View source for Your Life Is a Record

{{Infobox album
| name = Your Life Is a Record
| type = studio
| artist = [[Brandy Clark]]
| cover = Brandy Clark - Your Life Is a Record.jpg
| alt = A photo of Clark standing in the desert by a jukebox
| released = {{Start date|2020|03|06}}
| recorded =
| studio = {{ubl|Neon Cross, Nashville, Tennessee, United States|[[Royal Studios]], Memphis, Tennessee, United States}}
| genre = [[Country music|Country]]
| length = 39:07
| label = [[Warner Records|Warner]]
| producer = [[Jay Joyce]]
| prev_title = [[Live from Los Angeles (Brandy Clark album)|Live from Los Angeles]]
| prev_year = 2017
| next_title = [[Brandy Clark (album)|Brandy Clark]]
| next_year = 2023
| misc = {{Singles
| name = Your Life Is a Record
| type = studio
| single1 = Who You Thought I Was
| single1date = January 10, 2020
}}
}}
'''''Your Life Is a Record''''' is the third [[studio album]] by American [[country music]] artist [[Brandy Clark]]. It was released on March 6, 2020, via [[Warner Records]]. It includes the single "Who You Thought I Was".<ref name="wytiw" /> The album has received positive critical reception for Clark's songwriting skills. Despite wide acclaim, it was not as commercially successful as her previous albums, peaking at #46 the country charts and not making the [[Billboard Top 200|''Billboard'' Top 200]] among all albums. It was nominated for the [[Grammy Award for Best Country Album]].
On February 12, 2021, Clark announced that a deluxe edition of the album would be released on March 5, 2021, with six new songs, including live versions of "Pawn Shop" and "Who You Thought I Was" and a new version of "The Past Is the Past" featuring [[Lindsey Buckingham]].<ref>{{cite web|last1=Nicholson|first1=Jessica|title=Brandy Clark To Release Deluxe Album On March 5 |url=http://www.cmt.com/news/1830340/brandy-clark-to-release-deluxe-album-march-5/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210212230838/http://www.cmt.com/news/1830340/brandy-clark-to-release-deluxe-album-march-5/|url-status=dead|archive-date=February 12, 2021|website=CMT|access-date=February 13, 2021|date=February 12, 2021}}</ref>
==Recording and release==
As the album was nearing completion, Clark and producer [[Jay Joyce]] made a conscious effort to avoid [[country music]] cliches, using experimental musicians and strings to make sounds unlike her previous work; the singer had anxiety about if [[Warner Records]] could successfully market it past the tepid reception to her 2016 album ''[[Big Day in a Small Town]]''.<ref name="npr" /> To start the recordings, Clark and Joyce began with a simple acoustic combo and only later added electric elements or string arrangements to enhance the stripped-down recordings.<ref name="su" /> The album was preceded by a music video for the track "Who You Thought I Was",<ref name="rs" /> one of many songs on the album discussing a break-up Clark had after a 15-year relationship.<ref name="npr" /> This was followed by a video for "Love Is a Fire" on February&nbsp;14.<ref name="liaf" />
The track "Better Boat" was recorded as a duet with [[Randy Newman]].
During the [[COVID-19 pandemic]], Clark decided to release a deluxe edition of the album that included older recordings, a brief live performance for [[MusiCares]], and the new composition "Remember Me Beautiful".<ref name="deluxe" />
==Critical reception==
{{Music ratings
|MC = {{frac|83|100}}<ref name="mc" />
|rev1=[[AllMusic]]
|rev1score={{rating|4.5|5}}<ref name="amg" />
|rev2=''[[American Songwriter]]''
|rev2score={{rating|4.5|5}}<ref name="as" />
|rev3=''[[Exclaim!]]''
