# Killin' Time (Clint Black album)

Professional ratings :
| Review scores ||
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic | |
| Chicago Tribune | |
| Christgau's Record Guide | A− |
| The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | |
| Q | |
| Rolling Stone | |
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.

## 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.

## Track listing

All tracks are written by Clint Black and Hayden Nicholas except where noted

## 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

## Chart positions
### Singles

| Year | Single | Peak positions | Peak positions |
| Year | Single | US Country | CAN Country |
| 1989 | "A Better Man" | 1 | 1 |
| 1989 | "Killin' Time" | 1 | 1 |
| 1989 | "Nobody's Home" | 1 | 1 |
| 1990 | "Walkin' Away" | 1 | 1 |
| 1990 | "Nothing's News" | 3 | 1 |

## Certifications

| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
| Canada (Music Canada) | Platinum | 100,000$^^$ |
| United States (RIAA) | 3× Platinum | 3,000,000$^^$ |
| $^^$ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |||