmore | Dobro, Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric), Pedal Steel |
| 10 | Fred Eltringham | Drums, Percussion |
| 11 | Matt Fleener | Composer |
| 12 | Kenny Greenberg | Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric) |
| 13 | Rob Hajacos | Fiddle |
| 14 | Lee Hendricks | Bass |
| 15 | Mark Hill | Bass |
| 16 | Dan Hochhalter | Banjo, Fiddle |
| 17 | Jedd Hughes | Guitar (Electric) |
| 18 | Brett James | Composer |
| 19 | Matt Jenkins | Composer |
| 20 | Scott Johnson | Production Assistant |
| 21 | Jaren Johnston | Banjo, Composer, Guitar (Acoustic), Producer, Vocals (Background) |
| 22 | Josh Kear | Composer |
| 23 | Brian Layson | Banjo, Guitar (Electric), Mandolin |
| 24 | Jason Lehning | Hammond B3, Keyboards, Synthesizer |
| 25 | Hillary Lindsey | Composer, Vocals (Background) |
| 26 | Tony Lucido | Bass |
| 27 | Shane McAnally | Composer |
| 28 | Travis Meadows | Composer |
| 29 | Andrew Mendelson | Mastering |
| 30 | Steve Moakler | Composer |
| 31 | Nino Muñoz | Photography |
| 32 | Kacey Musgraves | Vocals (Background) |
| 33 | Karen Naff | Art Direction |
| 34 | Mark Nesler | Composer |
| 35 | olha | Composer |
| 36 | Jon Randall | Composer, Vocals (Background) |
| 37 | Mickey Raphael | Harmonica |
| 38 | Matt Rausch | Digital Editing |
| 39 | Trevor Rosen | Composer |
| 40 | Gordie Sampson | Composer |
| 41 | Adam Sanders | Composer |
| 42 | F. Reid Shippen | Engineer, Mixing, Percussion |
| 43 | Nick Spezia | Assistant |
| 44 | Chris Stapleton | Vocals (Background) |
| 45 | Bryan Sutton | Guitar (Acoustic), Mandolin |
| 46 | Chris Tompkins | Composer |
| 47 | Ilya Toshinskiy | Banjo, Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric), Mandolin |
| 48 | Ryan Tyndell | Composer, Guitar (Electric), Keyboards, Mandolin, Percussion, Vocals (Background) |
| 49 | Brian David Willis | Digital Editing |
| 50 | Charlie Worsham | Banjo, Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric), Mandolin, Ukulele |
| 51 | Craig Wright | Drums, Percussion |
| 52 | Jonathan Yudkin | String Arrangements, String Engineer, Strings, String Writing |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |