The Harrow & The Harvest

The Harrow & The Harvest
Studio album by Gillian Welch
Released June 28, 2011
Recorded February 2011[1]
Genre Folk
Label Acony
Producer David Rawlings
Gillian Welch chronology
Soul Journey
(2003)		 The Harrow & The Harvest
(2011)

The Harrow & The Harvest is a 2011 album released by American musician Gillian Welch. It was Welch's first album in eight years and was released on June 28, 2011.

Contents

Background

The eight years since the release of 2003's Soul Journey marked the longest period of time between album releases for Welch. In explaining the relatively long recording absence, Welch said, "The sad truth is we never liked anything enough to put it out, which is not a pleasant place to be." She added, "over the course of that time that we were quiet we probably had enough songs to put out two or three records. Actually we made a few tentative steps at trying to record, but inevitably the heart would go out of it when we realised that we simply didn't like the material enough to go on with it."[2] Welch frequently performed the song "The Way It Will Be" in years prior to the release of the album.[3] Welch explains that this tense time period inspired the album title: "Our songcraft slipped and I really don't know why. It's not uncommon. It's something that happens to writers. It's the deepest frustration we have come through, hence the album title."[2] The writing process involved "this endless back and forth between the two of us," Welch said, stating that "It’s our most intertwined, co-authored, jointly-composed album."[4]

Recording

According to Welch, "The songs are mostly first and second takes, and Dave composed some of the music spontaneously in the studio. It was very freeing. We learned to accept mistakes and rough edges, because those didn't impede what the heart of the matter was."[4]

Reception

Uncut placed it at 2 on their "Top 50 albums of 2011" list,[5] while In Review Online, Q, Mojo, and Paste placed it at number 7, 28, 34, and 39, respectively.[6][7][8][9]

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [10]
The A.V. Club (C+)[11]
The Guardian [12]
Los Angeles Times [13]
MOJO [14]
musicOMH [15]
The Observer [16]
Rolling Stone [17]
Uncut [18]

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Gillian Welch and David Rawlings. 

No. Title Length
1. "Scarlet Town"   3:38
2. "Dark Turn of Mind"   4:07
3. "The Way It Will Be"   4:47
4. "The Way It Goes"   4:01
5. "Tennessee"   6:35
6. "Down Along the Dixie Line"   4:49
7. "Six White Horses"   3:38
8. "Hard Times"   4:52
9. "Silver Dagger"   3:23
10. "The Way the Whole Thing Ends"   6:11

Personnel

John Dyer Baizley provided artwork for the album.[19]

Chart performance

Chart (2011) Peak
position
Canadian Albums Chart[20] 80
US Billboard 200[21] 20
US Billboard Folk Albums[22] 1
US Billboard Independent Albums[23] 3
US Billboard Rock Albums[24] 5
Norwegian Albums Chart[25] 7
Swedish Albums Chart[26] 31
UK Albums Chart[27] 25
New Zealand Albums Chart[28] 14

