Killin' Time is the debut studio album by American country music singer-songwriter Clint Black. It was released on May 2, 1989, by RCA Nashville. The album, buoyed by the chart-topping success of its first four singles, was a huge hit upon its release, and established Black as one of the biggest new stars in country music. The album is currently certified triple platinum by the RIAA.
"A Better Man", "Nothing's News", "Walking Away", "Nobody's Home", and "Killin' Time" were all huge hit songs. All of these except "Nothing's News" reached Number One on the Billboard Hot Country Singles and Hot Country Singles & Tracks (now Hot Country Songs) chart, while "Nothing's News" reached No. 3. In addition, "A Better Man" and "Nobody's Home" were declared the Number One songs of 1989 and 1990, respectively, according to Billboard.
Contents
Critical reception
The Los Angeles Times wrote that "Black has a winning vocal style that evokes a very young Merle Haggard at times, and musically he can Western swing just as hard as fellow Texan George Strait, which he proves on the delightful 'Straight From the Factory'."
Musical style and composition
Killin' Time has been described musically as neotraditional country, Texas country, Western swing. It has been compared to the musical style of classic country music artists such as Merle Haggard and as neotraditional country contemporaries such as George Strait and Randy Travis.
Personnel
Band
Clint Black – acoustic guitar, harmonica, lead vocals, background vocals
Dick Gay – drums
Rob Hajacos – fiddle
Jana King – background vocals
Randy McCormick – keyboards
Craig Morris – background vocals
Hayden Nicholas – acoustic guitar, electric guitar, background vocals
Mark O'Connor – fiddle
John Permenter – fiddle
Jeff Peterson – Dobro, steel guitar
Jim Photoglo – background vocals
Donna Rhodes – background vocals
Brent Rowan – electric guitar
Harry Stinson – background vocals
Wendy Waldman – background vocals
Jake Willemain – bass guitar
Reggie Young – electric guitar
Production
Milan Bogdan – editing
Bill Ham – executive producer
Steve Lindsey – production coordinator
Glenn Meadows – mastering
Lynn Peterzell – engineer, mixing
Scott Poston – production coordinator
James Stroud – producer
Mark Wright – producer