Traveller

by Chris Stapleton

Overview

Like many country troubadours, Chris Stapleton cut his teeth as a songwriter in Nashville, churning out tunes that wound up hits in the hands of others. Kenny Chesney brought "Never Wanted Anything More" to number one and Darius Rucker had a hit with "Come Back Song," but those associations suggest Stapleton would toe a mainstream line when he recorded his 2015 debut, Traveller. This new release, however, suggests something rougher and rowdier -- an Eric Church without a metallic fixation or a Sturgill Simpson stripped of arty psychedelic affectations. Something closer to a Jamey Johnson, in other words, but where Johnson often seems weighed down by the mantle of a latter-day outlaw, Stapleton is rather lithe as he slides between all manners of southern styles. Some of this smoothness derives from Stapleton's supple singing. As the rare songwriter-for-hire who also has considerable performance chops, Stapleton is sensitive to the needs of an individual song, something that is evident when he's covering "Tennessee Whiskey" -- a Dean Dillon & Linda Hargrove tune popularized by George Jones and David Allan Coe in the early '80s -- lending the composition a welcome smolder, but the strength of Traveller lies in how he can similarly modulate the execution of his originals. He has a variety of songs here, too, casually switching gears between bluegrass waltz, Southern rockers, crunching blues, soulful slow-burners, and swaggering outlaw anthems -- every one of them belonging to a tradition, but none sounding musty due to Stapleton's casualness. Never once does he belabor his range, nor does he emphasize the sharply sculpted songs. Everything flows naturally, and that ease is so alluring upon the first spin of Traveller that it's not until repeated visits that the depth of the album becomes apparent. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Product Details

Release Date:	05/04/2015
Label:	Mercury Nashville
UPC:	0602537577439

Tracks

1. Traveller
2. Fire Away
3. Tennessee Whiskey
4. Parachute
5. Whiskey and You
6. Nobody to Blame
7. More of You
8. When the Stars Come Out
9. Daddy Doesn't Pray Anymore
10. Might as Well Get Stoned
11. Was It 26
12. The Devil Named Music
13. Outlaw State of Mind
14. Sometimes I Cry

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Chris Stapleton   Primary Artist,Guitar,Vocals,Mandolin,Lead Vocals,Guitar (Acoustic),Guitar (Electric)
Mike Webb   Organ,Piano,Mellotron
Dave Cobb   Percussion,Guitar (Acoustic)
J.T. Cure   Bass (Upright)
Derek Mixon   Drums,Percussion
Morgane Stapleton   Vocals (Background)
Mickey Raphael   Harmonica
Robby Turner   Pedal Steel

Technical Credits

Don Sampson   Composer
Ronnie Bowman   Composer
Vance Powell   Mixing,Engineer
Jim Beavers   Composer
Jerry Salley   Composer
Dan Wilson   Composer
Dave Cobb   Producer
Linda Hargrove   Composer
Steve Blackmon   Assistant
Chris Stapleton   Composer,Producer,Liner Notes
Garrett Moore   Engineer
Clint Ingersoll   Composer
Lee Miller   Composer
Jimmy Stewart   Composer
Becky Fluke   Photography
Danny Green   Composer
Mary Hooper   Design
Sorrel Brigman   Assistant
Eddie Spear   Assistant
Drew Long   Assistant
Pete Layton   Mastering
Shane Stern   Production Coordination
Justin McGhee   Composer
Jordan Lansky   Engineer
Barry Bales   Composer
Lee Thomas Miller   Composer
Dean Dillon   Composer