A Sailor's Guide to Earth
| A Sailor's Guide to Earth | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||||||||
| Studio album by Sturgill Simpson | ||||||||||
| Released | April 15, 2016 | |||||||||
| Recorded | Butcher Shoppe, Nashville, Tennessee Engineered and mixed by David Ferguson | |||||||||
| Genre | ||||||||||
| Length | 38:54 | |||||||||
| Label | Atlantic | |||||||||
| Producer | Sturgill Simpson | |||||||||
| Sturgill Simpson chronology | ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
A Sailor's Guide to Earth is the third studio album by American country singer-songwriter Sturgill Simpson. It was announced on March 3, 2016, with the release of the single "Brace for Impact (Live a Little)." The album was released on April 15, 2016.[1]
Background
Prior to the album's announcement, Simpson stated in an interview with GQ that "what's next is already finished... Quite honestly, I need about six months at home with my family."[2] On March 3, 2016, Simpson released "Brace for Impact (Live a Little)" on YouTube and his website; the next day he released the nine-song track list of A Sailor's Guide to Earth.[3] A week later, he published the music video for "Brace for Impact," which was directed by Matt Mahurin and contains the Grim Reaper, a hot rod coffin and sailboats.[4] On March 24, 2016, Simpson released his cover of Nirvana's "In Bloom" along with its music video, also directed by Matt Mahurin. Simpson said, "I wanted to make a very beautiful and pure homage to Kurt [Cobain]."[5] Streaming of the album became available on April 7, 2016, on NPR's official website.[6]
Reception
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Aggregate scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 86/100[7] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [8] |
| Rolling Stone | [9] |
| Slant Magazine | [10] |
| Pitchfork Media | 8.0/10[11] |
A Sailor's Guide to Earth received widespread critical acclaim upon its release. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from music critics, the album has received an average score of 86, indicating "universal acclaim", based on 19 reviews.[7]
The album debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200, and No. 1 on the Top Country Albums chart, selling 52,000 copies (55,000 units when tracks and streams are included) in its first week.[12] The album sold a further 13,400 copies in the second week.[13] The album has sold 129,400 copies in the US as of September 2016.[14]
Accolades
| Publication | Accolade | Year | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paste | The 50 Best Albums of 2016 | 2016 | 19[15] |
| Rough Trade | Albums of the Year | 2016 | 91[16] |
| Stereogum | The 50 Best Albums of 2016 | 2016 | 26[17] |
Track listing
All tracks written by Sturgill Simpson except "In Bloom", which is written by Kurt Cobain.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Welcome to Earth (Pollywog)" | 4:53 |
| 2. | "Breakers Roar" | 3:33 |
| 3. | "Keep It Between the Lines" | 4:01 |
| 4. | "Sea Stories" | 3:17 |
| 5. | "In Bloom" (Nirvana cover) | 4:01 |
| 6. | "Brace for Impact (Live a Little)" | 5:49 |
| 7. | "All Around You" | 3:36 |
| 8. | "Oh Sarah" (Was originally released on Sunday Valley's album To the Wind and On to Heaven in 2011) | 4:15 |
| 9. | "Call to Arms" | 5:30 |
Total length: |
38:54 | |
Personnel
- Arthur Cook – cello
- Jefferson Crow – piano, Wurlitzer
- Jonathan Dinklage – violin
- Dan Dugmore – pedal steel guitar
- Robert Emmett – keyboards, moog synthesizer, organ, synthesizer, background vocals, Wurlitzer
- Clark Gayton – trombone
- David Guy – flugelhorn, trumpet
- Ian Hendrickson-Smith – alto saxophone, baritone saxophone, tenor saxophone
- Laur Joamets – electric guitar, slide guitar
- Whitney LaGrange – violin
- Miles Miller – drums, background vocals
- Dave Roe – bass guitar
- Sturgill Simpson – 12-string guitar, acoustic guitar, moog synthesizer, synthesizer, lead vocals, background vocals
- Neal Sugarman – tenor saxophone
- Dougie Wilkinson – bagpipes
- Garo Yellin – cello
Chart performance
| Chart (2016) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[18] | 108 |
| Canadian Albums (Billboard)[19] | 31 |
| Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)[20] | 66 |
| Irish Albums (IRMA)[21] | 39 |
| Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[22] | 34 |
| UK Albums (OCC)[23] | 43 |
| US Billboard 200[24] | 3 |
| US Folk Albums (Billboard)[25] | 1 |
| US Top Country Albums (Billboard)[26] | 1 |
| US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[27] | 1 |
References
- ↑ Matthew Strauss. "Sturgill Simpson Announces New Album A Sailor's Guide to Earth, Shares "Brace for Impact (Live a Little)"". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2016-03-04.
