By the Way, I Forgive You
Studio album by
Brandi Carlile
ReleasedFebruary 16, 2018
StudioRCA Studio A in Nashville
Genre
Length43:25
Label
Producer
Brandi Carlile chronology
The Firewatcher's Daughter
(2015) 		By the Way, I Forgive You
(2018) 		In These Silent Days
(2021)
Singles from By the Way, I Forgive You
  1. "The Joke"
    Released: November 13, 2017
  2. "Party of One"
    Released: October 17, 2018

By the Way, I Forgive You is the sixth studio album by Brandi Carlile, released on February 16, 2018. "The Joke" was released as the album's lead single. The album was co-produced by Dave Cobb and Shooter Jennings.[3][4] The album art is an original painting by Scott Avett.[5] The album won a Grammy Award for Best Americana Album in 2019, as well being nominated for Album of the Year.

Promotion

Singles

The album's lead single, "The Joke", was released on November 13, 2017.[6] Of the track, Carlile said, "There are so many people feeling misrepresented [today]...so many people feeling unloved. Boys feeling marginalized and forced into these kind of awkward shapes of masculinity that they do or don't belong in... so many men and boys are trans or disabled or shy. Little girls who got so excited for the last election, and are dealing with the fallout. The song is just for people that feel under-represented, unloved or illegal."[6] The official music video for the track was released on February 16, 2018, the same day By the Way, I Forgive You dropped.[7] Former U.S. President Barack Obama named the track as one of his favorites of 2017.[8] "The Joke" later reached number 4 on the Adult Alternative Songs chart [9] and 43 on the Hot Rock Songs chart.[10]

A remix of "Party of One" featuring English singer-songwriter Sam Smith was released as the second single on October 17, 2018.[11] Upon release, it was announced that a portion of the profits from the song would benefit Children In Conflict, a non-profit that aids children affected by war.[12] The song reached number 29 on the Adult Contemporary radio chart.[13] A music video of the album version starring Elisabeth Moss was released in December 2018.[14]

Television and radio performances

Carlile appeared on television multiple times to promote the album and its singles. In January 2018, Carlile performed "The Joke" on Jimmy Kimmel Live!.[15] In April, she performed "The Joke" and "Whatever You Do" on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert[16][17] and "The Joke" on The Howard Stern Show.[18] In August, she performed "Hold Out Your Hand" on Full Frontal with Samantha Bee.[19]

Composition

"The Mother" commemorates Carlile's daughter.[20]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.5/10[21]
Metacritic81/100[22]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[23]
The Austin Chronicle[24]
The A.V. ClubA−[25]
Financial Times[26]
Paste8.9/10[27]
Pitchfork6.9/10[28]
Rolling Stone[1]
Slant Magazine[29]
Uncut6/10[30]
Vice (Expert Witness)(2-star Honorable Mention)(2-star Honorable Mention)[31]

By the Way, I Forgive You received positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has an average score of 81 out of 100, which indicates "Universal acclaim" based on ten reviews.[22]

Rolling Stone referred to "Party of One" as a "delicate masterpiece".[1] Rolling Stone also rated the entire album as the 12th best of 2018 on its list of the 50 best albums of 2018.[32]

NPR rated the album as the 19th best of 2018.[33] Thrillist rated the album as the 36th best of 2018.[34] Vice rated it as the 22nd best album of 2018.[35] PopMatters rated it as the 63rd best album of the year.[36] Refinery29 rated it as the 9th best album.[37] Entertainment Weekly rated By the Way, I Forgive You as the 11th best album of 2018.[38] Chris Willman of Variety rated the album as the 2nd best of 2018.[39] Kevin Coffey of the Omaha World-Herald also rated it as the 2nd best of the year.[40]

Accolades

Year Association Category Nominated Work Result
2018 Americana Music Honors & Awards Artist of the Year Brandi Carlile Nominated
Song of the Year "The Joke" Nominated
Album of the Year By the Way, I Forgive You Nominated
UK Americana Awards[41] International Album of the Year Nominated
International Song of the Year "The Joke" Won
2019 Grammy Awards[42] Album of the Year By the Way, I Forgive You Nominated
Best Americana Album Won
Record of the Year "The Joke" Nominated
Song of the Year Nominated
Best American Roots Song Won
Best American Roots Performance Won

Track listing

All tracks are written by Brandi Carlile, Phil Hanseroth and Tim Hanseroth except "The Joke", written by Carlile, Dave Cobb, Phil Hanseroth and Tim Hanseroth

No.TitleLength
1."Every Time I Hear That Song"4:01
2."The Joke"4:39
3."Hold Out Your Hand"4:22
4."The Mother"3:17
5."Whatever You Do"4:07
6."Fulton County Jane Doe"4:43
7."Sugartooth"4:28
8."Most of All"3:51
9."Harder to Forgive"4:06
10."Party of One"5:47
Total length:43:25

Personnel

Strings arranged by Paul Buckmaster (tracks 5, 10)

