This Land (Gary Clark Jr. album)
{{Short description|2019 album by Gary Clark Jr.}}
{{Infobox album
| name = This Land
| type = studio
| artist = Gary Clark Jr.
| cover = Gary Clark Jr. - This Land.png
| border = yes
| alt =
| released = {{Start date|2019|02|22}}
| recorded =
| genre = Blues, rock, R&B, hard rock
| length = 62:15
| label = Warner Bros.
| producer =
| prev_title = The Story of Sonny Boy Slim
| prev_year = 2015
| next_title = JPEG Raw
| next_year = 2024
| misc = {{Singles
| name = This Land
| type = studio
| single1 = This Land
| single1date = January 10, 2019
}}
}}
{{album ratings
|MC=81/100{{cite web|url=https://www.metacritic.com/music/this-land/gary-clark-jr|title=Metacritic Review|publisher=Metacritic|access-date=June 8, 2019}}
|rev1=Allmusic
|rev1score={{rating|4|5}}{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/this-land-mw0003243644|title=This Land - Gary Clark, Jr.|publisher=AllMusic|last=Deming|first=Mark|access-date=June 8, 2019}}
|rev2=Austin Chronicle
|rev2Score={{Rating|3.5|5}}{{cite web|url=https://www.austinchronicle.com/music/2019-03-22/gary-clark-jr-this-land/|title=Austin Chronicle Review|work=Austin Chronicle|last=Spearman|first=Kahron|date=March 22, 2019|access-date=June 8, 2019}}
|rev3=Exclaim!
|rev3Score=9/10{{cite web|url=https://exclaim.ca/music/article/gary_clark_jr_-this_land|title=Exclaim! Review|work=Exclaim!|last=Choghri|first=Brandon|date=February 27, 2019|access-date=June 8, 2019}}
|rev4=Paste
|rev4Score=7.5/10{{cite web|url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2019/03/gary-clark-jr-this-land-review.html|title=Paste Magazine Review|work=Paste|last=Johnson|first=Ellen|date=March 14, 2019|access-date=June 8, 2019}}
|rev5=Pitchfork
|rev5Score=7.9/10{{cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/gary-clark-jr-this-land/|title=Pitchfork Review|website=Pitchfork|last=Thomas Erlewine|first=Stephen|date=March 2, 2019|access-date=June 8, 2019}}
|rev6=Rolling Stone
|rev6Score={{Rating|3.5|5}}{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-album-reviews/gary-clark-jr-this-land-review-799001/|title=Rolling Stone Review|magazine=Rolling Stone|last=Bernstein|first=Jonathan|date=February 22, 2019|access-date=June 8, 2019}}
|noprose=yes
}}
This Land is the third studio album by American blues rock musician Gary Clark Jr., and was released on February 22, 2019, by Warner Bros. Records.{{cite web|title=Gary Clark Jr. Fires Salvo At Trump-Era Racism with "This Land" Video|author=Caine O'Rear|work=American Songwriter|date=January 10, 2019|access-date=January 11, 2019|url=https://americansongwriter.com/2019/01/gary-clark-jr-fires-salvo-at-trump-era-racism-with-this-land-video/}}{{cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/news/gary-clark-jr-announces-new-album-this-land-shares-political-video-watch/|author=Trey Alston|date=January 10, 2019|access-date=January 11, 2019|website=Pitchfork|title=Gary Clark Jr. Announces New Album THIS LAND, Shares Political Video: Watch}} It won the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Blues Album in 2020, while the title track won Best Rock Song and Best Rock Performance.{{Cite web|url=https://www.grammy.com/grammys/news/2020-grammy-awards-complete-winners-list|title=2020 GRAMMY Awards: Complete Winners List|date=November 20, 2019|website=Grammy.com|access-date=February 11, 2020}}
Background and production
Apart from "When I'm Gone," which was recorded on a Fender Stratocaster, Clark Jr. used a Gibson SG electric guitar to record This Land.{{cite news |last1=Bosso |first1=Joe |title=Gary Clark Jr. Gets Real: The Powerful Story Behind His New Album, 'This Land' |url=https://www.guitarworld.com/artists/gary-clark-jr-gets-real-the-powerful-story-behind-his-new-album-this-land |access-date=February 26, 2021 |work=Guitar World |date=May 22, 2019}}
