Trace (Son Volt album)

Trace is the debut studio album by American rock band Son Volt, released on September 19, 1995, through Warner Bros. Records. The band was formed the previous year by Jay Farrar after the breakup of the influential alt-country band Uncle Tupelo. Prior to its release, there was debate about whether Son Volt or Wilco, Uncle Tupelo's other offshoot, would produce a better album.

Trace
Studio album by
Son Volt
ReleasedSeptember 19, 1995 (1995-09-19)
RecordedNovember–December 1994
StudioSalmagundi, Northfield, MN
GenreAlternative country
Length42:07
LabelWarner Bros.
Producer
Son Volt chronology
Trace
(1995)		 Straightaways
(1997)
Singles from Trace
  1. "Windfall"
    Released: September 4, 1995[1]
  2. "Drown"
    Released: October 31, 1995[2]
  3. "Loose String"
    Released: December 1995
  4. "Route"
    Released: June 1996

Trace was a critical and commercial success, and peaked at number 166 on the Billboard 200 chart and number 7 on the Billboard Heatseekers Albums chart. The album's second single, "Drown", was a radio hit, and charted at number 10 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart and number 25 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart (and was their only single to make either chart).[3] By 2009, Trace had sold 297,000 copies in the United States, and outsold Wilco's A.M., released six months before, two-to-one.[4][5][6] It is Son Volt's only album to outsell Wilco.

Reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[7]
Entertainment WeeklyA[8]
Houston Chronicle[9]
Mojo[10]
NME8/10[11]
Paste9.5/10[12]
PopMatters9/10[13]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[14]
Uncut9/10[15]
The Village VoiceC+[16]

Trace received critical acclaim. According to AllMusic, "Throughout Son Volt's debut, Trace, the group reworks classic honky tonk and rock & roll, adding a desperate, determined edge to their performances. Even when they rock out, there is a palpable sense of melancholy to Farrar's voice, which lends a poignancy to the music." AmericanaUK calls Trace, "A graceful masterpiece, a positive turning of the page for Farrar, and a gentle reminder of the power and long-lasting influence of Uncle Tupelo."[17]

The Village Voice placed Trace at number 13 on the 1995 Pazz & Jop critics poll,[18] whilst the album placed ninth on Rolling Stone's 1995 critics' list.[19] In 2016, Paste ranked Trace fourth on its list of "The 50 Best Alt-Country Albums of All Time".[20]

Track listing

All songs written by Farrar except "Mystifies Me", written by Ronnie Wood.

  1. "Windfall" – 2:58
  2. "Live Free" – 3:13
  3. "Tear Stained Eye" – 4:21
  4. "Route" – 3:57
  5. "Ten Second News" – 3:57
  6. "Drown" – 3:20
  7. "Loose String" – 3:48
  8. "Out of the Picture" – 3:50
  9. "Catching On" – 4:02
  10. "Too Early" – 4:29
  11. "Mystifies Me" – 4:12

Personnel

Charts
Charts (1995–96) Peak
position
US Billboard 200[3] 166
US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[3] 7

References
  1. Borzillo, Carrie (September 16, 1995). "Uncle's Offspring | Popular Uprisings". Billboard. Vol. 107, no. 37. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. p. 21.
  2. Anon. (October 20, 1995). "Son Volt Hopes to Rise" (PDF). R&R (1117): 30. ISSN 0277-4860 – via worldradiohistory.com.
  3. Anon. "Son Volt Chart History". Billboard. Archived from the original on November 21, 2021. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
  4. Ayers, Michael D. (2009-08-13). "Death Cab's Ben Gibbard, Jay Farrar Team Up For Kerouac Soundtrack". Billboard. Retrieved 2023-03-02.
  5. "Charting Wilco's Course". Billboard. 21 April 2007. p. 22. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  6. Fricke, David (March 20, 1997). "Not Just a Country Rock Band". Rolling Stone.
  7. Deming, Mark. "Trace – Son Volt". AllMusic. Retrieved August 10, 2016.
  8. Woodard, Josef (November 10, 1995). "Trace". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on November 2, 2015. Retrieved August 10, 2016.
  9. Wolff, Kurt (October 8, 1995). "Moody Son Volt Soars on 'Trace'". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved May 7, 2020.
  10. Tamarkin, Jeff (February 2016). "Son Volt: Trace". Mojo. No. 267. p. 106.
  11. "Son Volt: Trace". NME. December 9, 1995. p. 38.
  12. Danton, Eric R. (November 2, 2015). "Son Volt: Trace 20th Anniversary Edition Review". Paste. Retrieved May 7, 2020.
  13. Beaudoin, Jedd (November 11, 2015). "Son Volt: Trace". PopMatters. Retrieved August 10, 2016.
  14. Kot, Greg (2004). "Son Volt". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. p. 759. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  15. Torn, Luke (December 2015). "Son Volt: Trace". Uncut. No. 223. p. 95.
  16. Christgau, Robert (February 20, 1996). "Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Retrieved August 10, 2016.
  17. Newby, Tim. "Classic Americana Albums: Son Volt "Trace" (Warner Bros, 1995)". AmericanaUK. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
  18. "The 1995 Pazz & Jop Critics Poll". The Village Voice. Last accessed July 9, 2007.
  19. Anon. (January 25, 1996). "Critics' poll 1996". Rolling Stone (726): 40–51. ISSN 0035-791X – via ProQuest.
  20. Jackson, Josh (August 4, 2016). "The 50 Best Alt-Country Albums of All Time". Paste. Retrieved 2023-04-06.
  • Holly George-Warren and Patricia Romanowski, ed. (2005). "Son Volt". The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll. New York, New York: Fireside. pp. 911–912. ISBN 978-0-7432-9201-6.



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