Traveller (Chris Stapleton album)

Traveller
Studio album by Chris Stapleton
Released May 5, 2015 (2015-05-05)
Studio RCA Studio A in Nashville
Genre
Length 63:29
Label Mercury Nashville
Producer
Singles from Traveller
  1. "Traveller"
    Released: April 27, 2015
  2. "Nobody to Blame"
    Released: November 9, 2015

Traveller is the debut studio album by American country music artist Chris Stapleton. The album was produced by Dave Cobb and was released on May 5, 2015, through Mercury Nashville.

Described by critics as an old-school country, Southern rock record, Traveller was named Album of the Year at the 2015 Country Music Association Award. Furthermore, it received a nomination at the 58th Grammy Awards for Album of the Year and a win for Best Country Album. It reached number one on the Billboard 200 chart, and was later certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The album has sold over 800,000 copies in the US as of February 2016.[1]

Music and composition

I lost my dad in October 2013 and did a little bit of soul-searching. My wife was kind enough to buy me an old Jeep. We flew out to Phoenix and drove it all the way back to Nashville through the desert. I thought a lot about music and my dad, and the things that he would have liked that I should be doing. Out of that, I actually wrote the song 'Traveller' driving down Interstate 40 through New Mexico. That became the cornerstone for the record and wound up being the title track.

“
”

 — Stapleton speaking about his inspiration for the album during an interview with Billboard.[2]

The album is an old-school country record mixed with Southern rock. Tracks on the album features electric guitar, mandolin, and acoustic guitar. "The Devil Named Music" exclaims the hard life on the road, "Might As Well Get Stoned" features resignation lyrics, and "Sometimes I Cry" is a blues song.[3] "Daddy Doesn't Pray Anymore" shrouds reflections about his father in the language of religious backsliding.[4] In an interview for Rolling Stone, Stapleton commented "If somebody tells me it sounds dated, I'd say that's great, as long as the date is 1978. My favorite things are from then."[3]

Stapleton wrote or co-wrote all but two of the album's 14 tracks. The album features a blues-influenced cover of George Jones' single "Tennessee Whiskey", and Charlie Daniels' "Was It 26," written by Don Sampson.[3]

Commercial performance

The album debuted on the Top Country Albums chart at number two, and the Billboard 200 at number 14, selling 27,000 copies in the week ending May 10.[5]

Following Chris Stapleton and Justin Timberlake's performance at the Country Music Association Awards, sales for the album increased 6,000%[6] and it re-entered the Billboard 200 chart at number one after being absent from the chart since September, with 177,000 equivalent album units (153,000 in pure album sales). According to Billboard, the surge in sales is owed to how a mass audience discovered Stapleton on the November 4 CMA Awards broadcast. Traveller is also the first debut country album to reach number one on the Billboard 200 in over four years, with Clear as Day (2011) by Scotty McCreery being the last.[7] It became the first album to re-enter the chart at number one. It remained at number one for a second week with 124,000 equivalent album units (down 30 percent), including 97,000 pure album sales.[8]

The album sold over 520,000 copies in the United States in 2015, one of the best-selling albums of the year in the US.[9] Also in December 2015, Traveller was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).[10] As of early February 2016, the album has sold 830,000 copies domestically.[1]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AbsolutePunk[11]
AllMusic[12]
Billboard[4]
NPR(Favorable)[13]
Punknews.org[14]
The Daily Telegraph[15]
Wall Street Journal(Favorable)[16]

Traveller received 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 85, indicating "universal acclaim", based on 6 reviews.[17] In a review for Billboard, editor Caitlin White gave the album four-out-of-five stars, describing Traveller as a "solemn album, the work of a man gripped by life's impermanence", noting "undercurrents of regret, loss and resignation" in songs like "Daddy Doesn't Pray Anymore," "Nobody to Blame" and "Devil Named Music". About the record's sound direction, she commented "Stapleton's songs are both rhythmic and nuanced, perhaps a by-product of years spent writing for others. They feature a cast of characters that remain likable even as they rush headlong into pursuit of ruin, fortune or chance." White concluded "it's a triumphant debut, encapsulating the grit of life, turning it into a hell of a journey."[4]

