Trace (Son Volt album)

Trace is the first album by Son Volt, released in 1995. The band was formed the previous year by Jay Farrar after the breakup of the influential alt-country band Uncle Tupelo. The album reached #166 on the Billboard 200 album chart and received extremely favorable reviews. 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." The album was in the top 10 of Rolling Stone's 1995 critics' list.

Trace
Studio album by Son Volt
Released	September 19, 1995
Recorded	November–December 1994
Studio	Salmagundi, Northfield, MN
Genre	Alternative country
Length	42:07
Label	Warner Bros.
Producer	Brian Paulson, Son Volt
Son Volt chronology
Trace (1995) Straightaways (1997)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Entertainment Weekly	A[2]
Houston Chronicle	[3]
Mojo	[4]
NME	8/10[5]
Paste	9.5/10[6]
PopMatters	9/10[7]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[8]
Uncut	9/10[9]
The Village Voice	C+[10]

"Drown" was a minor college and rock radio hit. It charted at #10 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart and #25 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart.[11] It remains their only single to land on either of the charts.

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

• Dave Boquist - guitar, banjo, fiddle, lap steel guitar, dobro
• Jim Boquist - bass, backing vocals
• Jay Farrar - vocals, guitar
• Mike Heidorn - drums
• Eric Heywood - pedal steel guitar
• Craig Krampf - drums on "Live Free"
• Dan Newton - accordion on "Too Early"
• Marc Perlman - bass on "Mystifies Me"

References

1. Deming, Mark. "Trace – Son Volt". AllMusic. Retrieved August 10, 2016.
2. Woodard, Josef (November 10, 1995). "Trace". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved August 10, 2016.
3. Wolff, Kurt (October 8, 1995). "Moody Son Volt Soars on 'Trace'". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved May 7, 2020.
4. Tamarkin, Jeff (February 2016). "Son Volt: Trace". Mojo. No. 267. p. 106.
5. "Son Volt: Trace". NME. December 9, 1995. p. 38.
6. Danton, Eric R. (November 2, 2015). "Son Volt: Trace 20th Anniversary Edition Review". Paste. Retrieved May 7, 2020.
7. Beaudoin, Jedd (November 11, 2015). "Son Volt: Trace". PopMatters. Retrieved August 10, 2016.
8. 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.
9. Torn, Luke (December 2015). "Son Volt: Trace". Uncut. No. 223. p. 95.
10. Christgau, Robert (February 20, 1996). "Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Retrieved August 10, 2016.

• 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.