Cole Swindell (album)

Cole Swindell is the debut studio album by American country music artist Cole Swindell. It was released on February 18, 2014 via Warner Bros. Records. The album includes the number one single "Chillin' It".

Background
Lead single "Chillin' It" was produced by Jody Stevens, who is the son of songwriter and producer Jeff Stevens, and formerly one-half of the duo Fast Ryde. Stevens also performed all instruments on that track. Luke Bryan's guitarist Michael Carter produced the rest of the album.

Critical reception
The eponymously titled Cole Swindell album received generally positive reception from music critics. At USA Today, Brian Mansfield rated the album two-and-a-half stars out of four, saying that the album contains an "unhurried confidence." Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic rated the album three stars out of five, writing that the release "goes down easy even if it sometimes seems like an overblown demo tape", which "winds up pleasant enough." At Newsday, Glenn Gamboa graded the album a B, stating that the album set him up for "country stardom." Matt Bjorke of Roughstock rated the album four out of five stars, saying that the release is "easily likeable" because he has an "easy-going charm" about himself. At Digital Journal, Markos Papadatos rated the album a perfect five stars, affirming that "The songs on here are polished and infectious." Kimberly Owens of Got Country Online rated the album a perfect five stars, stating that "Cole Swindell is pure talent, whether it be with his songwriting, or his vocals."

Commercial performance
The album debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 chart with 63,000 copies sold for the week. 42,000 of its sales were digital downloads, putting it at No. 1 in the Top Digital Albums chart. The album was certified Gold by the RIAA on October 13, 2015, and Platinum on March 31, 2016. As of November 2016, the album has sold 510,400 copies in the U.S.

Personnel

 * Pat Buchanan – electric guitar, slide guitar
 * Michael Carter – electric guitar, piano, background vocals
 * Howard Duck – Hammond B-3 organ, piano, synthesizer
 * Josh Matheny – lap steel guitar
 * Shane Minor – background vocals
 * James Mitchell – electric guitar
 * Greg Morrow – drums, loop programming
 * John Palmieri – background vocals
 * Billy Panda – acoustic guitar
 * Jody Stevens – banjo, bass guitar, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, keyboards, loop programming, drum programming, slide guitar, synthesizer
 * Cole Swindell – lead vocals
 * Russell Terrell – background vocals
 * Mike Wolofsky – bass guitar