Critics Hail LONG TRIP ALONE Bentley’s Best Album to Date
Nashville, TN – Oct. 25, 2006 – The charts collided this week for country music star Dierks Bentley as his third studio album LONG TRIP ALONE topped Billboard’s country albums chart, and the lead track “Every Mile a Memory” landed in the number one spot on both the country singles charts (Mediabase and R&R) and CMT’s Top 20 Countdown.
“The goal was to make an album that is a snapshot of my life at this particular moment and combine that with a sound we’ve been developing in the studio over the last three albums. We tried to inject some energy from the live show in there as well,” explains Bentley. “But it is my friends at country radio and my fans who did the rest of the work to get us to number one.”
Music critics are praising LONG TRIP ALONE as powerful, confident and consistent. On the follow up to Bentley’s first two platinum-selling releases, the self-titled debut and MODERN DAY DRIFTER, each of the 11 tracks co-written by Bentley depict a singer/songwriter who has clearly hit his stride.
“’Long Trip Alone’ is an enormously likable and fat-free CD; listen to it once and you may find that all 11 songs are stuck in your head.” New York Times
“Altogether, Bentley continues to forge a fresh, cliche-free sound that marks him as one of country music’s most interesting new voices-and a worthy successor to the Nashville outlaws he considers his mentors.” Associated Press
“A consistently top-notch album that ensures his next trip will be to country’s elite ranks.”
USA TODAY
“The videogenic guitar slinger has turned out a solid if not extraordinary follow up to last year’s platinum Modern Day Drifter.” People
“On his third release, Bentley makes the transition from raw, unbridled talent to seasoned professional, abetted by relentless touring and the natural maturation process…Aided by expert musicianship and spot-on production, Bentley translates his on-stage charisma to the studio better than ever before.” Billboard
The CMA Male Vocalist of the Year nominee spent last week in New York promoting this latest release with a string of national television appearances including Today, Late Night with Conan O’Brien and IMUS in the morning, before taking his Bud Light sponsored “Locked & Loaded” tour to Manhattan’s Hammerstein Ballroom and through the Northeast for several sold out shows with Miranda Lambert and the Randy Rogers Band.
The New York Times’ music critic Kelefa Sanneh praised the live show saying, “Mr. Bentley put on a show that was both enjoyable and – literally – incredible.”
For upcoming appearances and tour dates, visit www.dierks.com
Contact:
Mary Hilliard Harrington
The Greenroom
(615) 242-7444
maryhilliard@thegreenroompr.com
Dixie Weathersby
Capitol Records Nashville
615-269-2000
Dixie.weathersby@emimusic.com