A Sailor's Guide to Earth

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A Sailor's Guide to Earth
Sturgill Simpson A Sailor's Guide To Earth.jpg
Studio album by
Sturgill Simpson
ReleasedApril 15, 2016 (2016-04-15)
StudioThe Butcher Shoppe, Nashville
Genre
Length38:54
LabelAtlantic
ProducerSturgill Simpson
Sturgill Simpson chronology
Metamodern Sounds in Country Music
(2014) 		A Sailor's Guide to Earth
(2016) 		Sound & Fury
(2019)
Singles from A Sailor's Guide to Earth
  1. "Brace for Impact (Live a Little)"
    Released: March 3, 2016
  2. "In Bloom"
    Released: March 24, 2016
  3. "Keep It Between the Lines"
    Released: January 30, 2017

A Sailor's Guide to Earth is the third studio album by American country music singer-songwriter Sturgill Simpson. It was announced on March 3, 2016, with the release of the single "Brace for Impact (Live a Little)". The album was released on April 15, 2016,[1] and won Best Country Album at the 59th Grammy Awards; it was also nominated for Album of the Year.[2]

Background[]

Prior to the album's announcement, Simpson stated in an interview with GQ that "what's next is already finished... Quite honestly, I need about six months at home with my family."[3] On March 3, 2016, Simpson released "Brace for Impact (Live a Little)" on YouTube and his website; the next day he released the nine-song track list of A Sailor's Guide to Earth.[4] A week later, he published the music video for "Brace for Impact", which was directed by Matt Mahurin and contains the Grim Reaper, a hot rod coffin and sailboats.[5] On March 24, 2016, Simpson released his cover of Nirvana's "In Bloom" along with its music video, also directed by Matt Mahurin. Simpson said, "I wanted to make a very beautiful and pure homage to Kurt [Cobain]."[6] Streaming of the album became available on April 7, 2016, on NPR's official website.[7]

The song "Oh Sarah" was previously recorded by Simpson's former band Sunday Valley and appeared on their only full-length album, To the Wind and On To Heaven, in 2011.

Reception[]

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?8.3/10[8]
Metacritic86/100[9]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic4/5 stars[10]
The Daily Telegraph4/5 stars[11]
Entertainment WeeklyA−[12]
The Guardian4/5 stars[13]
The Independent4/5 stars[14]
Mojo4/5 stars[15]
Pitchfork8.0/10[16]
Rolling Stone4/5 stars[17]
Spin7/10[18]
Uncut9/10[19]

A Sailor's Guide to Earth received widespread 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 86, indicating "universal acclaim", based on 19 reviews.[9]

The album debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200, and No. 1 on the Top Country Albums chart, selling 52,000 copies (55,000 units when tracks and streams are included) in its first week.[20] The album sold a further 13,400 copies in the second week.[21] The album has sold 217,900 copies in the US as of October 2017.[22]

Following his Grammy win, Simpson saw a 346% increase in streaming on Spotify.[23]

Accolades[]

Publication Accolade Year Rank Ref.
Paste The 50 Best Albums of 2016 2016
19
[24]
Rough Trade Albums of the Year 2016
91
[25]
Stereogum The 50 Best Albums of 2016 2016
26
[26]

Track listing[]

All tracks are written by Sturgill Simpson except "In Bloom", which is written by Kurt Cobain.

No.TitleLength
1."Welcome to Earth (Pollywog)"4:53
2."Breakers Roar"3:33
3."Keep It Between the Lines"4:01
4."Sea Stories"3:17
5."In Bloom" (Nirvana cover)4:01
6."Brace for Impact (Live a Little)"5:49
7."All Around You"3:36
8."Oh Sarah"4:15
9."Call to Arms"5:30
Total length:38:54

Personnel[]

Charts[]

References[]