|rev3score={{frac|7|10}}<ref name="e!" />
|rev4=[[Pitchfork Media]]
|rev4score={{frac|7.5|10}}<ref name="pm" />
}}
{{Metacritic album prose|Your Life Is a Record|positive|83|seven}}<ref name="mc" /> Album of the Year rates the consensus at 81 with four reviews.<ref name="aoty" />
The editorial staff of [[AllMusic]] gave the album 4.5 out of five stars, with reviewer [[Stephen Thomas Erlewine]] summing up that it's "an album that feels like a classic not just through its sound but through its depth of feeling".<ref name="amg" /> For ''[[Slate (magazine)|Slate]]'', Carl Wilson wrote that the release is Clark's "most personal album" yet and praises the maturity of her songwriting: "Clark has mostly left behind the exercises in women-empowerment snark and spunk that her previous records leaned on for infusions of energy, a recourse that's become its own cliché in women’s country".<ref name="slate" /> In a brief preview for the week in country, ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' highlighted the release, with Annie Reuter calling Clark's "adept songwriting" the center of the album;<ref name="bb" /> the publication later had a full review from Tom Roland who compared this album with Clarks's previous ones to find it the most authentic songwriting and performance of her career.<ref name="bbcu" /> In assessing the album, Clark's career, and the general state of contemporary country music, ''[[The New Yorker]]''{{'}}s David Cantwell declared that "no one is writing better country songs than Brandy Clark is" and that this third album is her finest.<ref name="ny" /> In ''[[American Songwriter]]'', Jason Scott gave the album 4.5 out of five, joining voices calling it her finest release, explaining Clark's strength as musician as well as producer [[Jay Joyce]]'s ability to augment her voice.<ref name="as" />
A more mixed review came from ''[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]''{{'}}s Sam Sodomsky, rating the album 7.5 out of 10, praising innovative arrangements and incisive and clever lyrics that will challenge listeners.<ref name="pm" /> Reviewing the album for ''[[Exclaim!]]'', Kyle Mullin gave the release a seven out of 10, noting the same qualities and suggesting that other songwriters will "daydream about following in her footsteps".<ref name="e!" /> Chris Willman of ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' calls Clark as a songwriter "''the'' necessary next stop [after the success of [[Kacey Musgraves]]] for anyone joining this program already in progress and finding that Music City is the richest source of fingerpicking female singer-songwriters with crystalline voices, classic twang-pop sensibilities and a knack for sweet devastation" and gives a positive review of this album for its myriad looks at relationships.<ref name="var" />
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"
|+Accolades for ''Your Life Is a Record''
!scope="col"|Year
!scope="col"|Issuer
!scope="col"|Award
!scope="col"|Recipient
!scope="col"|Outcome
|-
|rowspan="2"|[[63rd Annual Grammy Awards|2020]]
|rowspan="4"|[[Grammy Awards]]
|scope="row"|[[Grammy Award for Best Country Solo Performance|Best Country Solo Performance]]<ref name="deluxe" />
|"Who You Thought I Was"
|{{nominated}}
|-
|scope="row"|[[Grammy Award for Best Country Album|Best Country Album]]<ref name="deluxe" />
|''Your Life Is a Record''
|{{nominated}}
|-
|[[64th Annual Grammy Awards|2021]]
|scope="row"|[[Grammy Award for Best American Roots Performance|Best American Roots Performance]]<ref name="winners" />
|"Same Devil"
|{{nominated}}
|-
|}
==Track listing==
#"I'll Be the Sad Song" (Brandy Clark, Jesse Jo Dillon, Chase McGill)&nbsp;– 3:58
#"Long Walk" (Clark, Jesse Frasure, [[Jay Joyce]])&nbsp;– 2:39
#"Love Is a Fire" (Clark, Joyce, [[Shane McAnally]])&nbsp;– 4:01
#"Pawn Shop" (Clark, [[Troy Verges]])&nbsp;– 3:50
#"Who You Thought I Was" (Clark, Joyce, [[Jonathan Singleton]])&nbsp;– 3:09
#"Apologies" (Clark, Scott Stepakoff, Forest Glen Whitehead)&nbsp;– 3:23
#"Bigger Boat" (Clark, Adam Wright)&nbsp;– 3:34
#"Bad Car" (Clark, Jason Saenz)&nbsp;– 3:02
#"Who Broke Whose Heart" (Clark, McAnally)&nbsp;– 3:02
#"Can We Be Strangers" (Clark,[[Clint Daniels]], Dillon)&nbsp;– 3:29
