Sturgill Simpson: “There Will Be More Country Records”
Sturgill Simpson’s A Sailor’s Guide to Earth was poised to be the #1 album in all of music for its debut week. And then in roughly 12 to14 hours of purchasing time on Thursday, two titles from Prince surged past Sturgill’s latest in the aftermath of the pop superstar’s passing. The Very Best of Prince sold some 96,000 estimated copies, and Purple Rain over 55,000 on the final day of sales tabulations. This puts Sturgill Simpson’s A Sailor’s Guide to Earth in third place with some 48,000 copies sold. Sturgill could still top the Billboard Country Albums chart as long as chart managers deem his album as country. But his bid for the top of the Billboard 200 is over.
A Sailor’s Guide to Earth will still be the top debut album for the week, and according to Sturgill, it doesn’t symbolize a complete shift in his music career henceforth, just a “pause” in his country output. Speaking to KCRW where Sturgill performed the new album in its entirety (see below), he told the crowd how his son had inspired the album.
“I spent most of the first year of his life, year-and-a-half of his life on the road. So it was a lot of pictures; watching him grow up in pictures. Even at the risk of detriment to my career I decided I wanted to kind of say thank you to my family for at least getting me to this part of everything. It’s kind of a good little pause. But there will be more country records.”
Sturgill also spoke about his long winding road to finally deciding to pursue music full time after a stint in the Navy, and working for the railroads out in Utah. He also talked about how it’s actually his wife that picks his cover songs that have gone on to become a signature of his records.
“‘The Promise’ was her idea,” Sturgill tells KCRW. “I told her she just needs to pick out about fifteen 80’s songs and I’ll make a bluegrass record someday. But ‘In Bloom’ was her idea. I know what Kurt [Cobain] wrote the song about, but that wasn’t why I picked it. I guess certain aspects of that apply to my life depending on what town we’re in, and night to night. But it came to this point in filling in the narrative, and it reached that point in every young man or even woman’s life where you have this post-pubescent angst, and weird adolescent awkwardness and you’re trying to figure out where you fit in the world and your identity. And that’s just not a head space I occupy anymore. So I was taking to my wife about it and she was like, ‘What were you listening to when you were that age?’ Same thing everyone else was, Nirvana.”
The KCRW live session also gives Sturgill fans a window into what they can expect from the Sturgill Simpson live shows that starts in earnest in early May. Though horns only inhabit about half of the tracks on A Sailor’s Guide to Earth, you can expect to hear them on most or all of the songs live. You’ll also see Laur Joamets switch between lead guitar and steel guitar, and and Sturgill switch from not playing guitar at all to electric. Since A Sailor’s Guide to Earth is meant to be taken as one complete narrative, don’t be surprised if they play the record in its entirety at other shows, not just at KCRW.
The Sturgill Simpson band lineup for the upcoming tour appears to be:
Miles Miller- Drums, band leader
Laur Joamets- Lead guitar, steel guitar
Chuck Bartels- Bass
Bobby Emmett- Keys
Brad Walker- Saxophone
Jon Ramm- Trombone
Scott Frock- Trumpet
April 23, 2016 @ 8:44 am
I was wondering, as I listened to it, how he was going to go about doing it live.
Now I know.
April 23, 2016 @ 8:47 am
I enjoy it for sure, but the more I listen to the album, the more I feel like it’s more of a throwback album than something original, sonically I guess. Lyrically it is original, and song structure for sure is somewhat unique, but a lot of the songs seem to be almost copying old styles, rather than emulating them and making them his own. Still, a good record no doubt.
April 23, 2016 @ 9:25 am
I can’t wait for his bluegrass albums… Love all his bluegrass covers(Poor Rambler, Medicine Springs)…
April 23, 2016 @ 11:48 am
I’d lose my shit if he just went straight bluegrass on his next one!
April 23, 2016 @ 10:56 pm
He was in a bluegrass band before going solo.
April 24, 2016 @ 11:33 am
I don’t understand why Sunday Valley is so frequently called bluegrass… Influenced by it, yes, but not bluegrass.
And Sunday Valley is probably my favorite work of Sturgill’s..
April 23, 2016 @ 10:31 am
Let’s hope soon. Stick to what you’re good at and what your fans want. Country..
