Country singer Eric Church was in quarantine before any of us. In January 2020, he decided to go on a month-long (28 days) Appalachian retreat. “Hell, we didn’t know COVID was going to happen,” he said in an interview with the Nashville Tennessean last month. “I was trying to quarantine and be reclusive and all that stuff before I knew the world was gonna make us do that. It snowed. It was cold. We all just hung out together. There was no outside influence.” It just included a few players, songwriters and collaborators, none with whom Church was close or familiar with at the time. 

Church’s fan base is known as the “Church Choir.” On January 21, some of these fans hacked onto his website, revealing plans for a triple album. However, Church was not upset, and took it as a compliment that people were so eager for his music. Later that day he announced the triple-phase album, “Heart & Soul,” and the release dates in a short video. 

April 16: “Heart”

April 20: “&”

April 23: “Soul”

There was a special element behind the middle record “&,” containing six songs. It was exclusive to Church Choir fan club members. These fan club members will also have access to exclusive white vinyl versions of “Heart” and “Soul.”

In the album, you get a great mix of all genres. Although “Springsteen” is the biggest and most streamed song of his career, approaching 260,000,000 streams on Spotify, the most popular song on the album right now is “Hell Of A View,” approaching 35,000 streams. 

Fans have loved the authentic country sound, but with the twist of rock and roll. Even the song “Rock & Roll Found Me” has that country feel.

Although critics have varying opinions to members of the “Church Choir.” Some feel that “Heart” felt like it had more feeling behind it, and “Soul” felt more rushed. They feel a triple album was too ambitious, and it would have been a better idea for Church to stick to a single, traditional album.