Riser
Studio album by
Dierks Bentley
ReleasedFebruary 25, 2014 (2014-02-25)
GenreCountry
Length46:11
LabelCapitol Records Nashville
Producer
Dierks Bentley chronology
Home
(2012)		 Riser
(2014)		 Black
(2016)
Singles from Riser
  1. "Bourbon in Kentucky"
    Released: June 10, 2013
  2. "I Hold On"
    Released: August 26, 2013
  3. "Drunk on a Plane"
    Released: April 21, 2014
  4. "Say You Do"
    Released: October 6, 2014
  5. "Riser"
    Released: June 15, 2015

Riser (stylized as RISER) is the seventh studio album by American country music artist Dierks Bentley. It was released on February 25, 2014 by Capitol Records Nashville. It was debuted at number 6 on the Billboard 200, becoming his seventh top ten album.[2] The album was nominated for Best Country Album at the 57th Annual Grammy Awards.

Content

The album includes the singles "Bourbon in Kentucky", "I Hold On", "Drunk on a Plane", "Say You Do". and the title track Riser. The first single peaked at number 45 on the Country Airplay chart, becoming Bentley's lowest-charting single to date at the time. The album was originally scheduled to be released in late 2013. The label decided to postpone the album's release date, and quickly began promoting the album's second single "I Hold On", which reached number 1 on Country Airplay. "Drunk on a Plane", the album's third single, became one of the biggest hits of his career, peaking at number 27 on the Billboard Hot 100. "Say You Do" served as the album's fourth single. The fifth single, also the title track, was released to radio on June 15, 2015.

Bentley told Roughstock that “You have one ear monitor in, one ear out, and the crowd’s there and your voice feels really great. There’s a certain amount of gravel to it because you’re tired, but you’re all jacked up on whatever you're drinking and adrenaline, and the crowds and the fans are there and there’s this feeling, fists in the air—it’s that thing that’s hard to transfer into a studio environment. There’s a rawness.”[3]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic69/100[4]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[5]
Country WeeklyA[6]
Got Country Online[7]
Nashville Country Club[8]
Rolling Stone[9]
Roughstock[10]
USA Today[11]

Riser garnered positive reception from eight music critics ratings and reviews. At Metacritic, they assign a "weighted average" score to selected independent ratings and reviews, and based upon six reviews the album has a Metascore of 70, which means the album received "generally favorable" reviews.[4] Brian Mansfield of USA Today rated the album a perfect four stars, writing that "Grief over his dad's death infuses Riser so deeply that the emotions his loss triggered seep even into songs about girls", and observes this in how "Bentley bares his soul in meditations on love and loss, death and rebirth."[11] At AllMusic, Stephen Thomas Erlewine rated the album three-and-a-half stars out of five, saying that because of the big issues dealt with on the album "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."[5] Sarah Rodman of The Boston Globe gave a positive review, noting how Bentley has a career that he's built on the "bedrock concepts that feel more quaint all the time: musicianship, emotional integrity, and hard work", which just happens that "Those elements again make themselves known on his stirring seventh album".[12]

At Country Weekly, Jon Freeman graded the album an A, stating that the album is "leaps and bounds" from his first song and shows how Bentley grew as an artist "incrementally, in a way that feels effortless and natural."[6] Dan MacIntosh of Roughstock rated the album four-and-a-half stars out of five, noting how "The quality of his songs speak for themselves" on the album, which he declares Bentley has "never been better."[10] Yet, MacIntosh writes that "Riser may pass the emotional balancing test, but it’s nevertheless a few rungs short of content perfection."[10] At Got Country Online, Tara Toro rated the "ballad heavy" album four-and-a-half stars out of five, calling it "an unhurried record" that is "full of reflective, emotional and mature songs"; and "Throughout the record, one hears Dierks’s gravelly vocals, perhaps at the best they have been, pouring emotions into every song."[7] Nashville Country Club's Lisa Coleman rated the album four stars out of five, alluding to how the release "features an excellent track listing of songs of both intense and light hearted nature."[8]

However, Jon Caramanica of The New York Times gave a mixed review of the release, indicating this is a "hit-or-miss album."[13] At Rolling Stone, Andrew Dansby rated the album two-and-a-half stars out of five, noting that "Compared to what gets played on country radio, Dierks Bentley can almost sound like a traditionalist, with his hickory voice and songs about drinking"; however Bentley on Riser "devolves into a standard-issue world of bikinis and Bud Light."[9]

In 2017, Billboard contributor Chuck Dauphin placed three tracks from the album on his top 10 list of Bentley's best songs: "I Hold On" at number one, "Drunk on a Plane" at number seven and "Bourbon in Kentucky" at number ten.[14]

Commercial performance

Riser debuted at number 6 on the Billboard 200 selling 63,000 copies in its opening week, becoming his seventh top ten album.[2] It also debuted at No. 1 on Billboard's Top Country Albums chart, his fifth No. 1 on the chart. The album has sold 380,000 copies in the U.S. as of April 2016.[15]

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Bourbon in Kentucky"
3:45
2."Say You Do"
3:40
3."I Hold On"
4:40
4."Pretty Girls"
3:39
5."Here on Earth"
4:25
6."Drunk on a Plane"
4:14
7."Five"
  • Bentley
  • Tyndell
  • Copperman
4:45
8."Riser"
4:10
9."Sounds of Summer"
3:22
10."Damn These Dreams"
3:25
11."Back Porch"
3:12
12."Hurt Somebody"
2:54
Total length:46:11

