Trail of Stars

Last updated
Trail of Stars
Trail of Stars Cover Walkabouts album.jpg
Studio album by The Walkabouts
Released August 02, 1999 [1]
Genre Alt-rock, alt-country. chamber pop
Length58:12 [2]
Label Glitterhouse
Producer Phill Brown, The Walkabouts
The Walkabouts chronology
Nighttown
(1997) Nighttown1997		Trail of Stars
(1999)		 Train Leaves at Eight
(2000) Train Leaves at Eight2000

Trail of Stars is the ninth 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.

United States federal republic in North America

The United States of America (USA), commonly known as the United States or America, is a country composed of 50 states, a federal district, five major self-governing territories, and various possessions. At 3.8 million square miles, the United States is the world's third or fourth largest country by total area and is slightly smaller than the entire continent of Europe's 3.9 million square miles. With a population of over 327 million people, the U.S. is the third most populous country. The capital is Washington, D.C., and the largest city by population is New York City. Forty-eight states and the capital's federal district are contiguous in North America between Canada and Mexico. The State of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east and across the Bering Strait from Russia to the west. The State of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U.S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, stretching across nine official time zones. The extremely diverse geography, climate, and wildlife of the United States make it one of the world's 17 megadiverse countries.

The Walkabouts

The Walkabouts were an American rock band formed in Seattle in 1984. The core members were vocalist Carla Torgerson and vocalist and songwriter Chris Eckman. Although the rest of the line-up changed occasionally, for most of the time the other members were Michael Wells, Glenn Slater and Terri Moeller.

Glitterhouse Records is a German independent record label and mail order company based in Beverungen, North Rhine-Westphalia. It was founded in the mid-1980s. From the late 1980s until the mid-1990s it was the European branch of the American label Sub Pop. Since 1997 the annual Orange Blossom Special open-air festival takes place in the backyard of the Glitterhouse HQ.

Contents

Track listing [2]

All tracks written by Chris Eckman, except where noted.

  1. "Desert Skies" (Eckman, Carla Torgerson, strings arrangement by Glenn Slater) – 7:32
  2. "Straight to the Stars" – 4:32
  3. "Gold" – 6:26
  4. "Last Tears" – 6:21
  5. "Crime Story" – 4:39
  6. "Hightimes" (strings arrangement by Fred Chalenor) – 4:53
  7. "Harvey's Quote to Me" (Slater) – 1:29
  8. "On the Day" (Eckman, Chalenor, woodwinds arrangement by Chalenor) – 6:30
  9. "Till I Reach You" – 4:37
  10. "Drown" – 4:30
  11. "No One the Wiser" (strings arrangement by Slater) – 6:43
limited edition [3]
  1. "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.

Index, Washington Town in Washington, United States

Index is a town in Snohomish County, Washington, United States. The population was 178 at the 2010 census.

Washington (state) State of the United States of America

Washington, officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. Named for George Washington, the first president of the United States, the state was made out of the western part of the Washington Territory, which was ceded by Britain in 1846 in accordance with the Oregon Treaty in the settlement of the Oregon boundary dispute. It was admitted to the Union as the 42nd state in 1889. Olympia is the state capital; the state's largest city is Seattle. Washington is sometimes referred to as Washington State, to distinguish it from Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States, which is often shortened to Washington.

Seattle City in Washington, United States

Seattle is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With an estimated 730,000 residents as of 2018, Seattle is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region of North America. According to U.S. Census data released in 2018, the Seattle metropolitan area’s population stands at 3.87 million, and ranks as the 15th largest in the United States. In July 2013, it was the fastest-growing major city in the United States and remained in the Top 5 in May 2015 with an annual growth rate of 2.1%. In July 2016, Seattle was again the fastest-growing major U.S. city, with a 3.1% annual growth rate. Seattle is the northernmost large city in the United States.

Release history [3]

Region 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)

Cover of the single "Drown" Drown Cover Walkabouts single.jpg
Cover of the single "Drown"

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]
  1. "Drown (Stars on 45 edit)"
  2. "Bonnie and Clyde" (Serge Gainsbourg)
  3. "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 was an American bassist, most recognized for his work in the bands Caveman Shoestore, Tone Dogs, and Face Ditch. He has also collaborated on numerous occasion with composer and keyboardist Wayne Horvitz, recording with him in Pigpen and Zony Mash, and with composer and percussionist Robert Mike Mahaffay of Tres Gone.

Bass guitar Electric bass instrument

The bass guitar is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric guitar, except with a longer neck and scale length, and four to six strings or courses.

Organ (music) musical keyboard instrument

In music, the organ is a keyboard instrument of one or more pipe divisions or other means for producing tones, each played with its own keyboard, played either with the hands on a keyboard or with the feet using pedals. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria, who invented the water organ. It was played throughout the Ancient Greek and Ancient Roman world, particularly during races and games. During the early medieval period it spread from the Byzantine Empire, where it continued to be used in secular (non-religious) and imperial court music, to Western Europe, where it gradually assumed a prominent place in the liturgy of the Catholic Church. Subsequently it re-emerged as a secular and recital instrument in the Classical music tradition.

Additional musicians
Technical personnel
Additional personnel

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [2]
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

The album charted one week (36/1999) on position 30 of the Norwegian album charts. [7]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 "Glitterhouse, The Walkabouts, Trail of Stars". Glitterhouse Records . Retrieved 2012-11-15.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Duffy, John. Trail of Stars, The Walkabouts at AllMusic . Retrieved November 14, 2012.
  3. 1 2 The Walkabouts at Discogs
  4. 1 2 "Glitterhouse, The Walkabouts, Drown". Glitterhouse Records . Retrieved 2012-11-15.
  5. 1 2 "KEXP-FM, The Walkabouts, Trail of Stars" . Retrieved 2012-11-26.
  6. ↑ Wynn, Steve. "Review: Walkabouts - Trail Of Stars". Gaestesliste. Retrieved 29 November 2012.
  7. ↑ "Norwegian Album Charts, The Walkabouts, Trail of Stars" . Retrieved 2012-11-26.
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