Interesting Contributors in Miranda Lambert’s “Weight of These Wings” Track List
Miranda Lambert isn’t releasing one, but two albums on November 18th when her double record The Weight of These Wings hits stores. With all that material she was sure to reach out to solicit help with songwriting. And as we sit back and attempt to read the tea leaves of what we might expect from the new record, the names in the songwriting credits are making the prospects a bit more interesting.
Though there are plenty of appearances from the usual suspects of the mainstream songwriting realm such as Shane MacAnally, Josh Osborne, Natalie Hemby, and Liz Rose, there’s also a host of much more unexpected and promising names.
It appears Lambert has spent some time back in Texas writing with some of the stalwarts of the state, as well as some of the names on the rise in east Nashville. Included on the list of contributors is songwriter and performer Brent Cobb, second generation country music Outlaw Waylon Payne, Texas songwriter (and once regular Miranda tour mate) Adam Hood, Texas songwriting legend Shake Russell (Ricky Skaggs’ “You Got a Lover” and Clint Black’s “Put Yourself in My Shoes” to name a few), current Miranda boyfriend Anderson East, Jack Ingram, Ashley Monroe, Mando Saenz, and Jon Randall.
Specifically, Miranda Lambert is releasing cover versions of Shake Russell’s “You Wouldn’t Know Me,” and Danny O’Keefe’s “Covered Wagon.” The Weight of These Wings is occurring in two acts, with the first disc called “The Nerve” and the second disc called “The Heart.” You can find the full track list and the respective songwriters below.
Disc 1 – The Nerve
1. “Runnin’ Just in Case” – Miranda Lambert/Gwen Sebastian
2. “Highway Vagabond” – Luke Dick/Natalie Hemby/Shane McAnally
3. “Ugly Lights” – Miranda Lambert/Natalie Hemby/Liz Rose
4. “You Wouldn’t Know Me” – Shake Russell
5. “We Should Be Friends” – Miranda Lambert
6. “Pink Sunglasses” – Rodney Clawson/Luke Dick/Natalie Hemby
7. “Getaway Driver” – Miranda Lambert/Anderson East/Natalie Hemby
8. “Vice” – Miranda Lambert/Shane McAnally/Josh Osborne
9. “Smoking Jacket” – Miranda Lambert/Natalie Hemby/Lucie Silvas
10. “Pushin’ Time” – Miranda Lambert/Natalie Hemby/Foy Vance
11. “Covered Wagon” – Danny O’Keefe
12. “Use My Heart” – Miranda Lambert/Ashley Monroe/Waylon Payne
Disc 2 – The Heart
1. “Tin Man” – Miranda Lambert/Jack Ingram/Jon Randall
2. “Good Ol’ Days” – Miranda Lambert/Brent Cobb/Adam Hood
3. “Things That Break” – Miranda Lambert/Jessi Alexander/Natalie Hemby
4. “For the Birds” – Miranda Lambert/Aaron Raitiere
5. “Well-Rested” – Miranda Lambert/Anderson East/Aaron Raitiere
6. “Tomboy” – Miranda Lambert/Natalie Hemby/Aaron Raitiere
7. “To Learn Her” – Miranda Lambert/Ashley Monroe/Waylon Payne
8. “Keeper of the Flame” – Miranda Lambert/Natalie Hemby/Liz Rose
9. “Bad Boy” – Miranda Lambert/Mando Saenz
10. “Six Degrees of Separation” – Miranda Lambert/Nicolle Galyon/Natalie Hemby
11. “Dear Old Sun” – Miranda Lambert/Terri Jo Box/Gwen Sebastian
12. “I’ve Got Wheels” – Miranda Lambert/Gwen Sebastian/Scotty Wray
October 17, 2016 @ 6:56 pm
I really hope it’s good. The songwriting credits are promising, but her last output was 16 songs and at least 8 songs too many. I’m skeptical, but hoping for the best and I really liked her early stuff, when, you know, she was writing her own songs a lot of the time.
