A Sailor's Guide to Earth

2016 studio album by Sturgill Simpson

Studio album by

Sturgill Simpson

Released

April 15, 2016 (2016-04-15)

Studio

Butcher Shoppe (Nashville)
Atlantic (New York)
CaVa (Glasgow)

Genre

Country soul
alternative country
outlaw country
country rock

Length

38:54

Label

Atlantic

Producer

Sturgill 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

"Brace for Impact (Live a Little)"
Released: March 3, 2016
"In Bloom"
Released: March 24, 2016
"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
Source	Rating
AnyDecentMusic?	8.3/10^[8]
Metacritic	86/100^[9]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[10]
The Daily Telegraph	^[11]
Entertainment Weekly	A−^[12]
The Guardian	^[13]
The Independent	^[14]
Mojo	^[15]
Pitchfork	8.0/10^[16]
Rolling Stone	^[17]
Spin	7/10^[18]
Uncut	9/10^[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.	Title	Length
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

Musicians

Sturgill Simpson – vocals (all tracks), acoustic guitar (tracks 1, 2, 4–9), 12-string guitar (1, 5), Moog synthesizer (1, 6), horn arrangement (1, 9), background vocals (4, 6)
Miles Miller – drums (all tracks), background vocals (3, 4, 6)
Robert Emmett – organ (all tracks); Moog synthesizer (1, 8), Wurlitzer (1, 3), background vocals (3, 6), keyboards (5)
Dan Dugmore – steel guitar
Jefferson Steinberg – string arrangement, horn arrangement
Dave Roe – bass guitar (1–8)
Laur Joamets – electric guitar (1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9), slide guitar (1)
Jefferson Crow – piano (1, 3–5, 7–9), Wurlitzer (6)
Garo Yellin – first cello (1, 2, 5, 7, 8)
Arthur Cook – second cello (1, 2, 5, 7, 8)
Jonathan Dinklage – violin (1, 2, 5, 7, 8)
Whitney LaGrange – violin (1, 2, 5, 7, 8)
Neal Sugarman – tenor saxophone (1, 3, 5, 7, 9)
Dave Guy – trumpet, flugelhorn (1, 3, 5, 7, 9)
Ian Hendrickson-Smith – alto saxophone, baritone saxophone (1, 3, 5, 7, 9)
Clark Gayton – trombone (1, 3, 5, 7, 9)
Dougie Wilkinson – bagpipes (9)
Kevin Black – bass guitar (9)

Technical

Sturgill Simpson – production
David Ferguson – mixing, engineering, recording
Gavin Lurssen – mastering
Sean Sullivan – recording
Geoff Allan – bagpipe engineering
Ebonie Smith – engineering assistance

Artwork

Greg "Gigen's Dad" Burke – art direction, design
Kilian Eng – cover art, back cover art, ships wheel illustration
Mark Stutzman – map illustration
Matthew Meiners – skeletons

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (2016)	Peak position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)^[27]	108
Canadian Albums (Billboard)^[28]	31
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)^[29]	66
Irish Albums (IRMA)^[30]	39
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)^[31]	34
UK Albums (OCC)^[32]	43
US Billboard 200^[33]	3
US Folk Albums (Billboard)^[34]	1
US Top Country Albums (Billboard)^[35]	1
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)^[36]	1

Year-end charts

Chart (2016)	Position
US Folk Albums (Billboard)^[37]	5
US Top Country Albums (Billboard)^[38]	18
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)^[39]	21

Chart (2017)	Position
US Folk Albums (Billboard)^[40]	24
US Top Country Albums (Billboard)^[41]	75
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)^[42]	88

References

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