Big Dreams & High Hopes

Big Dreams & High Hopes is the eighth studio album by American country music singer Jack Ingram. It was released on August 25, 2009 via Big Machine Records as his third release for the label. The album includes the singles "That's a Man" (a Top 20 hit) and "Barefoot and Crazy," which is Ingram's first Top 10 hit on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs charts since 2005's "Wherever You Are".

Big Dreams & High Hopes
Studio album by
ReleasedAugust 25, 2009 (2009-08-25)
GenreCountry
Length42:36
LabelBig Machine
ProducerRadney Foster
Jay Joyce
Doug Lancio
Jeremy Stover
Jack Ingram chronology
This Is It
(2007)
Big Dreams & High Hopes
(2009)
Midnight Motel
(2016)
Singles from Big Dreams & High Hopes
  1. "That's a Man"
    Released: October 13, 2008
  2. "Barefoot and Crazy"
    Released: March 30, 2009
  3. "Seeing Stars"
    Released: October 12, 2009
  4. "Free"
    Released: January 25, 2010
  5. "Barbie Doll"
    Released: May 2010
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]
Roughstock(favorable)[2]
Slant Magazine[3]

Content

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Regarding the album's content, Ingram told CMT that the album will have "more guts" than his previous albums.[4] It was originally to have included Ellis Paul's "The World Ain't Slowing Down,"[4] which was cut from the album.

"That's a Man" served as the lead-off single, reaching No. 18 on the U.S. country charts in mid-2009. The album was originally to have been released at that point, but the release was moved as "That's a Man" fell from the charts weeks before the album's first release date. "Barefoot and Crazy" was then issued as the second single, "Seeing Stars" the third and "Free" the fourth.

Also included on this album is a re-recording of "Barbie Doll," which Ingram previously recorded on his 1999 studio album Hey You. The version here features guest vocals from Dierks Bentley, Randy Houser, James Otto and members of Little Big Town and The Lost Trailers. A radio edit of the same song, featuring only Ingram and Bentley, was issued as the fifth single.

Reception

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Allmusic reviewer Thom Jurek gave the album three-and-a-half stars out of five. He considered the production reminiscent of 1970s rock music, and said that most of the songs were well written but not distinctive.[1]

The album debuted on Billboard 200 at No. 61,[5] No. 21 on the Top Country Albums chart,[6] selling 10,000 copies in its first week. It has sold 34,000 copies in the US as of May 2016.[7]

Track listing

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No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Free"Jay Knowles, Trent Summar3:06
2."Barefoot and Crazy"Ben Hayslip, Rhett Akins, Dallas Davidson3:30
3."That's a Man"Ed Hill, Steven Dale Jones, Mark D. Sanders3:57
4."Seeing Stars" (duet with Patty Griffin)Jack Ingram, Chris Tompkins3:54
5."Not Giving Up on Me"Ingram, Jeffrey Steele, Tom Hambridge4:01
6."Barbie Doll" (featuring Dierks Bentley, Randy Houser, Little Big Town, The Lost Trailers and James Otto)Ingram, Todd Snider3:56
7."Big Dreams & High Hopes"Ingram, Gary Burr3:52
8."Heartache"Ingram, Radney Foster, Darrell Brown4:27
9."Man in Your Life"Ingram, Foster3:35
10."King of Wasted Time"Tom Shapiro, Jim Collins, Tony Martin3:39
11."In the Corner"Ingram4:54

Personnel

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  • Dierks Bentley – duet vocals on "Barbie Doll"
  • Eric Borash – electric guitar
  • Steve Brewster – drums, percussion
  • Todd Cooper – background vocals
  • Chad Cromwell – drums
  • Dan Dugmoresteel guitar
  • Shawn Fichter – drums
  • Ian Fitchuk – keyboards
  • Larry Franklinfiddle
  • Patty Griffin – duet vocals on "Seeing Stars"
  • Lee Hendricks – bass guitar
  • Byron House – bass guitar
  • Jedd Hughes – acoustic guitar, electric guitar, mandolin, background vocals
  • Jack Ingram – acoustic guitar, lead vocals
  • Mike Johnson – steel guitar
  • Jay Joyce – acoustic guitar, electric guitar, keyboards, organ, piano
  • Doug Kahan – bass guitar
  • Craig Krampf – percussion
  • Troy Lancaster – electric guitar
  • Doug Lancio – drums, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, keyboards, programming
  • The Little Big Lost Beat Up Ford Funky Times Freedom Choir – background vocals on "Barbie Doll"
  • Georgia Middleman – background vocals
  • Mike Rojas – keyboards, organ
  • Matthew Ryan – bass guitar
  • Steve Sheehan – acoustic guitar
  • Adam Shoenfeld – electric guitar
  • Russell Terrell – background vocals
  • Chris Tompkins – keyboards

Chart performance

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Album

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Chart (2009) Peak
position
US Billboard 200[8] 61
US Top Country Albums (Billboard)[9] 21

Singles

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Year Single Peak chart
positions
US Country US
2008 "That's a Man" 18 104
2009 "Barefoot and Crazy" 10 64
"Seeing Stars" (with Patty Griffin) 54
2010 "Free" 42
"Barbie Doll" (with Dierks Bentley) 56
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

References

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  1. ^ a b Jurek, Thom. "Big Dreams & High Hopes review". Allmusic. Retrieved 2009-08-24.
  2. ^ Bjorke, Matt (2009-08-25). "Big Dreams & High Hopes review". Roughstock. Archived from the original on 2010-09-04. Retrieved 2009-09-08.
  3. ^ Keefe, Jonathan (2009-08-24). "Big Dreams & High Hopes review". Slant Magazine. Archived from the original on 2009-09-26. Retrieved 2009-09-08.
  4. ^ a b Shelburne, Craig. Jack Ingram’s New Music Will Have “More Guts”. CMT Blog, Sept. 29, 2008. Retrieved Oct. 29, 2008.
  5. ^ "The Billboard 200". Billboard. September 12, 2009.
  6. ^ "Top Country Albums". Billboard. September 12, 2009.
  7. ^ "Upcoming Releases". Hits Daily Double. HITS Digital Ventures. Archived from the original on May 17, 2016.
  8. ^ "Jack Ingram Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard.
  9. ^ "Jack Ingram Chart History (Top Country Albums)". Billboard.