October 17, 2016 @ 7:27 pm
Excited! Can’t wait to hear her new music.
October 17, 2016 @ 7:34 pm
Sort of nice to have a major artist actually writing most of her own material.
Won my “bet” though on an Anderson co-write being included (2!). And yes it was a cynical bet, but it honestly doesn’t bother me. Makes sense to write with someone you spend time with, and if people are going care about your private life, might as well profit. Doesn’t matter if it’s Garth/Tricia, Tim/Faith, Miranda/Blake, Blake/Gwen, Miranda/Anderson….whatever.
I’m just hoping that the production style isn’t what we’re hearing on the teaser video’s (just not my style). I’m skeptical that this won’t be a lot of filler, but I’m also interested in the price point. First album I ever bought was a double album.
October 17, 2016 @ 7:41 pm
BTW Miranda has been covering Covered Wagon on tour
October 17, 2016 @ 8:15 pm
haven’t been this excited for miranda to release an album since revolution
on another props to her for trying to get a lot of great singer-songwriters names out there one i’m a big fan of is foy vance who is a very talented artist from ireland
October 17, 2016 @ 8:16 pm
I have made my reputation as a stout critic of Lambert.
But I’m intrigued…
This looks interesting.
I will not rescind my past complaints because after all the times she rehashed “Gunpowder and Lead” she deserves them.
But it looks like she’s out to really make some quality stuff.
We’ll see if it sounds as good as it looks.
October 18, 2016 @ 3:31 pm
You won’t like it.
October 18, 2016 @ 3:39 am
I generally am not a Lambert fan – but the cover art looks good and I like the name of the album. So I will just wait and see when it comes out.
October 18, 2016 @ 4:32 am
The fact that she cowrote 20 of 24 songs & is putting out a double album is all good w/ me. I mean so many of mainstream artists that are actual songwriters don’t even write in their CDs anymore. They just get the handful of radio writers for the “new usual crap” on radio. I have always liked that Lambert does her own thing. Yeah o few on her last album weren’t my favs but she has continually put out quality songs. Most mainstream stars find formula & basically put out the same record over and over. Miranda has various messages, points of view, topics, etc. I’m really hopeful for this record.
October 18, 2016 @ 6:22 am
So. Excited!
October 18, 2016 @ 7:17 am
Miranderson has been interesting to watch. I love Adam Hood, and pretty much all of those guys. Hope this album is better than the last few
October 18, 2016 @ 7:36 am
I’m a Miranda fan ..let’s get that out of the way .
WHY, in these times ,with the glut of music , good and bad , being marketed , promoted to radio , forced upon listeners by an already struggling , if not dying , industry would ANYONE be releasing a DOUBLE CD ( if it isn’t a boxed set of reissues ….and even then ..? ) And I’m not just asking rhetorically . I almost cannot recall any double CD release by any artist that wasn’t padded with filler and which wouldn’t have made a much much better single album release and I’ll go back to the Beatles ” White Album ” with that personal observation . In album review after album review by Trigger and others and in my own experience it is almost impossible to find even a SINGLE album release of even 12-14 songs with solid , killer material on every track . So what am I missing ? Does the hype /aura/ buzz/ surrounding a double CD set aid in sales , artist’s profile , getting airplay ,somehow ? Does it translate to more profit ?
October 18, 2016 @ 7:50 am
I have this exact feeling. Double albums are almost always overkill and have too much filler on them. I would much rather hear one great CD. Even the Jamey Johnson album that received so much critical praise had a lot of filler. My guess is since she went through this whole public spat and has made a few not so great music choices, she wants to do something outside of the box and try to get a lot of that street credit back, some may have think she lost. I’m sure she will point to the fact that she had so much going on in her life, there was a lot she needed to get out. Personally even if the whole thing is good, I would still rather have two albums spaced out 8 months to a year, just about the time you start getting a little tired of the first one.