References

  1. ^ GillianWelch.com
  2. ^ a b Shedden, Iain (18 June 2011). "Harvest time after long journey for Gillian Welch". The Australian. http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/arts/harvest-time-after-long-journey-for-gillian-welch/story-e6frg8n6-1226075001358. Retrieved 18 June 2011. 
  3. ^ Kiefer, Kate (20 November 2009). "Catching Up With... David Rawlings". Paste Magazine. http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2009/11/catching-up-with-david-rawlings.html. Retrieved 13 January 2010. 
  4. ^ a b Leahey, Andrew (29 June 2011). "Gillian Welch Comes Down From The Mountain". American Songwriter. http://www.americansongwriter.com/2011/06/gillian-welch-comes-down-from-the-mountain/. Retrieved 30 June 2011. 
  5. ^ http://stereogum.com/891311/uncuts-top-50-albums-of-2011/list/
  6. ^ http://www.inreviewonline.com/inreview/home/Entries/2011/12/30_Year_in_Review_2011_-_Top_15_Albums.html
  7. ^ http://stereogum.com/891091/qs-50-best-albums-of-2011/list/
  8. ^ http://stereogum.com/894362/mojos-top-50-albums-of-2011
  9. ^ http://www.pastemagazine.com/blogs/lists/2011/11/the-50-best-albums-of-2011.html?p=5
  10. ^ Jurek, Thom. "The Harrow & the Harvest". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/album/the-harrow-the-harvest-r2219679/review. Retrieved 16 July 2011. 
  11. ^ MIncher, Chris. "The Harrow & The Harvest". The A.V. Club. http://www.avclub.com/articles/gillian-welch-the-harrow-the-harvest,58161/. Retrieved 16 July 2011. 
  12. ^ Denselow, Robin. "Gillian Welch: The Harrow & the Harvest – review". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2011/jun/23/gillian-welch-cd-review. Retrieved 16 July 2011. 
  13. ^ Barton, Chris. "Album review: Gillian Welch's 'The Harrow & the Harvest'". Pop & Hiss. The Los Angeles Times. http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/music_blog/2011/06/album-review-gillian-welchs-the-harrow-the-harvest.html. Retrieved 16 July 2011. 
  14. ^ Paton, Daniel. "Gillian Welch - The Harrow & The Harvest". musicOMH. http://anydecentmusic.com/review/3274/Gillian-Welch-The-Harrow--The-Harvest.aspx. Retrieved 23 September 2011. 
  15. ^ Paton, Daniel. "Gillian Welch - The Harrow & The Harvest". musicOMH. http://www.musicomh.com/albums/gillian-welch_0611.htm. Retrieved 16 July 2011. 
  16. ^ Empire, Kitty. "Gillian Welch: The Harrow & the Harvest – review". The Observer. http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2011/jun/26/harrow-and-harvest-gillian-welch-review. Retrieved 16 July 2011. 
  17. ^ Hermes, Will. "Gillian Welch". Rolling Stone. http://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/the-harrow-the-harvest-20110628. Retrieved 16 July 2011. 
  18. ^ Mueller, Andrew. "Album Review: Gillian Welch - the Harrow and the Harvest". Uncut. http://www.uncut.co.uk/music/gillian_welch/reviews/14958. Retrieved 16 July 2011. 
  19. ^ GillianWelch.com - Album Artwork
  20. ^ "Canoe!". Canoe!. http://jam.canoe.ca/Music/Charts/ALBUMS.html. Retrieved 16 July 2011. 
  21. ^ "Gillian Welch Album & Song Chart History - Billboard 200". Billboard. http://www.billboard.com/#/artist/gillian-welch/chart-history/147629. Retrieved July 7, 2011. 
  22. ^ "Gillian Welch Album & Song Chart History - Folk Albums". Billboard. http://www.billboard.com/#/artist/gillian-welch/chart-history/147629?f=1071&g=Albums. Retrieved July 7, 2011. 
  23. ^ "Gillian Welch Album & Song Chart History - Independent Albums". Billboard. http://www.billboard.com/#/artist/gillian-welch/chart-history/147629?f=326&g=Albums. Retrieved July 7, 2011. 
  24. ^ "Gillian Welch Album & Song Chart History - Rock Albums". Billboard. http://www.billboard.com/#/artist/gillian-welch/chart-history/147629?f=408&g=Albums. Retrieved July 7, 2011. 
  25. ^ "VG-lista". VG-lista. http://lista.vg.no/artist/gillian-welch/album/the-harrow-the-harvest/12152. Retrieved 16 July 2011. 
  26. ^ "Sverigetopplistan". hitlistan. http://www.hitlistan.se. Retrieved 16 July 2011. 
  27. ^ "Album Chart". Official Charts. http://www.theofficialcharts.com/albums-chart/. Retrieved 16 July 2011. 
  28. ^ "New Zealand Charts". New Zealand Charts. http://charts.org.nz/showitem.asp?interpret=Gillian+Welch&titel=The+Harrow+%26+The+Harvest&cat=a. Retrieved 17 July 2011. 
Gillian Welch
Discography
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