Meat and Candy

Meat and Candy is the debut studio album by American country music group Old Dominion. It was released on November 6, 2015 via RCA Records Nashville. The album includes the single "Break Up with Him", which has charted No. 1 on Country Airplay. The album's second single, "Snapback" released to country radio on January 11, 2016. The album's third single, "Song for Another Time" released to country radio on June 20, 2016.[3]

Meat and Candy
Studio album by Old Dominion
Released	November 6, 2015
Genre	Country
Length	35:45
Label	RCA Nashville[1]
Producer	Shane McAnally[2]
Old Dominion chronology
Old Dominion (2014) Meat and Candy (2015) Happy Endings (2017)
Singles from Meat and Candy
"Break Up with Him" Released: January 20, 2015 "Snapback" Released: January 11, 2016 "Song for Another Time[3]" Released: June 20, 2016

Conception

Songwriter and producer Shane McAnally came up with the album's name, using the words "meat and candy" to suggest the "heftier songs" and "lighter fare" respectively.[2] For the album cover, the band found photographer Michael Elins, to create an image of a female soda jerk before a table covered with meat products and candy. Lead singer Matthew Ramsey told Rolling Stone that the album cover "shows our personality without showing us, and it definitely shows that we're trying to do something different".[2]

Critical reception

Giving it an "A–", Tammy Ragusa of Nash Country Weekly wrote that "The combination of catchy rhymes, clever lyrics, Matt Ramsey's warm, strong voice, and the band's subtle but delicious harmonie will have you singing, clapping, and dancing along."[1] Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic rated the album 4 out of 5 stars, saying that "this is a sharper, savvier variation of Rascal Flatts: crossover pop as suited for an office as it is for a make-out session. That's an endorsement, not a dismissal: it's hard to sound this light and easy, but Old Dominion do it with aplomb and they're such talented craftsmen that Meat and Candy sounds better on the fifth play than it does on the first, and it sounds mighty fine that first time through."[4]

Commercial performance

The album debuted at No. 5 on Top Country Albums, and No. 16 on Billboard 200, selling 20,500 copies in its first week.[5] Within the first month of its release, on November 28, 2016, it was certified Gold by the RIAA.[6] It peaked at No. 3 on the Country Albums chart on its 17th week of release in March 2016 due to sale at both iTunes and Google Play stores, with 10,200 sold for the week.[7] The album has sold 192,900 copies in the US as of May 2017.[8]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Snapback"	Brad Tursi Matthew Ramsey Trevor Rosen	3:26
2.	"Half Empty"	Matt Jenkins Ramsey Rosen	2:51
3.	"Wrong Turns"	Jenkins Ramsey Rosen	3:26
4.	"Said Nobody"	Tursi Ramsey Rosen	3:06
5.	"Crazy Beautiful Sexy"	Josh Osborne Ross Copperman Ramsey	3:10
6.	"Nowhere Fast"	Jenkins Ramsey Rose	3:10
7.	"Beer Can in a Truck Bed"	Jenkins Ramsey Rosen	3:22
8.	"Break Up with Him"	Tursi Geoff Sprung Ramsey Rosen Whit Sellers	3:27
9.	"Song for Another Time"	Tursi Jenkins Ramsey Rosen	3:14
10.	"Til It's Over"	Jimmy Robbins Ramsey Shane McAnally	3:28
11.	"We Got It Right"	Ramsey Copperman McAnally	3:13

Personnel

Old Dominion

• Matthew Ramsey – clapping, electric guitar, keyboards, lead vocals, background vocals, gang vocals
• Trevor Rosen – clapping, acoustic guitar, hi-string guitar, keyboards, background vocals, gang vocals
• Whit Sellers – drums, percussion, programming
• Geoff Sprung – bass guitar, clapping, gang vocals
• Brad Tursi – clapping, electric guitar, hi-string guitar, percussion, programming, background vocals, gang vocals

Additional musicians

• Dave Cohen – Hammond B-3 organ, piano, synthesizer, Wurlitzer electric piano
• Mike Durham – electric guitar
• Tommy Garris – gang vocals
• Ryan Gore – percussion, programming
• Devin Malone – electric guitar
• Shane McAnally – gang vocals
• Ben Phillips – programming
• Matt Stanfield – keyboards
• Ilya Toshinsky – banjo, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, resonator guitar, hi-string guitar, mandolin

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts Chart (2015–16) Peak position Canadian Albums (Billboard)[9] 30 US Billboard 200[10] 16 US Top Country Albums (Billboard)[11] 3

Year-end charts Chart (2016) Position US Billboard 200[12] 87 US Top Country Albums (Billboard)[13] 17 Chart (2017) Position US Top Country Albums (Billboard)[14] 38

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[6]	Platinum	192,900[8]

References

1. Ragusa, Tammy (November 9, 2015). "Reviews: Old Dominion - 'Meat and Candy'". Nash Country Weekly. 22 (45): 23. ISSN 2379-9137.
2. Hudak, Joseph (October 30, 2015). "Inside Old Dominion's Wildly Irreverent 'Meat and Candy' Album Cover". Rolling Stone. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
3. "Single Releases : MusicRow – Nashville's Music Industry Publication – News, Songs From Music City". Musicrow.com. 2014-06-20. Archived from the original on 2015-03-04. Retrieved 2016-06-16.
4. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Meat and Candy review". AllMusic. Retrieved 26 November 2015.
5. Bjorke, Matt (November 17, 2015). "Country Albums Chart Report: November 17, 2015". Roughstock.
6. "American album certifications – Old Dominion – Meat and Candy". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH. 
7. Bjorke, Matt (March 8, 2016). "Country Albums Chart Report: March 8, 2016". Roughstock.
8. Bjorke, Matt (May 10, 2017). "Top 10 Country Albums Chart: May 9, 2017". Roughstock.
9. "Old Dominion Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved November 17, 2015.
10. "Old Dominion Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved November 17, 2015.
11. "Old Dominion Chart History (Top Country Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved November 17, 2015.
12. "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2016". Billboard. Retrieved December 9, 2016.
13. "Top Country Albums – Year-End 2016". Billboard. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
14. "Top Country Albums – Year-End 2017". Billboard. Retrieved July 20, 2020.