October 18, 2016 @ 8:02 am
Double albums do get counted as selling two. So say Miranda sells 100,000 copies, RIAA counts that as 200,000 sold. So there’s always that factor that makes artists look good from a PR standpoint.
October 18, 2016 @ 8:10 am
Easier certification? Each double album bought counts as 2 units (I think), so for gold it’s 250k of the nerve & 250k of the heart = 500k units.
I’m interested in what the price point will be: 2 albums would be $22, I would guess $17.99 is what it will be.
October 18, 2016 @ 11:09 am
It’s 2016 and only the hard core fans buy CDs. The rest listen to singles on Youtube or Apple Music. If you are a hardcore fan of Miranda Lambert, you’re going to buy the CD and listen to all of the music. If Miranda thinks she has two CDs worth of tunes, then put them out.
And by the way, the Hamilton soundtrack has 43 songs and they are all amazing.
October 18, 2016 @ 11:59 am
She can pull this off because she’s Miranda. Period. I can’t think of another female Country singer who has tried this in recent (25-30 years-ish) history – probably for a number of reasons, but she has far more cajones than most guys to put out a double CD too. A little disappointed that she didn’t do more solo writes on this, but the collaborators are solid; some of whom she’s had various levels of success with before. And having a hand in 20 tracks out of 24 is nothing short of awesome.
PS – Hamilton is the most intelligently put together form of media in a very long time. Hands down, ZERO competition.
October 18, 2016 @ 10:12 am
I am looking forward to this…I know double albums can be tricky, but she has had a lot happen in her life. I like that she has co-written most of these songs, and the other songwriters look promising too. I didn’t particularly like the production on “Vice,” though, so I hope the whole album doesn’t sound like that. At the same time, choosing “Vice” as the single shows a lot of promise for the album as a whole; it’s not radio-friendly in any sense. On a side note, does anyone else wish the Pistol Annies would get back together?
October 18, 2016 @ 7:59 pm
Yes, I would like to see another Pistol Annies album. I think I read a while back that they plan to do more, but I imagine it is hard to coordinate all three artists’ schedules.
October 18, 2016 @ 4:42 pm
I will get my fandom out of the way, too.
A bit leery of too many songs but I really think Miranda is a nose to the grindstone sort of artist when she is putting together a release. She knows where she took a wrong fork in the road after Revolution and Four and while she may still have a few radio friendly tunes coming for the downloaders, she knows who she is. I see this as the next step in her career (unless it’s a vanity project like Dierks’ Ridge album).
I am loyal. Anxious to hear it and I will buy it before even hearing any of it. Jon Randall adds a lot of interest for me.
I am curious, does anyone know when Miranda’s current recording contract expires? I believe it will be interesting to see what she does….stay put? Change labels? Go independent? I look forward to her future in music.
October 19, 2016 @ 7:01 am
This has the feel of an album where every song is either great or terrible. I’m hesitant to be excited but I’m hoping for the best.
October 19, 2016 @ 6:14 pm
No thanks
October 20, 2016 @ 1:05 pm
I’m actually really excited for this record. The concerts Miranda has gone to lately might be a clue as her direction. Her songwriting roots are strong & I think her musical taste is very good. Sounding more & more like a concept album. Intriguing to say the least. Once again Miranda is changing the game in Nashville. Very few mainstream artists change/challenge the mold that got them the brass ring. I like that she changes it up & wished that more would.
October 21, 2016 @ 5:47 pm
Miranda posted screenshot of some handwritten lyrics on her Facebook page, these are the lines:
A wish to fly
A wish to feel your feet on the ground
A six foot span with a gust of wind
A six foot span in a hard rain
When the clouds let go
And the water covers the feathers
When the clouds part and the sun dries the tears
A dream to move people with words
A dream to be heard
October 28, 2016 @ 12:25 am
“Keeper of the Flame” in up on iTunes. If you have a chance to listen to the song, I’d like to know what you think, Trigger. Thanks!