Accolades

Rolling Stone featured Traveller on its "45 Best Albums of 2015 So Far" mid-year list, commenting "each of the album's 14 tracks go straight for the emotional jugular and give a glimpse inside a wildly introspective mind."[18] For their year-end lists, the publication placed the album at number 21 on "50 Best Albums of 2015"[19] and number three on "40 Best Country Albums of 2015".[20]

Publication Accolade Rank
Billboard 25 Best Albums of 2015[21]
13
Entertainment Weekly The 40 Best Albums of 2015[22]
7
Rolling Stone 45 Best Albums of 2015 (So Far)
*
50 Best Albums of 2015
21
40 Best Country Albums of 2015
3
Stereogum The 50 Best Albums of 2015[23]
43

* denotes an unordered list

Track listing

No. TitleWriter(s) Length
1. "Traveller"  Chris Stapleton 3:42
2. "Fire Away"  
  • Stapleton
  • Danny Green
 4:04
3. "Tennessee Whiskey"  
 4:52
4. "Parachute"  
 4:13
5. "Whiskey and You"  
 3:56
6. "Nobody to Blame"  
 4:04
7. "More of You"  
  • Stapleton
  • Bowman
 4:37
8. "When the Stars Come Out"  
 4:16
9. "Daddy Doesn't Pray Anymore"  Stapleton 4:09
10. "Might as Well Get Stoned"  
  • Stapleton
  • Jimmy Stewart
 4:37
11. "Was It 26"  Don Sampson 4:49
12. "The Devil Named Music"  Stapleton 6:07
13. "Outlaw State of Mind"  
 5:37
14. "Sometimes I Cry"  
  • Stapleton
  • Clint Ingersoll
 4:02
Total length:
 63:29

Personnel

Credits for Traveller adapted from AllMusic.[24]

Musicians
Production
  • Steve Blackmon — assistant
  • Sorrel Brigman — assistant
  • Dave Cobb — producer
  • Becky Fluke — photography
  • Mary Hooper — design
  • Pete Lyman — mastering
  • Drew Long — assistant
  • Richard Madenfort — assistant
  • Vance Powell — engineer, mixing
  • Ed Spear — assistant
  • Chris Stapleton — producer
  • Shane Stern — production coordination
Composers

  • Barry Bales
  • Jim Beavers
  • Ronnie Bowman
  • Dean Dillon
  • Danny Green
  • Linda Hargrove
  • Clint Ingersoll
  • Richard Madenfort
  • Lee Thomas Miller
  • Jerry Salley

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Result Ref.
2015 Country Music Association Awards Album of the Year Won [25]
2016 Grammy Awards Album of the Year Pending [26]
Best Country Album Won
Academy of Country Music Awards Album of the Year Pending [27]

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Chart (2015) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[28] 47
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[29] 4
US Billboard 200[30] 1
US Top Country Albums (Billboard)[31] 1

Year-end charts

Chart (2015) Position
US Billboard 200[32] 68
US Top Country Albums[33] 9

Certifications

Region Certification Sales/shipments
United States (RIAA)[34] Gold 830,000[1]

