Trail of Stars is the ninth studio album by American alternative country band The Walkabouts released on August 2, 1999[1] through Glitterhouse Records. It's their return album to Glitterhouse, formerly Sub Pop Europe, after a two album detour with major label Virgin.
| Trail of Stars | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | August 2, 1999[1] | |||
| Genre | Alternative rock, alt country. chamber pop | |||
| Length | 58:12[2] | |||
| Label | Glitterhouse | |||
| Producer | Phill Brown, The Walkabouts | |||
| The Walkabouts chronology | ||||
| ||||
Track listing
editSource:[2]
All tracks written by Chris Eckman, except where noted.
- "Desert Skies" (Eckman, Carla Torgerson, strings arrangement by Glenn Slater) – 7:32
- "Straight to the Stars" – 4:32
- "Gold" – 6:26
- "Last Tears" – 6:21
- "Crime Story" – 4:39
- "Hightimes" (strings arrangement by Fred Chalenor) – 4:53
- "Harvey's Quote to Me" (Slater) – 1:29
- "On the Day" (Eckman, Chalenor, woodwinds arrangement by Chalenor) – 6:30
- "Till I Reach You" – 4:37
- "Drown" – 4:30
- "No One the Wiser" (strings arrangement by Slater) – 6:43
- limited edition[3]
- "Bonnie and Clyde" (Serge Gainsbourg)[4] – 6:27
The limited edition also contained a multimedia track with a screen saver.
The album was engineered and mixed at Paradise Sound, Index, Washington and Avast!, Seattle, Washington and Swanyard, London. The album was mastered at Country Masters, Surrey.
Release history
edit| Region[3] | Date | Label | Format | Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Germany | August 2, 1999[1] | Glitterhouse Records | 2xLP | GR 450 |
| CD | GRCD 450 | |||
| United States | 1999 | S2 Records | S2CD 2500 |
Drown (Single)
edit
Drown is the eleventh single by American alternative country band The Walkabouts released on August 23, 1999, through Glitterhouse Records. The catalog number is GR 461.
- Track listing[4]
- "Drown (Stars on 45 edit)"
- "Bonnie and Clyde" (Serge Gainsbourg)
- "Lost in the Scraps"
The song "Bonnie and Clyde" was also released as a bonus track of the limited editions (both LP and CD) of Trail of Stars.
Personnel
edit- Fred Chalenor – bass
- Terri Moeller – drums, percussion, loops
- Glenn Slater – organ, Fender Rhodes, piano, ARP synthesizer, Moog synthesizer, mellotron, tapes
- Carla Torgerson – vocals, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, percussion, tapes
- Chris Eckman – vocals, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, piano, wobble board, samples, loops
- Additional musicians
- Steve Moore – trombone
- Christine Gunn – solo cello
- Bev Setzer – clarinet
- Kevin Suggs – pedel steel
- April Acevez Cameron – viola
- Justine Foy – cello
- Tyler A. Reilly – violin
- Rebecca Clemens-Keith – violin
- Phill Brown – loops, sounds
- Technical personnel
- Phill Brown – production, mixing
- Kevin Suggs – additional engineering
- Pat Sample – assistant engineer
- Kip Beelman – assistant engineer
- Jason Howes – assistant engineer
- Dennis Blackham – mastering
- Additional personnel
- Maurizio Poletto – design
- Enrico Bravi – design
- Mark Van S. – band photographs
- David French – space-ship sculptures
Critical reception
edit| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic | |
| KEXP-FM | favorable[5] |
John Duffy wrote for Allmusic: "... Drenched in John Cale-like soundscape washes and heavy strings, Trail of Stars comes off as morose and dirge-like. Only "Straight to the Stars" doesn't feel like a death march. This is frustrating, since the instrumentation of the record is expertly crafted and lovingly played. ..."[2]
Don Jates wrote for KEXP-FM: "The veteran Seattle band continues to evolve with this album of dark, delicately textured atmospheric pop."[5]
Gaesteliste compared it to Portishead, Massive Attack, and Roxy Music.[6]
Charts
editThe album charted one week (36/1999) on position 30 of the Norwegian album charts.[7]
References
edit- 1 2 3 "Glitterhouse, The Walkabouts, Trail of Stars". Glitterhouse Records. Retrieved November 15, 2012.
- 1 2 3 4 Duffy, John. Trail of Stars, The Walkabouts at AllMusic. Retrieved November 14, 2012.
- 1 2 The Walkabouts at Discogs
- 1 2 "Glitterhouse, The Walkabouts, Drown". Glitterhouse Records. Retrieved November 15, 2012.
- 1 2 "KEXP-FM, The Walkabouts, Trail of Stars". Retrieved November 26, 2012.
- ↑ Wynn, Steve. "Review: Walkabouts – Trail Of Stars". Gaestesliste. Retrieved November 29, 2012.
- ↑ "Norwegian Album Charts, The Walkabouts, Trail of Stars". Retrieved November 26, 2012.