Lifted Off the Ground

Lifted Off the Ground is the seventh studio album from singer-songwriter Chely Wright. The album was released on April 30, 2010 and coincided with the release of her first memoir, Like Me: Confessions of a Heartland Country Singer. Within two weeks of the album's release, it was estimated to have sold nearly 6,000 copies.[1]

Lifted Off the Ground
Studio album by Chely Wright
Released	April 30, 2010
Recorded	2007–2010
Genre	Country
Length	44:37
Label	Vanguard, EMI
Producer	Rodney Crowell
Chely Wright chronology
The Definitive Collection (2007) Lifted Off the Ground (2010) I Am the Rain (2016)
Singles from Lifted Off the Ground
"Broken" Released: April 21, 2010 "Damn Liar-Dance Remix" Released: March 29, 2011

Background

After nearly a two-year hiatus, Wright resurfaced through social networking sites including MySpace, Facebook and YouTube. Wright would create general blog entries about her life, touring and other miscellaneous events. In September 2007, she announced she was working on her next studio album with country singer Rodney Crowell.[2] As time progressed, Wright would update viewers on the status of the album. Originally, the album was titled "Notes to the Coroner" with a released date in the fall of 2008. Wright's official website highlight tracks such as, "Broken", "Wish Me Away", "Object of Your Rejection", "Damn Liar" and "Notes to the Coroner".

During this time, Wright's record company wanted her to write happier songs, stating her songs about failed relationships were too dark and depressing. Wright was told to write something "positive and hopeful". She responded with the song "Something Positive and Hopeful", a satirical look on her past relationships set to a happy tune that her record company requested. The song was performed at fan gala in Nashville where Wright jokingly mentioned she hoped the song would be included on her album.[3] Wright eventually placed the album on hold to focus on writing more songs. In January 2010, it was revealed her album would be released in May 2010 along with a memoir.[4][5]

Promotion

Promotion for the album began with Wright appearing in People revealing her homosexuality.[6] Since the announcement, Wright has appeared on the Today Show, NPR, Access Hollywood, The Joy Behar Show, Rosie Radio, Good Day L.A.,[7] ABC World News and The Oprah Winfrey Show. She was featured in MTV News,[8] Edge,[9] Entertainment Weekly[10] and The Advocate.[11] Wright went on a book signing and concert tour to promote the album.

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic[12]
Engine 145[13]
Roughstock[14]
The L.A. Times[15]
Country Weekly[16]

The album received several positive reviews. Thom Jurek (AllMusic) stated the album was, "[…] is easily the most harrowing and lovely recording in Wrights catalog".[12] Blake Boldt (Engine 145) cites the album is "[…] a more complex, complete album then she's ever record, Wright has, for once, found some release".[13]

Amongst the many positive reviews there were a few mixed or negative reviews. Stormy Lewis (Roughstock) states, "Lifted off the Ground is neither as cohesive nor expressive as [Single White Female] was. It does however, have moments of nearly pure bliss. What you will not find on this album is an “Unknown” or “She Went out for Cigarettes.” What you will find on this album is the next best things. And, for some songs, that is almost good enough." [14] Margaret Wappler (The L.A. Times) writes, […]But where's the teeth? Sure, she sounds mad on 'Damn Liar' but as far as making statements about her 'lifestyle,' in a genre often defined by traditional notions of sexuality and family, Wright treads lightly."[15]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Chely Wright.

Standard edition

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Broken"	3:37
2.	"Heavenly Days" (Co-written with Rodney Crowell)	3:44
3.	"Hang Out In Your Heart"	4:29
4.	"Notes to the Coroner"	3:27
5.	"Snow Globe"	3:33
6.	"Like Me"	3:51
7.	"That Train"	4:19
8.	"Damn Liar"	4:04
9.	"Wish Me Away"	3:37
10.	"Object of Your Rejection"	3:43
11.	"Shadows of Doubt"	6:18
Total length:		44:37

Bonus Tracks

No.	Title	Length
12.	"Hamburg" (iTunes Digital Edition)	4:13
13.	"Don't Look Down" (Amazon Digital Edition)	4:17
Total length:		8:30

DVD

No.	Title	Length
14.	"My Life"	8:00
15.	"The Making of "Lifted Off the Ground""	20:00
16.	"I Have the Coolest Job"	10:00
17.	"Bumper of my SUV"	4:39
Total length:		42:39