Charts

References

  1. ^ a b c Spanos, Brittany (February 16, 2018). "Review: Brandi Carlile's 'By the Way, I Forgive You' Is Righteous Americana". Rolling Stone. Wenner Media LLC. Retrieved February 18, 2018.
  2. ^ a b Salmon, Ben (October 1, 2021). "Brandi Carlile Stares Down Stardom on In These Silent Days". Paste. Retrieved January 8, 2022.
  3. ^ Bernstein, Jonathan (February 15, 2018). "Brandi Carlile: New Album Is About Life 'Being F--king Hard'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved February 16, 2018.
  4. ^ Betts, Stephen L (January 4, 2018). "Watch Brandi Carlile's Cathartic 'The Joke' on 'Kimmel'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved February 16, 2018.
  5. ^ Tingle, Lauren (November 14, 2017). "Brandi Carlile Details New Album". CMT. Retrieved February 17, 2018.
  6. ^ a b Powers, Ann (November 13, 2017). "Songs We Love: Brandi Carlile, 'The Joke'". Retrieved December 19, 2018.
  7. ^ Brandi Carlile, Brandi Carlile - The Joke (Official Video), retrieved 2018-12-20
  8. ^ Mejia, Zameena (January 2, 2018). "Barack Obama just revealed the books and music he enjoyed most in 2017". Retrieved December 19, 2018.
  9. ^ "Brandi Carlile Chart History". March 24, 2018. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
  10. ^ "Brandi Carlile Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved 2018-12-20.
  11. ^ Party Of One (feat. Sam Smith) - Single by Brandi Carlile, retrieved 2018-12-20
  12. ^ "Party of One". Looking Out Foundation. Retrieved 2018-12-20.
  13. ^ "Brandi Carlile Party Of One Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved 2018-12-20.
  14. ^ Brandi Carlile, Brandi Carlile - Party Of One (Official Video), retrieved 2018-12-20
  15. ^ Jimmy Kimmel Live, Brandi Carlile - The Joke, retrieved 2018-12-20
  16. ^ The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Brandi Carlile Performs 'The Joke', retrieved 2018-12-20
  17. ^ The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Brandi Carlile Performs 'Whatever You Do', retrieved 2018-12-20
  18. ^ The Howard Stern Show, Brandi Carlile Performs Her Song "The Joke" Live After Taking a Shot of Jameson, retrieved 2018-12-20
  19. ^ Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, Brandi Carlile Performs Hold Out Your Hand | August 15, 2018 Act 3 | Full Frontal on TBS, retrieved 2018-12-20
  20. ^ O'Rear, Caine (December 8, 2017). "Brandi Carlile's New Single "The Mother" Is A Tribute To Her Daughter « American Songwriter". American Songwriter. Archived from the original on April 2, 2019. Retrieved February 16, 2018.
  21. ^ "By the Way, I Forgive You by Brandi Carlile reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved September 8, 2019.
  22. ^ a b "By the Way, I Forgive You by Brandi Carlile Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved December 9, 2018.
  23. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "By the Way, I Forgive You – Brandi Carlile". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved February 18, 2018.
  24. ^ Freeman, Doug (October 5, 2018). "Brandi Carlile: By the Way, I Forgive You (Low Country Sound / Elektra)". The Austin Chronicle. Retrieved February 9, 2019.
  25. ^ Zaleski, Annie (February 16, 2018). "Brandi Carlile, By The Way, I Forgive You". The A.V. Club. Retrieved February 18, 2018.
  26. ^ Hunter-Tilney, Ludovic (February 17, 2018). "Brandi Carlile: By the Way, I Forgive You — hard-hitting". Financial Times. Retrieved February 9, 2019.
  27. ^ Salmon, Ben (March 6, 2018). "Brandi Carlile: By The Way, I Forgive You Review". Paste. Archived from the original on June 2, 2019. Retrieved June 2, 2019.
  28. ^ Soto, Alfred (February 17, 2018). "Brandi Carlile: By the Way, I Forgive You". Pitchfork. Retrieved December 20, 2018.
  29. ^ Hurst, Josh (February 9, 2018). "Brandi Carlile: By the Way, I Forgive You". Slant Magazine. Retrieved February 16, 2018.
  30. ^ Mueller, Andrew (April 2018). "Brandi Carlile: By the Way, I Forgive You". Uncut (251): 24.
  31. ^ Christgau, Robert (January 11, 2019). "Robert Christgau on The Delines' Depth and Kacey Musgraves's Quiet Sell". Vice. Retrieved April 23, 2019.
  32. ^ Dolan, Josh; Klinkenberg, Brendan; Johnston, Maura. "50 Best Albums of 2018". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 6 August 2019.
  33. ^ Thompson, Stephen; Katzif, Mike; Madden, Sidney. "The 50 Best Albums of 2018". Retrieved 6 August 2019.
  34. ^ Jackson, Dan. "The Best Albums of 2018". Retrieved 6 August 2019.
  35. ^ Domanick, Andrea; Friedlander, Emilie. "The 100 Best Albums of 2018". Retrieved 6 August 2019.
  36. ^ Frahm, Jonathan; Woronzoff, Elizabeth. "The 70 Best Albums of 2018". Retrieved 6 August 2019.
  37. ^ Smith, Courtney. "The 10 Best Albums of 2018 All Have One Thing In Common: They're Made By Women". Retrieved 11 August 2019.
  38. ^ "The 20 Best Albums of 2018". Retrieved 11 August 2019.
  39. ^ Willman, Chris. "Chris Willman's 20 Best Albums of 2018". Retrieved 12 August 2019.
  40. ^ Coffey, Kevin (December 29, 2018). "The 30 best albums of 2018". Omaha World-Herald. Retrieved December 7, 2020.
  41. ^ "Americana Music Association UK - 2019 UK Americana Awards WINNERS". theamauk.org.
  42. ^ "61st GRAMMY Awards: Full Nominees & Winners List". GRAMMY.com. 7 December 2018.
  43. ^ "Brandi Carlile Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved February 27, 2018.
  44. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Brandi Carlile – By the Way, I Forgive You". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 28, 2018.
  45. ^ "Brandi Carlile Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved June 30, 2022.
  46. ^ "Brandi Carlile Chart History (Top Americana/Folk Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved February 27, 2018.
  47. ^ "Brandi Carlile Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved February 27, 2018.
  48. ^ "Top Current Albums – Year-End 2018". Billboard. Retrieved April 24, 2021.[permanent dead link]
  49. ^ "Top Rock Albums – Year-End 2018". Billboard. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
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