#"The Past Is the Past" (Clark, [[Luke Laird]])&nbsp;– 5:00
'''Deluxe edition bonus tracks'''
#<li value="12">"Who You Thought I Was" (Live from 3rd & Lindsley) (Clark, Dillon, and Singleton)&nbsp;– 3:13
#"Pawn Shop" (Live from 3rd & Lindsley) (Clark and Verges)&nbsp;– 3:56
#"Remember Me Beautiful" (Clark, [[Hillary Lindsey]], [[Lori McKenna]], and [[Liz Rose]])&nbsp;– 4:25
#"Like Mine" (Marla Cannon-Goodman, Clark, and [[Hailey Whitters]])&nbsp;– 3:26
#"Same Devil" (Cannon-Goodman, Clark, and Whitters)&nbsp;– 3:07
#"The Past Is the Past" (Clark and Laird)&nbsp;– 3:35
==Personnel==
*[[Brandy Clark]]&nbsp;– bass guitar, acoustic guitar piano, backing and lead vocals
*Brent Anderson&nbsp;– backing vocals
*Court Blankenship&nbsp;– assistant [[Record producer|production]]
*[[Lindsey Buckingham]]&nbsp;– guitar and vocals on Deluxe Edition version of "The Past Is the Past"
*[[Brandi Carlile]]&nbsp;– vocals on "Same Devil"
*Diane Cohen&nbsp;– violin
*Daniel Gilbert&nbsp;– violin
*Jedd Hughes&nbsp;– bass guitar; [[dobro]]; [[Audio engineering|engineering]]; acoustic, [[baritone guitar|baritone]], and electric guitar, mandolin
*[[Jay Joyce]]&nbsp;– bass guitar, drums, acoustic and electric guitar, [[Audio mixing (recorded music)|mixing]], [[Omnichord]], production, [[Music programming|programming]], [[pump organ]], synthesizer, vocals
*Jonathan Kirkscey&nbsp;– cello, saxophone
*Beth Luscombe&nbsp;– viola
*Jimmy Mansfield&nbsp;– assistant engineering
*Lannie McMillan&nbsp;– flute, saxophone
*Andrew Mendelson&nbsp;– [[audio mastering|mastering]]
*Bob Mitchell&nbsp;– engineering
*Jessica Munson&nbsp;– [[baritone saxophone]], violin
*[[Randy Newman]]&nbsp;– vocals on "Bigger Boat"
*John Osborne&nbsp;– dobro, backing vocals
*Josh Osbourne&nbsp;– backing vocals
*Chris Phelps&nbsp;– photography
*Jennifer Puckett&nbsp;– viola
*Giles Reaves&nbsp;– bongos, [[claves]], [[djembe]], drums, acoustic guitar, handclapping, [[marimba]], percussion, piano, programming, synthesizer, [[synthesizer bass]], tambourine, triangle
*Jonathan Singleton&nbsp;– vocals
*Kirk Smothers&nbsp;– flute
*Lester Snell&nbsp;– [[Musical arrangement|arrangement]], [[band leader]], viola
*Jim Spake&nbsp;– cello, baritone saxophone
*Chris Taylor&nbsp;– assistant engineering
*Scott Thompson&nbsp;– trumpet
*Gary Topper&nbsp;– flute, violin
*Priscilla Tsai&nbsp;– flute, violin
*Stephan Walker&nbsp;– [[art direction]]
*Forest Whitehead&nbsp;– backing vocals
*Wen-Yih You&nbsp;– trumpet, violin
==Chart performance==
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|+Chart peaks for ''Your Life Is a Record''
|-
! scope="col"| Chart (2020)
! scope="col"| Peak
|-
{{album chart|Scotland|27|date=20200313|rowheader=true|access-date=March 14, 2020}}
|-
{{album chart|UKAmericana|3|date=20200313|rowheader=true|access-date=May 17, 2020}}
|-
{{album chart|UKCountry|2|date=20200313|rowheader=true|access-date=March 14, 2020}}
|-
{{album chart|BillboardFolk|10|artist=Brandy Clark|rowheader=true|refname="bbaf"|access-date=March 22, 2020}}
|-
! scope="row"| US [[Top Album Sales]] (''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'')<ref name="bbtas" />
| 25
|-
{{album chart|BillboardCountry|46|artist=Brandy Clark|rowheader=true|refname="bbcountry"|access-date=March 22, 2020}}
|-
! scope="row"| US Top Current Album Sales (''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'')<ref name="bbtop" />
| 25
|}
==See also==
*[[List of 2020 albums]]
==References==
{{reflist|refs=
<ref name="amg">{{Cite web |author-link=Stephen Thomas Erlewine |last=Erlewine |first=Stephen Thomas |publisher=[[AllMusic]] |access-date=March 6, 2020 |title=''Your Life Is a Record''&nbsp;– Brandy Clark |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/your-life-is-a-record-mw0003349625 |archive-date=April 11, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200411044103/https://www.allmusic.com/album/your-life-is-a-record-mw0003349625 |url-status=live }}</ref>
<ref name="aoty">{{Cite web |url=https://www.albumoftheyear.org/album/221260-brandy-clark-your-life-is-a-record.php |title=Brandy Clark&nbsp;– ''Your Life Is a Record'' |publisher=Album of the Year |access-date=March 7, 2020 |archive-date=April 7, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200407080457/https://www.albumoftheyear.org/album/221260-brandy-clark-your-life-is-a-record.php |url-status=live }}</ref>