^shipments figures based on certification alone

References

  1. 1 2 3 Bjorke, Matt (February 8, 2016). "Country Albums Chart Report: February 8, 2016". Roughstock. Retrieved February 9, 2016.
  2. ↑ Dauphin, Chuck (April 30, 2015). "Chris Stapleton's Debut Album 'Traveller' Inspired by 'Soul-Searching' Road Trip". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved November 15, 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 "Chris Stapleton on Why Stunning New Album 'Traveller' Isn't for Kids". Roling Stone. May 7, 2015. Retrieved November 15, 2015.
  4. 1 2 3 White, Caitlin (May 12, 2015). "Country Songwriter Chris Stapleton Copes With Loss on Triumphant Solo Debut: Album Review". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved November 15, 2015.
  5. ↑ Keith Caulfield and Gary Trust (May 14, 2015). "Chris Stapleton Starts With Best Sales for a New Country Artist in 2015". Billboard.
  6. ↑ "2015 Nielsen Music U.S. Report" (PDF). Nielsen. January 6, 2016. Retrieved January 6, 2016.
  7. ↑ Caulfield, Keith (November 8, 2015). "Chris Stapleton Soars to No. 1 on Billboard 200 Albums Chart After CMAs". Billboard (Prometheus Global Media). Retrieved November 9, 2015.
  8. ↑ Caulfield, Keith (November 15, 2015). "Chris Stapleton Spends Second Week at No. 1 on Billboard 200 Albums Chart". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved November 15, 2015.
  9. ↑ "Top 50 Albums Chart". hitsdailydouble. HITS Digital Ventures. December 18, 2015. Archived from the original on December 19, 2015. Retrieved December 19, 2015.
  10. ↑ "Gold & Platinum: Stapleton, Chris". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved December 8, 2015.
  11. ↑ Manning, Craig. "Chris Stapleton - Traveller - Album Review". AbsolutePunk. Retrieved January 9, 2016.
  12. ↑ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Traveller - Chris Stapleton — Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved November 10, 2015.
  13. ↑ Powers, Ann. "Review: Chris Stapleton, 'Traveller'". NPR. NPR. Retrieved January 9, 2016.
  14. ↑ nickEp. "Review: Chris Stapleton - Traveller". Punknews.org. Punknews.org. Retrieved January 14, 2016.
  15. ↑ Chilton, Martin. "Best Country Music Albums of 2015". The Daily Telegraph. The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved January 14, 2016.
  16. ↑ Fusilli Jim. "‘Traveller’ by Chris Stapleton Review". Wall Street Journal. Wall Street Journal. Retrieved January 9, 2016.
  17. ↑ "Critic Reviews for Traveller". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved January 5, 2016.
  18. ↑ "45 Best Albums of 2015 So Far". Rolling Stone. June 8, 2015. Retrieved November 15, 2015.
  19. ↑ "The 50 Best Albums of 2015". Rolling Stone. December 1, 2015. Retrieved December 1, 2015.
  20. ↑ "40 Best Country Albums of 2015". Rolling Stone. December 7, 2015. Retrieved December 8, 2015.
  21. ↑ "Billboard.com's 25 Best Albums of 2015: Critics' Picks". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. December 15, 2015. Retrieved December 15, 2015.
  22. ↑ "The 40 Best Albums of 2015". Entertainment Weekly. December 9, 2015. Retrieved December 9, 2015.
  23. ↑ "The 50 Best Albums Of 2015". Stereogum. Retrieved December 10, 2015.
  24. ↑ "Traveller on AllMusic". Retrieved January 17, 2016.
  25. ↑ Watts, Cindy (4 November 2015). "CMA Awards: Stapleton, Little Big Town are winners". The Tennessean. Retrieved 5 November 2015.
  26. ↑ "Grammys: Taylor Swift, Kendrick Lamar, the Weeknd Lead Nominations". Rolling Stone. December 7, 2015. Retrieved December 7, 2015.
  27. ↑ Freeman, Jon (February 1, 2016). "Eric Church, Chris Stapleton Lead ACM Awards Nominations". Rolling Stone. Retrieved February 1, 2016.
  28. ↑ "Australiancharts.com – Chris Stapleton – Traveller". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 14, 2015.
  29. ↑ "Chris Stapleton – Chart history" Billboard Canadian Albums Chart for Chris Stapleton. Retrieved November 10, 2015.
  30. ↑ "Chris Stapleton – Chart history" Billboard 200 for Chris Stapleton. Retrieved November 10, 2015.
  31. ↑ "Chris Stapleton – Chart history" Billboard Top Country Albums for Chris Stapleton. Retrieved November 10, 2015.
  32. ↑ "Billboard 200 - Year-end Chart". Retrieved December 9, 2015.
  33. ↑ "Billboard Top Country Albums- Year-end Chart". Billboard. Retrieved December 9, 2015.
  34. ↑ "American album certifications". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH

External links

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