April 23, 2016 @ 10:36 am
Well, that’s the thing about artists. They’re going to do what they’re inspired to do. The likes of Luke Bryan, on the other hand, will do exactly what they think their fans want.
April 23, 2016 @ 6:59 pm
Just strictly my opinion here, but if an artist really and truly believes in what they’re doing, and they’re not thinking ONLY about the money, then I think true music fans will respect them for it, even if to the commercial “establishment” it looks totally quixotic and crazy. Such seems to be true of Sturgill; the powers-that-be may think this album is the work of a total madman, but to others it is at least the work of an artist committed to his art rather than merely the “bottom line.” You can’t exactly say that about “Metro-Bromeisters” like Luke Bryan or Florida-Georgia Line.
April 25, 2016 @ 7:47 am
I agree. As it happens, I do enjoy Sturgill’s new album as it’s within the range of my musical tastes. That’s not always the case, though. For example, I’m a long time Elvis Costello fan and I have passed on some of his collaborative projects (e.g., the collaboration with Burt Bacharach) because I wasn’t into the particular style of the project much at all. His collaboration with Allen Toussaint was more in my wheelhouse, so I picked up that one. I accept and respect that Elvis Costello is going to do what he wants and his music projects might not always match up with my tastes.
April 23, 2016 @ 4:47 pm
But yet you speak for one
Keep it up stu
April 23, 2016 @ 10:31 am
Sounds good to me.
April 23, 2016 @ 10:36 am
Do people not hear what Sturgill has been saying for years??? He’s a big Marvin Gaye fan and Motown. Yes. This album while being written lyrically for his son and wife, he said he had visions of a horn section when he began envisioning this album. So call it him paying homage to Motown or whatever. Sturgill has never said or claimed to be re-inventing the wheel.
I for one am super impressed with this album. From his writing and lyrics to the production of the album. While he didn’t arrange the horns, he had the foresight to bring in the renowned Dap Kings and had a vision of where he wanted this album to go, say and sound like. Dave Cobb has said before, Sturgill is a genius. I tend to agree.
My request of Sturgill would be to continue to mix and meld genres. I love his take on and his vision of ‘Motown’. He doesn’t owe Country Music or Country music fans shit. It’s his art. He’s making/creating it. I’ll buy it. Others will or won’t. He’s obviously a guy who will buck conventional expectations or create his own vision and refuses to be pigeon-holed. I for one appreciate the fuck out of that mentality.
April 23, 2016 @ 10:50 am
Of course I’d like to see another country album from him one day, but I want it to be because he wants to do it. I don’t want it as a result of fans complaining.
Sure, “A Sailor’s Guide To Earth” is my least favorite of the three Sturgill albums, but it was still excellent. And while I did have a couple criticisms for it, one of them was NOT “well it ain’t country so….”.
That’s cool to hear about him preforming the album in its entirety on the road though. I wish more artists did it.
April 23, 2016 @ 10:53 am
Just to clarify, I’m not saying he’s performing the whole album in its entirety on the road. I don’t have any information confirming that. I just thinks there’s a good chance that happens, at least some nights, because that how Sturgill thinks the music is best presented. You could get the complete album, and then another 30 minutes of the “hits” before or after.
April 23, 2016 @ 11:01 am
I’m glad to see they’re giving him the budget to have so many people on the road with him. There is nothing more disheartening than seeing four guys perform songs live and have the fiddle/steel/horns parts missing altogether.
Case in point, I worked a show recently where Dustin Lynch was the opener. I don’t like most of what he performs live as it damn near borders on presenting watered down alternative metal as country (SO MANY palm muted chugging riffs), but I was excited to hear “Cowboys and Angels.” Little did I know they’d just perform it with an electric guitar extending the solo that’s part guitar/part fiddle in the recorded version and have none of the fiddle heard throughout the song. Talk about ruining a great song in a live setting.
April 23, 2016 @ 11:07 am
Mainstream artists, especially ones on 360 deals, can get really shafted by opening slots. They have to keep costs in line, and many of the side players make a set scale, so it’s hard to carry too many of them. Then when people go to see the music live, they’re non plus-ed, meaning the opener stays an opener. Also, most headliners have a stipulation that the openers have to be below such and such decibels, and only have a small band so that when the headliner comes out, it’s more impressive. That’s why country continues to have the same headliners year after year, and smaller bands can’t take that next step up.
