The Bus Songs
Official album artwork, contains a drawing of a multi-coloured semi-psychedelic tour bus.
Compilation album by
Toby Keith
ReleasedSeptember 8, 2017 (2017-09-08)
StudioSound Emporium, QUAD/Sienna Studios, Blackbird, Ocean Way, Riverbend Music Center
GenreCountry
Length42:02
LabelShow Dog Nashville
ProducerToby Keith
Toby Keith chronology
35 MPH Town
(2015) 		The Bus Songs
(2017) 		Greatest Hits: The Show Dog Years
(2019)
Singles from The Bus Songs
  1. "Wacky Tobaccy"
    Released: June 23, 2017

The Bus Songs is a compilation album from American country music artist Toby Keith. The album was announced July 14, 2017, and was released September 8, 2017.[1][2] It is a combination of new and older songs written by Keith.[1] The album contains twelve songs: two new, five re-recorded, and five previously released songs. The new songs on the album are "Shitty Golfer" and "Wacky Tobaccy". The songs "Runnin' Block", "Hell No", "The Critic", "Ballad of Balad", and "Weed With Willie" have been re-recorded and are referred to as "fresh takes on old favorites" by Rolling Stone magazine.[1]

Background

According to CMT News, the album gets its title from the late night recording sessions Keith has had on his tour bus.[3] The album has been said to be focused more towards the adult fans of Keith[2] and not likely to be broadcast on mainstream radio[4] due to the "adult humor, drinking and self-deprecation" present within the songs included in the album.[5][6]

The album was announced on July 14, 2017.[1] Prior to the announcement of the album, on June 23, 2017, Toby released the music video of the track "Wacky Tobaccy" – a song about cannabis – on his YouTube channel.[1][7] The music video for "Wacky Tobaccy" was filmed on Keith's tour bus and contained a cameo appearance of Willie Nelson smoking cannabis.[7] Rolling Stone called the music video "suitably silly," containing video of a jam session in Toby's tour bus "surrounded by posters of Jamaica and smoky looking graphics."[7] On October 19, 2017 a promotional video for "Shitty Golfer" was added to Keith's official Vevo account.[8]

Commercial performance

The album debuted at No. 6 on Top Country Albums, which is Keith's 23rd Top 10 album on the chart, with 12,000 copies sold.[9] It sold a further 3,600 copies the following week.[10] It has sold 29,700 copies in the United States as of January 2018.[11]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Toby Keith, with additional co-writers as noted

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Shitty Golfer" 2:16
2."Wacky Tobaccy"
3:03
3."Runnin' Block"
  • Emerick
3:59
4."Brand New Bow" 3:10
5."Call a Marine"
3:17
6."Hell No"
  • Emerick
3:18
7."The Critic" 3:37
8."The Size I Wear"
3:01
9."Ballad of Balad" 3:50
10."Rum Is the Reason"
  • Emerick
3:18
11."Weed with Willie" (live)
  • Emerick
4:43
12."Get Out of My Car" (live)
  • Pinson
4:30

Personnel

The following musicians performed on the album:[12]

Charts

Chart (2017) Peak
position
US Billboard 200[13] 38
US Top Country Albums (Billboard)[14] 6

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "Toby Keith Plots New Album 'The Bus Songs'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved July 20, 2017.
  2. ^ a b "Toby Keith Announces New Album, 'The Bus Songs'". Sounds Like Nashville. July 19, 2017. Retrieved July 20, 2017.
  3. ^ "Toby Keith Taking Alternate Route With The Bus Songs". CMT News. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
  4. ^ "Toby Keith Announces New Album, 'The Bus Songs'". Sounds Like Nashville. July 19, 2017. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
  5. ^ a b c "Toby Keith Rolls out the Road for New Album". PopCulture.com. Retrieved July 20, 2017.
  6. ^ "Toby Keith announces 'The Bus Songs' 12 song LP". The Music Universe. July 14, 2017. Retrieved July 20, 2017.
  7. ^ a b c "See Willie Nelson Smoke Weed in Toby Keith's New 'Wacky Tobaccy' Video". Rolling Stone. Retrieved July 20, 2017.
  8. ^ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "Toby Keith - Shitty Golfer". YouTube.
  9. ^ Asker, Jim (September 19, 2017). "Thomas Rhett on Being First Country Act to Top Billboard 200 This Year: 'It Blows My Mind'". Billboard.
  10. ^ Bjorke, Matt (September 27, 2017). "TOP 10 Country Album Sales Chart: September 25, 2017". Roughstock.
  11. ^ Bjorke, Matt (January 2, 2018). "Top 10 Country Albums Chart, January 2, 2018". Roughstock. Retrieved January 14, 2018.
  12. ^ "The Bus Songs - Toby Keith | Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic.
  13. ^ "Toby Keith Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved September 19, 2017.
  14. ^ "Toby Keith Chart History (Top Country Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved September 19, 2017.
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