Personnel

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (2014–15) Peak
position
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[16] 5
US Billboard 200[17] 6
US Top Country Albums (Billboard)[18] 1

Year-end charts

Chart (2014) Position
US Billboard 200[19] 65
US Top Country Albums (Billboard)[20] 12
Chart (2015) Position
US Billboard 200[21] 160
US Top Country Albums (Billboard)[22] 37

Singles

Year Single Peak chart positions Certifications
(sales threshold)
US Country
[23]		 US Country Airplay
[24]		 US
[25]		 CAN Country
[26]		 CAN
[27]
2013 "Bourbon in Kentucky" 40 45 — — —
"I Hold On" 3 1 40 2 44
2014 "Drunk on a Plane" 3 1 27 2 34
"Say You Do" 5 1 52 4 60 * US: Platinum[32]
2015 "Riser" 26 24 108 43 —
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

Certifications

Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[33] Platinum 1,000,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ↑ Shelburne, Craig (6 January 2014). "Dierks Bentley Schedules New Album for Feb. 25". Country Music Television. Retrieved 28 January 2014.
  2. 1 2 "Dierks Bentley, Brantley Gilbert Pop Corks On Country Charts". Billboard. 7 March 2014.
  3. ↑ Bjorke, Matt (27 January 2014). "Dierks Bentley "Riser" Tracklist and Cover Art". Roughstock. Archived from the original on 3 February 2014. Retrieved 28 January 2014.
  4. 1 2 Metacritic (February 25, 2014). "Critic Reviews for Riser". CBS Interactive. Retrieved February 26, 2014.
  5. 1 2 Erlewine, Stephen Thomas (February 24, 2014). "Riser - Dierks Bentley". AllMusic. Retrieved February 25, 2014.
  6. 1 2 Freeman, Jon (February 25, 2014). "Riser by Dierks Bentley". Country Weekly. Retrieved February 26, 2014.
  7. 1 2 Toro, Tara (February 24, 2014). "ALBUM REVIEW: Dierks Bentley "RISER"". Got Country Online. Archived from the original on March 2, 2014. Retrieved February 26, 2014.
  8. 1 2 Coleman, Lisa (February 25, 2014). "Dierks Bentley 'Riser' Album Review". Nashville Country Club. Retrieved February 26, 2014.
  9. 1 2 Dansby, Andrew (February 25, 2014). "Dierks Bentley, 'Riser' Review". Rolling Stone. Retrieved February 26, 2014.
  10. 1 2 3 MacIntosh, Dan (February 25, 2014). "Album Review: Dierks Bentley - RISER". Roughstock. Archived from the original on March 2, 2014. Retrieved February 26, 2014.
  11. 1 2 Mansfield, Brian (February 24, 2014). "Listen Up: Other notable releases". USA Today. Retrieved February 25, 2014.
  12. ↑ Rodman, Sarah (February 24, 2014). "Dierks Bentley,'Riser'". The Boston Globe. Retrieved February 24, 2014.
  13. ↑ Caramanica, Jon (February 24, 2014). "Sounds for the Start of the Day: Beck's New Album Is 'Morning Phase'". The New York Times. Retrieved February 26, 2014.
  14. ↑ Dauphin, Chuck (July 14, 2017). "Dierks Bentley's 10 Best Songs: Critic's Picks". Billboard. Retrieved May 18, 2020.
  15. ↑ "Upcoming Releases: Hits Daily Double". Hits Daily Double. Archived from the original on April 8, 2016.
  16. ↑ "Dierks Bentley Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard.
  17. ↑ "Dierks Bentley Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard.
  18. ↑ "Dierks Bentley Chart History (Top Country Albums)". Billboard.
  19. ↑ "Billboard 200 Albums: Year-End top-selling albums across all genres". Billboard.
  20. ↑ "Top Country Albums: 2014 Year-End Charts". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved January 16, 2015.
  21. ↑ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2015". Billboard. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
  22. ↑ "Top Country Albums – Year-End 2015". Billboard. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
  23. ↑ "Dierks Bentley Album & Song Chart History - Country Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved February 7, 2012.
  24. ↑ "Dierks Bentley Album & Song Chart History - Country Airplay". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved November 8, 2012.
  25. ↑ "Dierks Bentley Album & Song Chart History - Hot 100". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved February 7, 2012.
  26. ↑ "Dierks Bentley Album & Song Chart History - Canada Country". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved November 20, 2013.
  27. ↑ "Dierks Bentley Album & Song Chart History - Canadian Hot 100". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved February 7, 2012.
  28. ↑ "American single certifications – Dierks Bentley – I Hold On". Recording Industry Association of America.
  29. ↑ "Canadian single certifications – Dierks Bentley – I Hold On". Music Canada.
  30. ↑ "American single certifications – Dierks Bentley – Drunk on a Plane". Recording Industry Association of America.
  31. ↑ "Canadian single certifications – Dierks Bentley – Drunk on a Plane". Music Canada.
  32. ↑ "American single certifications – Dierks Bentley – Say You Do". Recording Industry Association of America.
  33. ↑ "American album certifications – Dierks Bentley – Riser". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved October 28, 2022.
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