April 23, 2016 @ 9:09 pm
Could not agree more. It’s such a let down to be psyched to see a song you love live that has heavy steel or fiddle and then see it performed with only electric guitar, bass, drums, and acoustic guitar. Looking at you Aaron Watson.
And yea, Cowboys and Angels is the only song I like by that guy. My ex wife bought me the album it was on years ago when we were married and I was so disappointed. He’s mainstream, so I should have known better.
April 23, 2016 @ 11:08 am
I think the new album is great. Not really a Motown fan or anything, but I’ve enjoyed the album immensely. Just glad to have real artists like Sturgill Simpson making music.
Anyone have any information on why bassist Kevin Black is no longer with Sturgill? I think he’s with Margot Hunt now. Kevin was a member of Sunday Valley and has been with Sturgill a long time. Just kind of shocked to see they’ve parted ways.
April 23, 2016 @ 11:52 am
I think Trigger said he’s just playing with Margo Price temporarily because her husband/bass player broke his hand or something. Why he left Sturgill, I’ve no idea.
April 23, 2016 @ 12:20 pm
Kevin Black has been filling in for Margo Price’s husband who injured his hand. Since it is her husband, something tells me Black won’t be replacing him full time, though I do suspect he will have other suitors.
I wrote this article about him leaving the band a while back, apparently labeled as “gossip” by some, but I actually corroborated all of the information with Sturgill’s management before I posted it.
https://savingcountrymusic.com/bass-player-kevin-black-leaves-sturgill-simpsons-band/
April 23, 2016 @ 2:19 pm
This is a side note, but I actually had the opportunity to meet Kevin Black and Margo Price after a show in knoxville. Both of them were super friendly, down to earth, and welcoming to fans. Margo told a funny story about meeting Russell Crowe at SNL. I wanted really bad to ask Kevin about whether he’d be playing with Sturgill again, but without knowing the full back story I didn’t want to pry. Part of the reason I like a lot of the artists I like is because they seem like the kind folks I’d enjoy talking to, and I was glad to know that these two were.
April 24, 2016 @ 7:08 am
I have no inside information and I’m just speculating, but I have a strong suspicion Kevin Black’s departure is related to the style change of the new record. With all the funk and soul on the new record, I suspect Sturgill needed an expert in that style. The bassist on every song except for one on the new record is Dave Roe (best known for being Johnny Cash’s bassist) and the extraordinary funk/soul specialist Chuck Bartels is in the touring band. Kevin Black played on the last song, “Call to Arms,” but I think Sturgill probably just needed a different sound for the funk and soul songs. No disrespect to Blackdaddy though — he’s awesome and was the perfect bass player for Sunday Valley and Metamodern. I hope he stays with Margo Price for a long time, but we’ll see.
April 23, 2016 @ 11:34 am
Sturgill entered at #2 on the Official Americana Albums Chart Top 40 in Uk.
And Margo Price also entered this week at #10. If someone interested..
April 23, 2016 @ 4:52 pm
Question for the musicians out there: how difficult would it be for a skilled guitarist to become proficient on the steel guitar to the point where he/she could switch between the two during a show?
Obviously there are similarities between the two instruments, but I would imagine that a steel guitar isn’t the easiest instrument to learn, so this seems quite impressive to me. I have seen Grant Siemens (Corb Lund’s guitarist) switch between the two instruments at a concert, but I wouldn’t think that this is too common.
April 23, 2016 @ 7:21 pm
The Turnpike Troubadour’s guitarist does it. I don’t know the answer to your question, but the steel guitar is definitely a different animal than the guitar.
April 24, 2016 @ 4:50 am
I would guess that most folks who play steel played a six string first. Only a music lover is gonna learn the steel guitar cause like you say it is pretty difficult to get good at. But, if one is willing to put in the time chances are good that they were inspired enough to have picked up other instruments in the past.
April 27, 2016 @ 11:28 am
It’s different enough that even the most proficient guitarist probably isn’t going to sit down at the steel for the first time and start playing. But learning it takes the same type of aptitude. If someone was able to play one he could probably pick up the other without too much trouble.
It’s not unusual to see a steel player play another instrument or two as needed over the course of a live gig.