Promotion
The album was announced with a video for the lead single "This Land" directed by Austin, Texas-based filmmaker Savanah Leaf.{{cite magazine|title=Gary Clark Jr.'s New Song Is a Scathing Account of Trump-Era Racism|author=Patrick Doyle|magazine=Rolling Stone|date=January 10, 2019|access-date=January 11, 2019|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/gary-clark-jr-this-land-racism-america-trump-777000/}} The song and video highlight racism in American society, with Leaf recreating aspects of Clark's childhood as described by the musician to the director, and Clark's response to the policies of President Donald Trump since he was elected in 2016. The track was inspired by "This Land Is Your Land" by Woody Guthrie, with Clark commenting in an interview with American Songwriter: "It’s one of the first songs we learn, and we sing it together ... It's like the Pledge of Allegiance ... And when you're kids, everybody's together. You don't see differences until you get older, and older people influence you to think about other people a certain way. I just want to get back to singing that song like we were kids again, you know?" Writer Dan Solomon, in Texas Monthly, described "This Land" as "perhaps the first truly great song of Clark's career, a defiant, statement-piece anthem that fits alongside pieces like Childish Gambino's "This is America" and Beyoncé's "Formation" in its vocal addressing of racism in America."{{cite web|title=Gary Clark Jr.'s New Music Video, "This Land," Is a Furious, Beautiful Statement|author=Dan Solomon|work=Texas Monthly|date=January 10, 2019|access-date=January 11, 2019|url=https://www.texasmonthly.com/the-culture/gary-clark-jr-this-land-music-video/}}
Commercial performance
This Land debuted at number six on the US Billboard 200 with 54,000 album-equivalent units, of which 51,000 were pure album sales. It is his third US top 10 album.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/chart-beat/8500768/a-star-is-born-soundtrack-back-at-no-1-billboard-200-chart|title=Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper's 'A Star Is Born' Soundtrack Back at No. 1 on Billboard 200 Post-Oscars|magazine=Billboard|last=Caulfield|first=Keith|date=March 3, 2019|access-date=March 4, 2019}}
Track listing
All tracks written by Gary Clark Jr.; track 1 co-written by Woody Guthrie.
{{Track listing
| total_length = 1:02:15
| title1 = This Land
| length1 = 5:42
| title2 = What About Us
| length2 = 4:30
| title3 = I Got My Eyes on You (Locked & Loaded)
| length3 = 5:11
| title4 = I Walk Alone
| length4 = 3:44
| title5 = Feelin’ Like a Million
| length5 = 3:34
| title6 = Gotta Get Into Something
| length6 = 3:04
| title7 = Got to Get Up
| length7 = 2:37
| title8 = Feed the Babies
| length8 = 4:46
| title9 = Pearl Cadillac
| length9 = 5:05
| title10 = When I'm Gone
| length10 = 3:48
| title11 = The Guitar Man
| length11 = 4:27
| title12 = Low Down Rolling Stone
| length12 = 4:18
| title13 = The Governor
| length13 = 2:21
| title14 = Don't Wait 'til Tomorrow
| length14 = 4:05
| title15 = Dirty Dishes Blues
| length15 = 5:03
}}
{{Track listing
| total_length = 1:12:28
| title16 = Highway 71
| length16 = 3:31
| title17 = Did Dat
| length17 = 6:42
}}
Personnel
- Gary Clark Jr. – vocals {{small|(all tracks)}}, guitar {{small|(all tracks)}}, bass {{small|(4–7, 16)}}, keyboards {{small|(1–11, 16–17)}}, percussion {{small|(5–6)}}
Additional musicians
- Doyle Bramhall II – lute {{small|(17)}}
- Mike Elizondo – bass {{small|(2, 8–12, 14)}}, synth bass {{small|(1–3, 11)}}