<ref name="as">{{Cite web |work=[[American Songwriter]] |last=Scott |first=Jason |date=March 6, 2020 |access-date=March 7, 2020 |url=https://americansongwriter.com/brandy-clark-your-life-is-a-record-album-review/ |title=Brandy Clark Opens Up Her World on Third Album, ''Your Life Is a Record''}}</ref>
<ref name="bb">{{Cite web |url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/country/9329858/dixie-chicks-mickey-guyton-brandy-clark |last=Reuter |first=Annie |date=March 6, 2020 |access-date=March 6, 2020 |work=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |title=First Country: New Music From Dixie Chicks, Mickey Guyton, Brandy Clark & More}}</ref>
<ref name="bbcu">{{Cite web |url=https://bulletins.billboard.com/country/country_update_0309.pdf |last=Roland |first=Rom |date=March 9, 2020 |access-date=April 11, 2020 |work=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] Country Update |title=Brandy Clark Makes a Personal Statement On the ''Record'' |archive-date=April 12, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200412031904/https://bulletins.billboard.com/country/country_update_0309.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>
<ref name="bbtas">{{cite web|url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/brandy-clark/chart-history/tsl/|title=Brandy Clark Chart History (Top Album Sales)|work=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|access-date=March 22, 2020|archive-date=February 15, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200215212408/https://www.billboard.com/music/Brandy-Clark/chart-history/TSL|url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="bbtop">{{cite web|url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/brandy-clark/chart-history/tcl/|title=Brandy Clark Chart History (Top Current Album Sales)|work=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|access-date=March 22, 2020|archive-date=February 1, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200201070025/https://www.billboard.com/music/Brandy-Clark/chart-history/TCL|url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="deluxe">{{Cite web |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-country/brandy-clark-grammy-nominations-your-life-is-a-record-1140762/ |work=[[Rolling Stone]] |language=en-US |title=Brandy Clark on Good Surprises, Grammy Nominations, and Deluxe Album |last=Freeman |first=John |date=2021-03-21 |accessdate=2022-11-27}}</ref>
<ref name="e!">{{Cite web |work=[[Exclaim!]] |url=https://exclaim.ca/music/article/brandy_clark-your_life_is_a_record |title=Brandy Clark ''Your Life Is a Record'' |last=Mullin |first=Kyle |date=March 4, 2020 |access-date=March 6, 2020 |archive-date=June 15, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200615152714/http://exclaim.ca/music/article/brandy_clark-your_life_is_a_record |url-status=live }}</ref>
<ref name="liaf">{{Cite web |url=http://www.cmt.com/news/1817788/see-brandy-clarks-illuminating-love-is-a-fire-video/ |title=See Brandy Clark's Illuminating 'Love Is a Fire' Video |publisher=[[Country Music Television]] |date=February 14, 2020 |access-date=March 7, 2020 |archive-date=March 5, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200305145227/http://www.cmt.com/news/1817788/see-brandy-clarks-illuminating-love-is-a-fire-video/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>
<ref name="mc">{{Cite web |url=https://www.metacritic.com/music/your-life-is-a-record/brandy-clark |title=''Your Life Is a Record'' by Brandy Clark Reviews and Tracks |publisher=[[Metacritic]] |access-date=March 7, 2020 |archive-date=March 7, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200307074524/https://www.metacritic.com/music/your-life-is-a-record/brandy-clark |url-status=live }}</ref>
<ref name="npr">{{Cite web |url=https://www.npr.org/2020/03/02/809688824/first-listen-brandy-clark-your-life-is-a-record |title=Brandy Clark, a Vivid Storyteller, Finally Tells Her Own |last=Hight |first=Jewly |work=[[First Listen]] |publisher=[[NPR]] |date=March 2, 2020 |access-date=March 6, 2020 |archive-date=March 7, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200307072006/https://www.npr.org/2020/03/02/809688824/first-listen-brandy-clark-your-life-is-a-record |url-status=live }}</ref>