April 23, 2016 @ 4:56 pm
If it comes down to getting knocked off by Prince I’d say that’s pretty fucking cool
RIP Prince
April 23, 2016 @ 5:22 pm
Well said. I don’t think Sturgill would mind one bit either.
April 23, 2016 @ 6:18 pm
Sturgill is actually running a Gibson arch top acoustic through amps and giving it done gnarly crunch. One of the coolest sounds imho.
April 23, 2016 @ 8:04 pm
I frickin love that live version of Breakers Roar. The horn parts they added in are bad ass!!!
April 23, 2016 @ 9:27 pm
Here’s how I feel. I was really disappointed by this record, not because it was bad, but because I’m a traditional country music fan, and traditional country this record ain’t. After listening to this album and having never read a review on it as not to bias my opinion, my sentiments were, “Ok, he obviously made this for his son.” I personally hated it, and at first, the record felt conceited, but then I began to understand, having two sons of my own, that when it comes to business between family and how you express your love for them, you don’t give a damn about how the world perceives it or feels about it. And after reading what he has to say about the record, now I have real respect for his motivation behind this album. I still don’t like it though.
So, thank the good Lord, he’ll be making more country! Can’t wait to here it.
April 24, 2016 @ 7:01 am
Certainly respect your take but not sure I understand this repeative ‘not country’ talk. Metamodern was Sturgill’s take on country. Show me another ‘country’ record to compare it to. Parsons? No.
So now folks demand more of ‘that’ because it’s legend shit. Literally might be top 20 record one day (not in sales). Sure the arrangements are much more complex here but i find it comical people say “can’t believe he covered Nirvana” yet it’s ok to cover When In Rome…lol.
If he tried to duplicate MMSICM it wouldn’t happen. This dude knows what’s up
April 24, 2016 @ 6:12 pm
I was speaking of High Top. Easily my favorite album by him. I think it’s a masterpiece.
I just long to here new great traditional country music. That stuff’s hard to come by these days. That’s why I was disappointed.
April 25, 2016 @ 5:35 am
High Top is a great album but MMSICM is legendary stuff. If sturgill never released Meta, then HighTop would be a great album gigged by a few hundred people a night. But now he’s forever a legend.
I talked to Kevin black for long time after Margo show about this other night. You ain’t going to duplicate it so you move on. I’m certainly not arguing what people like or don’t like. Is what it is
April 25, 2016 @ 10:04 am
I agree. You don’t ever want to be pigeonholed or stuck in one particular phase artistically and that perhaps Sturgill doesn’t want to be limited by things to him that may be inconsequential like genre, but on the other hand, you’ve got guys like George Jones, Alan Jackson, Randy Travis, etc. who made legendary traditional country music their entire career and were never stifled by stylistic boundaries.
Sturgill should make the music he wants to make and he doesn’t need me or Trigger or anyone else to tell him that. But we as fans are also allowed to not like it. Sturgill put out two legendary albums and I will be grateful for that for as long as I live, but that doesn’t make him infallible or above criticism. So genre aside, I still don’t think that Sailors Guide is that good of an album, but still allot better than most mainstream music, of course.
I definitely get where you’re coming from and I, not trying to assume anything about you, would guess you’re a fan of many different genres of music. My perspective is different in that I’m a fan only traditional country and bluegrass. Lol so to say the same thing I already did I’m just disappointed that it wasn’t the kind of country music I was looking for.
April 25, 2016 @ 11:08 am
To your reply below…. That’s cool. I respect the hell out of your opinion (and all the others who don’t this record as much). I just give the guy a lot of credit for having the balls to do it.
I think a lot artist no matter how popular, were bigger puppets for their label then folks realize. They just went into the studio and cut an album that was often times handed to them. It was popular because they are good singers. I’ve heard a lot of musicians say they’re very jealous of what Sturgill did. Took guts.
All good
April 24, 2016 @ 8:55 am
Really people need to get over it. No this album isn’t like his previous ones but it’s still a fine damn album. Hearing it live just now has me anxious to see him live again. A lot of artist will put out different albums to switch things up. Hank 3 and Shooter Jennings come to mind. If you want all the music to sound the same listen to mainstream country they’re damn good at mass producing the same sound over and over. Sturgill has a vision in mind when it comes to making his music. I would rather hear he make music that means something to him than just to cater to what everyone wants him to.
