# Sounds So Good > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Sounds_So_Good > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Sounds_So_Good.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sounds_So_Good > Source revision: 1344938199 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Use mdy dates|date=May 2025}} {{Infobox album | name = Sounds So Good | type = Studio | artist = [Ashton Shepherd](/source/Ashton_Shepherd) | cover = ashtonsounds.jpg | alt = The cover features Ashton Shepherd sitting on the edge of a pool table in a lounge. Both the artist's name and album title appear below her, "Ashton" colored in white and both "Shepherd" and "Sounds So Good" colored in orange. | released = {{start date|2008|3|4}} | recorded = | studio = | genre = [Country](/source/Country_music) | length = 40:43 | label = [MCA Nashville](/source/MCA_Nashville) | producer = [Buddy Cannon](/source/Buddy_Cannon){{cite web|url=http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ashton-shepherd-to-release-sounds-so-good-march-4-57015642.html|title=Ashton Shepherd To Release 'Sounds So Good' March 4|work=PR Newswire|date=February 24, 2008|access-date=March 21, 2026|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110605194612/http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ashton-shepherd-to-release-sounds-so-good-march-4-57015642.html|archive-date=June 5, 2011|url-status=dead}} | prev_title = | prev_year = | next_title = [Where Country Grows](/source/Where_Country_Grows) | next_year = 2011 | misc = {{Singles | name = Sounds So Good | type = Studio | single1 = [Takin' Off This Pain](/source/Takin'_Off_This_Pain) | single1date = September 17, 2007 | single2 = [Sounds So Good](/source/Sounds_So_Good_(song)) | single2date = May 19, 2008 }} }} '''''Sounds So Good''''' is the debut studio album by American [country music](/source/country_music) artist [Ashton Shepherd](/source/Ashton_Shepherd). The album was released on March 4, 2008, via [MCA Nashville Records](/source/Universal_Music_Group_Nashville). The album has produced two singles: "[Takin' Off This Pain](/source/Takin'_Off_This_Pain)", which reached number 20 on [''Billboard''](/source/Billboard_(magazine)) [Hot Country Songs](/source/Hot_Country_Songs), and the [title track](/source/Sounds_So_Good_(song)), which reached number 21. Shepherd wrote or co-wrote all but one of the tracks. ==Critical reception== {{Music ratings | rev1 = [AllMusic](/source/AllMusic) | rev1Score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/sounds-so-good-mw0000751607|title=''Sounds So Good'' - Ashton Shepherd|last=Erlewine|first=Stephen Thomas|author-link=Stephen Thomas Erlewine|publisher=[AllMusic](/source/AllMusic)|access-date=March 21, 2026|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120722011717/https://www.allmusic.com/album/sounds-so-good-mw0000751607|archive-date=July 22, 2012|url-status=live}} | rev2 = ''Engine 145'' | rev2Score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{cite web|url=http://www.engine145.com/album-review-ashton-shepherd-sounds-so-good/|title=Album Review: Ashton Shepherd – ''Sounds So Good''|author=Matt C|work=Engine 145|access-date=July 7, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141218075909/http://www.engine145.com/album-review-ashton-shepherd-sounds-so-good/|url-status=usurped|archive-date=December 18, 2014}} | rev3 = ''[Entertainment Weekly](/source/Entertainment_Weekly)'' | rev3Score = B+{{cite magazine|url=http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20182582,00.html|title=Sounds So Good|last=Willman|first=Chris|magazine=[Entertainment Weekly](/source/Entertainment_Weekly)|date=March 7, 2008|access-date=July 7, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090421212718/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20182582,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=April 21, 2009}} | rev4 = ''[Slant Magazine](/source/Slant_Magazine)'' | rev4Score = {{Rating|3.5|5}}{{cite magazine|url=https://www.slantmagazine.com/music/ashton-shepherd-sounds-so-good/|title=Review: Ashton Shepherd, ''Sounds So Good''|last=Keefe|first=Jonathan|magazine=[Slant Magazine](/source/Slant_Magazine)|date=March 16, 2008|access-date=March 21, 2026|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260321211938/https://www.slantmagazine.com/music/ashton-shepherd-sounds-so-good/|archive-date=March 21, 2026|url-status=live}} }} [AllMusic](/source/AllMusic)'s [Stephen Thomas Erlewine](/source/Stephen_Thomas_Erlewine) gave note of the album's "crawling midtempo numbers" giving "a slight meditative quality" to the overall record, concluding that: "As good as these lighter numbers are, Shepherd's gifts are her intimacy as a writer and how her powerful voice lends depth to her songs. Both qualities shine brightly on this compelling debut." Matt C of ''Engine 145'' praised Buddy Cannon's production for being "undeniably traditional yet surprisingly not far afield from pop-country radio polish" and Shepherd's songwriting and vocals elevating even the album's lesser tracks ("Lost in You", "How Big Are Angel Wings"), concluding that: "It's not a statement for traditional country music, and it's not devoid of Nashville tricks and polish. Rather, it's an album by a woman who's from the country and is singing what she knows about, and it ''Sounds So Good''." ''[Entertainment Weekly](/source/Entertainment_Weekly)'' writer Chris Willman called ''Sounds So Good'' "the best mainstream country debut" since [Taylor Swift](/source/Taylor_Swift)'s [debut](/source/Taylor_Swift_(album)) in 2006, saying the tracks "nicely split the difference between radio-friendliness and pure country tradition." Jonathan Keefe of ''[Slant Magazine](/source/Slant_Magazine)'' felt it was "among the most significant debuts" to come out of Nashville, praising Shepherd's songwriting for carrying "a remarkably self-assured, unique point of view" in the various stories and Cannon's production for elevating the album's "handful of weaker cuts" with "a polished take on traditional country", concluding that: "Shepherd's is undoubtedly an important, vital new voice in country music because it is definitively, believably her own." ''[Country Standard Time](/source/Country_Standard_Time)'' critic Jessica Phillips praised Shepherd's straightforward lyricism and "beyond-her-years vocals" being similar to [Jennifer Nettles](/source/Jennifer_Nettles) and [Loretta Lynn](/source/Loretta_Lynn), concluding that: "While the record could benefit from more songs like "Pain," and "Pickin' Shed," for those looking for a true country sound, Shepherd's first effort sounds so good."{{cite magazine|url=https://www.countrystandardtime.com/d/cdreview.asp?xid=3838|title=Ashton Shepherd - Sounds So Good|last=Philips|first=Jessica|magazine=[Country Standard Time](/source/Country_Standard_Time)|access-date=March 21, 2026|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120527221929/https://www.countrystandardtime.com/d/cdreview.asp?xid=3838|archive-date=May 27, 2012|url-status=live}} ==Track listing== {{Track listing | all_writing = [Ashton Shepherd](/source/Ashton_Shepherd), except where noted. | title1 = [Takin' Off This Pain](/source/Takin'_Off_This_Pain) | length1 = 3:09 | title2 = I Ain't Dead Yet | length2 = 3:13 | title3 = [Sounds So Good](/source/Sounds_So_Good_(song)) | length3 = 3:27 | title4 = Not Right Now | length4 = 3:37 | title5 = Lost in You | length5 = 4:13 | title6 = Old Memory | writer6 = {{hlist|Shepherd|Adam Cunningham}} | length6 = 4:20 | title7 = The Pickin' Shed | length7 = 3:42 | title8 = Regular Joe | length8 = 4:01 | title9 = How Big Are Angel Wings | writer9 = {{hlist|Shepherd|Cunningham}} | length9 = 4:05 | title10 = The Bigger the Heart | writer10 = {{hlist|Shepherd|Cunningham}} | length10 = 2:34 | title11 = Whiskey Won the Battle | writer11 = Cunningham | length11 = 4:20 }} ==Chart performance== ===Album=== The album debuted and peaked at number 16 on the [Top Country Albums](/source/Top_Country_Albums) chart, and number 90 on the [''Billboard'' 200](/source/Billboard_200) selling less than 10,000 copies in the United States.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/alan-jackson-bests-janet-to-top-billboard-200-1046191/|title=Alan Jackson Bests Janet To Top Billboard 200|last=Hasty|first=Katie|magazine=[Billboard](/source/Billboard_(magazine))|date=March 12, 2008|access-date=March 21, 2026|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211208100715/https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/alan-jackson-bests-janet-to-top-billboard-200-1046191/|archive-date=December 8, 2021|url-status=live}} {| class="wikitable" |- ! Chart (2008) ! Peak
position |- | U.S. ''Billboard'' Top Country Albums | align="center"| 16 |- | U.S. ''Billboard'' 200 | align="center"| 90 |- |} ===Singles=== {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" |- ! rowspan="2"| Year ! rowspan="2"| Single ! colspan="2"| Peak chart
positions |- style="font-size:smaller;" ! width="45"| [US Country](/source/Hot_Country_Songs) ! width="45"| [US](/source/Billboard_Hot_100)
{{cite book|last=Whitburn|first=Joel|title=Top Pop Singles 1955–2010|publisher=Record Research, Inc|year=2011|isbn=978-0-89820-188-8}} |- | 2007 | align="left"| "[Takin' Off This Pain](/source/Takin'_Off_This_Pain)" | 20 | 116 |- | 2008 | align="left"| "[Sounds So Good](/source/Sounds_So_Good_(song))" | 21 | 116 |- |} ==Personnel== *Wyatt Beard – [background vocals](/source/Backing_vocalist) *[Buddy Cannon](/source/Buddy_Cannon) – [acoustic guitar](/source/acoustic_guitar), background vocals *[Chad Cromwell](/source/Chad_Cromwell) – [drums](/source/Drum_kit) *[Dan Dugmore](/source/Dan_Dugmore) – [steel guitar](/source/steel_guitar) *Kevin "Swine" Grantt – [bass guitar](/source/bass_guitar) *[Kenny Greenberg](/source/Kenny_Greenberg) – [electric guitar](/source/electric_guitar) *[John Jorgenson](/source/John_Jorgenson) – electric guitar *Shelby Kennedy – background vocals *B. James Lowry – acoustic guitar, [12-string guitar](/source/12-string_guitar) *Randy McCormick – [piano](/source/piano), [Hammond organ](/source/Hammond_organ), [Wurlitzer electric piano](/source/Wurlitzer_electric_piano), [synthesizer](/source/synthesizer) *Larry Paxton – bass guitar *Gary Prim – piano *[John Wesley Ryles](/source/John_Wesley_Ryles) – background vocals *Scotty Sanders - steel guitar *[Ashton Shepherd](/source/Ashton_Shepherd) - lead vocals *Joe Spivey - [fiddle](/source/fiddle), [mandolin](/source/mandolin) *[Scott Vestal](/source/Scott_Vestal) - [banjo](/source/banjo) *[Chip Young](/source/Chip_Young) – acoustic guitar ==References== {{reflist|2}} {{Ashton Shepherd}} {{Authority control}} Category:2008 debut albums Category:Ashton Shepherd albums Category:MCA Records albums Category:Albums produced by Buddy Cannon --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Sounds So Good](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sounds_So_Good) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sounds_So_Good?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.