<ref name="ny">{{Cite web |title=No One Is Writing Better Country Songs than Brandy Clark Is |last=Cantwell |first=David |date=March 6, 2020 |access-date=March 6, 2020 |work=[[The New Yorker]] |url=https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/no-one-is-writing-better-country-songs-than-brandy-clark-is}}</ref>
<ref name="pm">{{Cite web |url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/brandy-clark-your-life-is-a-record/ |title=Brandy Clark: ''Your Life Is a Record'' Album Review |last=Sodomsky |first=Sam |website=[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]] |date=March 5, 2020 |access-date=March 6, 2020}}</ref>
<ref name="rs">{{Cite web |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-country/brandy-clark-your-life-is-a-record-album-935856/ |title=Brandy Clark Previews New Album ''Your Life Is a Record'' with 'Who You Thought I Was' |first=Jonathan |last=Bernstein |date=January 10, 2020 |access-date=March 6, 2020 |work=[[Rolling Stone]] |archive-date=March 1, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200301020856/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-country/brandy-clark-your-life-is-a-record-album-935856/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
<ref name="slate">{{Cite web |url=https://slate.com/culture/2020/03/brandy-clark-new-album-your-life-is-a-record-review.html |title=Country's Most Potent Songwriter Is Back with Her Most Personal Album Yet |last=Wilson |first=Carl |date=March 6, 2020 |access-date=March 6, 2020 |work=[[Slate (magazine)|Slate]] |archive-date=March 7, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200307052118/https://slate.com/culture/2020/03/brandy-clark-new-album-your-life-is-a-record-review.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
<ref name="su">{{Cite web |url=https://www.songwriteruniverse.com/brandy-clark-interview-2020.htm |title=Brandy Clark Talks About Her Excellent Album, ''Your Life Is A Record'', And Writing Her Songs |last=Kawashima |first=Dale |language=en-US |publisher=Songwriter Universe |date=2020-05-12 |accessdate=2022-11-27}}</ref>
<ref name="var">{{Cite web |url=https://variety.com/2020/music/news/brandy-clark-album-review-your-life-is-a-record-1203530058/ |last=Willman |first=Chris |work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |date=March 11, 2020 |access-date=March 17, 2020 |title=Brandy Clark's ''Your Life Is a Record'': Album Review |archive-date=March 15, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200315042712/https://variety.com/2020/music/news/brandy-clark-album-review-your-life-is-a-record-1203530058/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
<ref name="winners">{{Cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2022/apr/03/grammy-awards-2022-the-full-list-of-winners |work=[[The Guardian]] |language=en-GB |accessdate=2022-11-27 |last=Horton |first=Adrian |date=2022-04-03 |publisher=[[Guardian Media Group]] |title=Grammy awards 2022: list of winners}}</ref>
<ref name="wytiw">{{cite web |url=http://www.cmt.com/news/1816446/brandy-clark-returns-with-who-you-thought-i-was/ |title=Brandy Clark Returns with 'Who You Thought I Was' |last=Shelburne |first=Craig |date=January 10, 2020 |publisher=[[Country Music Television]] |access-date=March 7, 2020 |archive-date=January 23, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200123182808/http://www.cmt.com/news/1816446/brandy-clark-returns-with-who-you-thought-i-was/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>
}}
==External links==
*{{official website}}
*[https://www.vulture.com/2020/03/brandy-clark-interview-your-life-is-a-record-best-songwriting.html Interview] with ''[[Vulture (website)|Vulture]]'' discussing the album
*{{Musicbrainz release group}}
{{Brandy Clark}}
{{authority control}}
[[Category:2020 albums]]
[[Category:Brandy Clark albums]]
[[Category:Albums produced by Jay Joyce]]
[[Category:Warner Records albums]]
[[Category:Albums recorded at Royal Studios]]