- ↑ Will Welch (2016-01-07). "The GQ&A: Sturgill Simpson, Country Music's Psychedelic Warrior-Philosopher". GQ. Retrieved 2016-03-27.
- ↑ Carolyn Menyes (2016-03-04). "Sturgill Simpson Reveals 'A Sailor's Guide to Earth' Tracklist with Nirvana Cover & Tour Dates". MusicTimes. Retrieved 2016-03-27.
- ↑ Andrew Leahey (2016-03-10). "Watch Sturgill Simpson's Surreal 'Brace for Impact' Video". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2016-03-27.
- ↑ James Grebey (2016-03-24). "Listen to Sturgill Simpson's Country Cover of Nirvana's 'In Bloom'". SPIN. Retrieved 2016-03-27.
- ↑ Ann Powers (2016-04-07). "First Listen: Sturgill Simpson, 'A Sailor's Guide To Earth'". NPR. Retrieved 2016-04-08.
- 1 2 "A Sailor's Guide to Earth Reviews". Metacritic.com. Retrieved 2016-04-14.
- ↑ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "A Sailor's Guide to Earth". Allmusic.com. Retrieved 2016-04-14.
- ↑ Hermes, Will (2016-04-14). "A Sailor's Guide to Earth". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2016-04-14.
- ↑ Winograd, Jeremy (2016-04-21). "A Sailor's Guide to Earth". Slant Magazine. Retrieved 2016-04-21.
- ↑ Goble, Corban (2016-04-19). "A Sailor's Guide to Earth". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 2016-04-19.
- ↑ Caulfield, Keith (April 24, 2016). "Sturgill Simpson and Santana Debut in Top 10 on Billboard 200 Chart". Billboard. Retrieved April 25, 2016.
- ↑ Bjorke, Matt (May 5, 2016). "Country Album Chart Report: May 5, 2016". Roughstock.
- ↑ Bjorke, Matt (September 27, 2016). "Country Album Sales Chart: September 22, 2016". Roughstock.
- ↑ "The 50 Best Albums of 2016". Paste. November 30, 2016. Retrieved December 1, 2016.
- ↑ "Albums of the Year". Rough Trade. November 14, 2016. Retrieved November 15, 2016.
- ↑ "The 50 Best Albums of 2016". Stereogum. December 1, 2016. Retrieved December 1, 2016.
- ↑ "Ultratop.be – Sturgill Simpson – A Sailor's Guide to Earth" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved April 22, 2016.
- ↑ "Sturgill Simpson – Chart history" Billboard Canadian Albums Chart for Sturgill Simpson. Retrieved April 26, 2016.
- ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Sturgill Simpson – A Sailor's Guide to Earth" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved April 22, 2016.
- ↑ "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week 16, 2016". Chart-Track. IRMA. Retrieved April 22, 2016.
- ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Sturgill Simpson – A Sailor's Guide to Earth". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 23, 2016.
- ↑ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 23, 2016.
- ↑ "Sturgill Simpson – Chart history" Billboard 200 for Sturgill Simpson. Retrieved April 26, 2016.
- ↑ "Sturgill Simpson – Chart history" Billboard Folk Albums for Sturgill Simpson. Retrieved April 26, 2016.
- ↑ "Sturgill Simpson – Chart history" Billboard Top Country Albums for Sturgill Simpson. Retrieved April 26, 2016.
- ↑ "Sturgill Simpson – Chart history" Billboard Top Rock Albums for Sturgill Simpson. Retrieved April 26, 2016.