  1. ^ Matthew Strauss. "Sturgill Simpson Announces New Album A Sailor's Guide to Earth, Shares "Brace for Impact (Live a Little)"". Pitchfork. Retrieved March 4, 2016.
  2. ^ "59th Annual GRAMMY Awards Nominees and Winners". The Grammys. December 6, 2016. Archived from the original on December 1, 2011. Retrieved December 8, 2016.
  3. ^ Will Welch (January 7, 2016). "The GQ&A: Sturgill Simpson, Country Music's Psychedelic Warrior-Philosopher". GQ. Retrieved March 27, 2016.
  4. ^ Carolyn Menyes (March 4, 2016). "Sturgill Simpson Reveals 'A Sailor's Guide to Earth' Tracklist with Nirvana Cover & Tour Dates". Music Times. Retrieved March 27, 2016.
  5. ^ Andrew Leahey (March 10, 2016). "Watch Sturgill Simpson's Surreal 'Brace for Impact' Video". Rolling Stone. Retrieved March 27, 2016.
  6. ^ James Grebey (March 24, 2016). "Listen to Sturgill Simpson's Country Cover of Nirvana's 'In Bloom'". Spin. Retrieved March 27, 2016.
  7. ^ Ann Powers (April 7, 2016). "First Listen: Sturgill Simpson, 'A Sailor's Guide To Earth'". npr.org. NPR. Retrieved April 8, 2016.
  8. ^ "A Sailor's Guide To Earth by Sturgill Simpson reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved October 12, 2019.
  9. ^ Jump up to: a b "Reviews for A Sailor's Guide to Earth by Sturgill Simpson". Metacritic. Retrieved April 14, 2016.
  10. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "A Sailor's Guide to Earth – Sturgill Simpson". AllMusic. Retrieved April 14, 2016.
  11. ^ Chilton, Martin (May 20, 2016). "Best country music albums of 2016". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved November 1, 2018.
  12. ^ Vain, Madison (April 14, 2016). "Sturgill Simpson's A Sailor's Guide to Earth: EW Review". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on April 17, 2016. Retrieved December 7, 2016.
  13. ^ Hann, Michael (April 14, 2016). "Sturgill Simpson: A Sailor's Guide to Earth review – hard-hitting country soul". The Guardian. Retrieved November 1, 2018.
  14. ^ Gill, Andy (April 13, 2016). "Album reviews – Lush, Graham Nash, Sturgill Simpson and Hauschka". The Independent. Retrieved November 1, 2018.
  15. ^ Chick, Stevie (April 11, 2016). "Sturgill Simpson – A Sailor's Guide To Earth". Mojo. Retrieved November 1, 2018.
  16. ^ Goble, Corban (April 19, 2016). "Sturgill Simpson: A Sailor's Guide to Earth". Pitchfork. Retrieved April 19, 2016.
  17. ^ Hermes, Will (April 14, 2016). "A Sailor's Guide to Earth". Rolling Stone. Retrieved April 14, 2016.
  18. ^ Larson, Jeremy D. (April 13, 2016). "Review: Sturgill Simpson Preps a Son of a Sailor on 'A Sailor's Guide to Earth'". Spin. Retrieved December 7, 2016.
  19. ^ Anderson, Jason (May 13, 2016). "Sturgill Simpson – A Sailor's Guide To Earth". Uncut. Archived from the original on May 14, 2016. Retrieved November 1, 2018.
  20. ^ Caulfield, Keith (April 24, 2016). "Sturgill Simpson and Santana Debut in Top 10 on Billboard 200 Chart". Billboard. Retrieved April 25, 2016.
  21. ^ Bjorke, Matt (May 5, 2016). "Country Album Chart Report: May 5, 2016". Roughstock.
  22. ^ Bjorke, Matt (October 10, 2017). "Top 10 Country Albums Sales Chart: October 9, 2017". Roughstock.
  23. ^ McAlone, Nathan. "The Grammys' biggest winner was a 77-year-old Memphis legend, according to Spotify and Pandora". Business Insider. Retrieved June 19, 2019.
  24. ^ "The 50 Best Albums of 2016". Paste. November 30, 2016. Retrieved December 1, 2016.
  25. ^ "Albums of the Year". Rough Trade. November 14, 2016. Archived from the original on November 16, 2016. Retrieved November 15, 2016.
  26. ^ "The 50 Best Albums of 2016". Stereogum. December 1, 2016. Retrieved December 1, 2016.
  27. ^ "Ultratop.be – Sturgill Simpson – A Sailor's Guide to Earth" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved April 22, 2016.
  28. ^ "Sturgill Simpson Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved April 26, 2016.
  29. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Sturgill Simpson – A Sailor's Guide to Earth" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved April 22, 2016.
  30. ^ "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week 16, 2016". Chart-Track. IRMA. Retrieved April 22, 2016.
  31. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Sturgill Simpson – A Sailor's Guide to Earth". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 23, 2016.
  32. ^ 28, 2016/7502/ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 23, 2016.
  33. ^ "Sturgill Simpson Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved April 26, 2016.
  34. ^ "Sturgill Simpson Chart History (Top Americana/Folk Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved April 26, 2016.
  35. ^ "Sturgill Simpson Chart History (Top Country Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved April 26, 2016.
  36. ^ "Sturgill Simpson Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved April 26, 2016.
  37. ^ "Americana / Folk Albums – Year-End 2016". Billboard. Retrieved June 14, 2020.
  38. ^ "Top Country Albums – Year-End 2016". Billboard. Retrieved June 14, 2020.
  39. ^ "Top Rock Albums – Year-End 2016". Billboard. Retrieved June 14, 2020.
  40. ^ "Americana / Folk Albums – Year-End 2017". Billboard. Retrieved June 14, 2020.
  41. ^ "Top Country Albums – Year-End 2017". Billboard. Retrieved June 14, 2020.
  42. ^ "Top Rock Albums – Year-End 2017". Billboard. Retrieved June 14, 2020.
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