- Alex Peterson – bass {{small|(17)}}
- Brannen Temple – drums {{small|(1–3, 5, 7–8, 10–11, 13–14, 17)}}
- J.J. Johnson – drums {{small|(4, 6, 9, 12, 15–16)}}
- Jon Deas – keyboards {{small|(4, 11, 14, 17)}}, Hammond organ {{small|(12)}}
- Sheila E. – percussion {{small|(4, 8, 10–11, 14, 17)}}
- Keyon Harrold – horn {{small|(7–8)}}
- Gabe Burch – backing vocals {{small|(6–7)}}
- Scooter Weinbtraub – backing vocals {{small|(6)}}
- Jacob Sciba – backing vocals {{small|(2, 7, 12)}}
- Gaston Jouany – backing vocals {{small|(2, 6–7)}}
- Joseph Holguin – backing vocals {{small|(2, 6–7)}}
- Branko Presley – backing vocals {{small|(6)}}
- Katelyn O'Neal – backing vocals {{small|(6)}}
- Lazaro Zarate – backing vocals {{small|(6)}}
- Mikayla Mundy – backing vocals {{small|(6)}}
- Pam Adams – backing vocals {{small|(6)}}
Technical
- Gabe Burch – engineering
- Gary Clark Jr. – engineering, production, programming
- Jacob Sciba – production, mixing, engineering
- Joseph Angel – production
- Lab Ox – production
- Scooter Weintraub – production
- Mike Elizondo – production
- Howie Weinberg – mastering
- Joseph Holguin – engineering
- Adam Hawkins – engineering
Charts
{{col-start}}
{{col-2}}
=Weekly charts=
class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;" |
scope="col"| Chart (2019)
! scope="col"| Peak |
---|
{{album chart|Australia|23|artist=Gary Clark Jr.|album=This Land|rowheader=true|accessdate=March 2, 2019}} |
{{album chart|Austria|29|artist=Gary Clark Jr.|album=This Land|rowheader=true|accessdate=March 8, 2019}} |
{{album chart|Flanders|34|artist=Gary Clark Jr.|album=This Land|rowheader=true|accessdate=March 2, 2019}} |
{{album chart|Wallonia|116|artist=Gary Clark Jr.|album=This Land|rowheader=true|accessdate=March 2, 2019}} |
{{album chart|BillboardCanada|48|artist=Gary Clark Jr|rowheader=true|accessdate=March 5, 2019}} |
{{album chart|Czech|87|date=201909|rowheader=true|accessdate=March 5, 2019}} |
{{album chart|Netherlands|50|artist=Gary Clark Jr.|album=This Land|rowheader=true|accessdate=March 2, 2019}} |
scope="row"| French Albums (SNEP){{cite web|url=http://www.snepmusique.com/tops-semaine/top-album-megafusion/?ye=2019&we=9|title=Le Top de la semaine : Top Albums Fusionnes – SNEP (Week 9, 2019)|publisher=Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique|language=French|access-date=March 4, 2019}}
| 139 |
{{album chart|Germany4|36|id=376493|artist=Gary Clark Jr.|album=This Land|rowheader=true|accessdate=March 1, 2019}} |
{{album chart|Hungary|26|year=2019|week=13|artist=Gary Clark Jr.|album=This Land|rowheader=true|accessdate=April 5, 2019}} |
{{album chart|Scotland|28|date=20190301|rowheader=true|accessdate=March 2, 2019}} |
scope="row"| Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE){{cite web|url=http://www.promusicae.es/listas/semana/3995-%C3%81lbumes-semana-10-2019|title=Top 100 Albumes – Semana 10: del 1.3.2019 al 7.3.2019|publisher=Productores de Música de España|language=Spanish|access-date=March 13, 2019}}
| 94 |
{{album chart|Switzerland|15|artist=Gary Clark Jr.|album=This Land|rowheader=true|accessdate=March 6, 2019}} |
{{album chart|UK2|97|date=20190301|rowheader=true|accessdate=March 2, 2019}} |
scope="row"| US Billboard 200
| 6 |
{{album chart|BillboardRock|2|artist=Gary Clark Jr.|rowheader=true|accessdate=July 29, 2020}} |
{{col-2}}
=Year-end charts=
class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;" |
scope="col"| Chart (2019)
! scope="col"| Position |
---|
scope="row"| US Top Rock Albums (Billboard){{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/charts/year-end/2019/top-rock-albums|title=Top Rock Albums – Year-End 2019|magazine=Billboard|access-date=July 29, 2020}}
| 69 |
{{col-end}}