Traveller is the stunning new solo album by the multi-award winning and former The SteelDrivers lead singer & guitarist, Chris Stapleton. At age 37 Chris has produced a mature album full of great songs with a both a freshness and a retro feel of the late 70's. It is a perfect blend of Country, Southern Rock and Blues. It is also a personal, reflective, powerful and beautifully crafted album full of real heart. Traveller is the kind of Country album you will have on repeat. This is a modern Country classic. Chris Stapleton is the real deal and hopefully around for a very long while to come.
On the surface with his impressive vocal, with all its volume and growls, Chris cuts an imposing figure. But sit with him a while and the soft-spoken Stapleton reveals himself to be the nicest guy in the room. Such polarity extends all the way into the Kentucky native's career too. While Traveller is full of the kind of traditional, organic country that purists long for, he's also written some of pop country's most radio-friendly hits: Thomas Rhett's "Crash and Burn," Darius Rucker's "Come Back Song," Kenny Chesney's "Never Wanted Nothing More", Luke Bryan's "Drink a Beer," and "Love's Gonna Make It Alright' for George Strait among them. As a songwriter, over 170 of Stapleton's songs have appeared on albums by such artists as Adele, Luke Bryan, Tim McGraw, Brad Paisley and Dierks Bentley. He has co-written with notable artists like Vince Gill, Peter Frampton and Sheryl Crow.
He wrote or co-wrote all but two of the album's 14 tracks, like the stunning title song, the on-the-nose "Might As Well Get Stoned" and the rough and tough "Outlaw State of Mind." The two outside songs he did cut are bona fide classics: the often recorded "Tennessee Whiskey" (Dean Dillon/Linda Hargrove) and "Was It 26" (Don Sampson).
Chris went against the Music Row standard and used his own band for the album (bass player J.T. Cure (The Jompson Brothers), pedal steel player Robby Turner, drummer Derek Mixon, Mickey Raphael on harmonica and wife Morgane Stapleton on BV's). Producing the album was Dave Cobb, the producer behind Sturgill Simpson's 'Metamodern Sounds' and Jason Isbell's 'Southeastern'. The bulk of "Traveller" album was recorded at historic 'RCA Studio A' in Nashville.
But for all its relaxed vibe, Traveller contains some heavy themes. "The Devil Named Music" calls out the hell that can be living on the road, "Might As Well Get Stoned" rings with resignation and "Sometimes I Cry" is tortured blues. But the album's true weeper and emotional core is "Daddy Doesn't Pray Anymore," which Stapleton wrote after taking note of his normally devout father skipping grace before a meal late in his life.
Stapleton said that the album was inspired by a road trip he took after his father died in October 2013. He said he wrote the song, "Traveller," from the album while on a road trip with his wife, driving down Interstate 40 from Phoenix, Arizona, to Nashville via New Mexico. His wife Morgane helped to sift through 15 years of songs to pick 9 songs to start recording with.
Chris's cover of the blusey classic Tennessee Whiskey is another stand-out track. Full of emotion and feeling, Chris's vocal perfectly complements the songs themes. The song also has an excellent electric guitar solo.
Nobody To Blame is another deeply reflective song with a perflect blend of electric guitar, pedal steel and harmonica.
The mandolin lead More of You is another song of reflection and love. Harking back to Johnny Cash and June Carter.
Daddy's Doesn't Pray Anymore is a deeply personal and moving song about Chris's late father, accented with some sublime and subtle harmonica. Chris wrote this song after taking note of his normally devout father skipping grace before a meal late in his life.
Might As Well Get Stoned ventures back into Southern Rock/Blues territory with another honest song about reflections on life.
The rich bluesy cover of Was it 26 has a great retro feel to it and reminds us of Israel Nash's River Plan's album.
The Devil Named Music with it's rich harmonica playing is themed about the struggles and loneliness of life on the road, of missing friends and family.
Another LCM favourite, the rockier electric guitar led Outlaw State of Mind with it's great harmonica solo closes out the studio section of the album. You can imagine this track being part of a Tarrantino or Coen Brothers movie soundtrack.
The album finishes with the only live track on the album the heartful and powerful tortured blues song Sometimes I Cry.
On the 4th November 2015, Chris Stapleton won the 2015 Country Music Association Award for Best Male Vocalist, New Artist of the Year and "Traveller" won Album of the Year.