Personnel

• Rodney Crowell – acoustic guitar, background vocals
• Micol Davis – background vocals
• John Ferraro – drums
• Tanya Hancheroff – background vocals
• John Hobbs – keyboards, organ
• Jedd Hughes – acoustic guitar, electric slide guitar
• John Jorgenson – acoustic guitar, electric guitar, gut string guitar, mandolin, piano
• Will Kimbrough – acoustic guitar, acoustic slide guitar
• Tim Lauer – electric piano, keyboards, organ, piano, pump organ
• Jeremy Lister – background vocals
• Chris McHugh – drums
• Michael Rhodes – bass
• Chris Rodriguez – acoustic guitar, background vocals
• Randy Scruggs – acoustic guitar
• Kenny Vaughan – acoustic guitar, electric guitar
• Cheryl White – background vocals
• Chely Wright – acoustic guitar, lead vocals
• Jonathan Yudkin – cello, violin, viola

Chart History

Chart (2010)	Peak[17] position
US Billboard Top 200	200
US Billboard Country Albums	32
US Billboard Independent Albums	35

Release history

Region	Date	Label
Europe	April 30, 2010	Welk Music
North America	May 4, 2010	Vanguard
Australia	May 5, 2010
United Kingdom

References

1. Gilbert, Calvin (2010-05-19). "Chely Wright, Oprah Winfrey and the Closet". CMT Blog. MTV Networks. Retrieved 2010-05-20.
2. Wright, Chely (singer), Crowell, Rodney (producer) (2007-09-05). Chely Wright & Rodney Crowell Video Blog 9/5/07. YouTube. Retrieved 2010-05-20.
3. Wright, Chely (singer) (2008-06-19). Chely Wright – Something Positive and Hopeful. YouTube. Retrieved 2010-05-20.
4. "New Chely album – Lifted Off the Ground". Wright's Official Website. 2010-01-10. Archived from the original on 2010-09-26. Retrieved 2010-05-20.
5. "Chely to release memoir on May 4th". Wright's Official Website. 2010-01-11. Archived from the original on 2010-09-26. Retrieved 2010-05-20.
6. Zuckerman, Blaine (2010-05-03). "Country Music Artist Chely Wright Comes Out". People. Time Inc. Retrieved 2010-05-20.
7. Coppersmith, Scott (2010-05-08). "Chely Wright on GDLA". KTTV Fox 11. Fox Television Stations, Inc. Retrieved 2010-05-20.
8. Montgomery, James (2010-05-05). "Chely Wright Comes Out, Feels, 'Whole As A Person'". MTV News. MTV Networks. Retrieved 2010-05-20.
9. Kapfer, William (2010-05-05). "EDGE EXCLUSIVE: Country superstar Chely Wright speaks bout coming out". Edge. EDGE Publications, Inc. Retrieved 2010-05-20.
10. Pastroek, Whitney (2010-05-05). "Chely Wright on her decision to come out: 'I won't be a whisper. I'm too proud of who I am.'". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2010-05-20.
11. Rachel, T. Cole (2010-05-05). "Chely Wright: Country Singer Comes Out". The Advocate. Here Media, Inc. Archived from the original on 2010-05-06. Retrieved 2010-05-20.
12. Jurek, Thom. "Lifted Off the Ground". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 2010-05-20.
13. Boldt, Blake (2010-04-30). "Album Review: Chely Wright – Lifted Off the Ground". Engine 145: Country Music. Archived from the original on 2014-12-18. Retrieved 2010-05-20.
14. Lewis, Stormy (2010-05-03). "Chely Wright – Lifted Off the Ground". Roughstock. Cheri Media Group. Archived from the original on 2010-05-08. Retrieved 2010-05-20.
15. Wapper, Margaret (2010-05-10). "Album review: Chely Wright's 'Lifted Off the Ground'". The L.A. Times. Tribune Company. Retrieved 2010-05-20.
16. Phillips, Jessica (2010-05-17). "Lifted Off the Ground". Country Weekly. The American Media, Inc. Archived from the original on 2011-01-18. Retrieved 2010-05-20.
17. "Lifted Off the Ground – Chely Wright". Billboard. Retrieved 2010-05-20.