Chris Stapleton - Traveller [Gatefold] (2LP) Vinyl

Traveller is the debut studio album by American singer-songwriter Chris Stapleton, released on 5 May 2015 through Mercury Nashville. Produced by Dave Cobb with Stapleton, it moved him from behind the scenes as a Nashville songwriter to the front of the stage, and it went on to become the bestselling country album of the 2010s according to Billboard.

The Album

Critics described the record as old-school country mixed with Southern rock, built around electric guitar, acoustic guitar and mandolin. Stapleton wrote or co-wrote all but two of the fourteen tracks; the exceptions are a blues-inflected reading of David Allan Coe's "Tennessee Whiskey" and "Was It 26", written by Don Sampson and previously recorded by Charlie Daniels. Speaking to Rolling Stone, Stapleton said of the album's sound: "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."

Dave Cobb had originally intended to record at Sound Emporium Studios in Nashville, but the room was already booked. Having read reports that the historic RCA Studio A building was facing demolition, he moved the sessions into its Grand Victor Sound studios instead, capturing the record there before the building and its rooms were lost. Additional recording took place at Blackbird Studio.

Traveller entered the Top Country Albums chart at number two and the Billboard 200 at number fourteen. Six months later, Stapleton and Justin Timberlake performed "Tennessee Whiskey" at the 2015 Country Music Association Awards, where the album took Album of the Year. Sales rose by 6,000 per cent and the record re-entered the Billboard 200 at number one, the first album ever to do so. "Tennessee Whiskey" went on to top the Hot Country Songs chart and reach number twenty on the Hot 100. The album was certified quadruple platinum by the RIAA in July 2019. Three singles were drawn from it: "Traveller", "Nobody to Blame" and "Parachute".

This Pressing

This is the Mercury Nashville double LP, made in the EU and housed in a gatefold jacket whose inner spread carries a landscape photograph and Stapleton's handwritten note of thanks. The rear sleeve prints the full tracklist side by side with the session credits. Mastering was by Pete Lyman at Infrasonic Sound in Los Angeles, with sleeve design by Mary Hooper for Milkglass Creative.

Tracklist

Side A

1. Traveller
2. Fire Away
3. Tennessee Whiskey
4. Parachute

Side B

1. Whiskey And You
2. Nobody To Blame
3. More Of You
4. When The Stars Come Out

Side C

1. Daddy Doesn't Pray Anymore
2. Might As Well Get Stoned
3. Was It 26

Side D

1. The Devil Named Music
2. Outlaw State Of Mind
3. Sometimes I Cry