Trail of Stars
1999 studio album by The Walkabouts
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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 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| 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 | ||||
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Track listing
Source:[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
| 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)
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
- 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
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
The album charted one week (36/1999) on position 30 of the Norwegian album charts.[7]