April 24, 2016 @ 12:40 pm
Let him make the music he wants to. It’s his artistic vision. Let him do what feels right for him.
April 24, 2016 @ 1:41 pm
Seeing him in Milwaukee June 4, wife and daughters too. I can only hope he plays the album in order, maybe as an encore?
I’d be sitting there with the biggest shit eating grin you’d seen since Shawn Phillips did the same with side 1 of Second Contribution in Chicago circa 1972 or so.
April 25, 2016 @ 4:27 am
It’s kind of a trend these days to tour behind a record – sometimes even an old record – with the goal of presenting it live. In the age of digital download singles, I think that’s a beautiful thing.
And if Waylon was a country, this is country. The more I listen, the more I feel that this is just an extension of the sound that Waylon was working on for most of his career. He was a literal participant in the birth of rock and roll, and I don’t really ever hear him leaving it behind. And Sturgill’s horns are Memphis alright, but there’s a lot of The Strangers in those horns too.
BTW check out the Sturgill / Haggard interview in the latest Garden and Gun magazine. It’s short, but there’s some cool insight to be gained in the brief back and forth. Haggard’s comment about ‘world music’ is especially interesting.
http://www.gardenandgun.com/article/legend-and-renegade
April 25, 2016 @ 10:26 am
Reading that was a bit of a gut punch with Haggard saying “Yeah. We”™re going to do a lot more shows together, I think, if I don”™t die or something.”
April 25, 2016 @ 6:41 am
I would listen to 100 “bad” Sturgill records versus one “good” Luke Bryan or Sam Hunt record……
Just keepin’ it in perspective……
April 25, 2016 @ 7:49 am
I wonder if he is into Pink Floyd..
April 25, 2016 @ 9:57 am
Trigger, this isn’t exactly related to the article here, but have you read the idiotic piece written about Chris Stapleton in Taste of Country? According to Billy Dukes, Stapleton is going to fall down from the top the same way Jamey Johnson did- supposedly because he won’t get played at radio. Granted, he makes a few fair points but he seems almost as oblivious to what is happening as Dallas Davidson
April 25, 2016 @ 10:43 am
I read the article from Billy Dukes this morning, and I actually think it’s a good piece. I don’t agree with everything, but you have to understand Billy Dukes represents the exact opposite side of the spectrum. I think he actually has a very valid point of how Jamey was supposed to be the next big hard country thing, and then fell off the face of the planet, partly due to his own doing. I even kind of understand what he was getting at with saying the trajectories of Stapleton and Florida Georgia Line are similar.
I think it’s a very big question where Chris Stapleton goes next. He could completely meander away from country, kind of like Sturgill did. Or he could get fat and sassy with just a little bit of success and disappear like Jamey Johnson. Or he could become the country music equivalent of Adele. We’ll just have to see.
April 25, 2016 @ 6:36 pm
Ok I’m going to shut up about this and just let go….but to say sturgill “completely meandered away from country” just is not fair statement. Watch KCRW and tell me what that is? I see Joe ripping steel/pedal and stu with hell of a twang. Oh and I guess it’s #1 COUNTRY billboard. Quit being pissed about it.
Maybe it’s just his take on country and not yours. I respect everyone’s opinion but shit the last thing we need is 20 guys all trying to sound like Hank Williams.
Peace
April 25, 2016 @ 7:58 pm
Alright, let’s tap the breaks just a little bit here. I wrote an extensive album review on “A Sailor’s Guide to Earth,” and also covered the KCRW session. I’ve said numerous times that this project turned out much more country than I expected. The point I was trying to make was about Chris Stapleton, and an article written by Billy Dukes on Taste of Country. So if you come in and grab a quote, you don’t have the context for which it was presented unless you read the Billy Dukes piece.
What I said about Simpson’s “A Sailor’s Guide to Earth” in my review was,
“if you truly are a music lover, you have to set all the arguments of genre aside, and enjoy the album for what it is, because the genre of the album is too nebulous to use this as the basis for a dissenting viewpoint. If Sturgill had defiantly called this album country from the very beginning, few would have questioned him and this wouldn”™t even be a discussion.”
…along with many other things.
The assertion of Billy Dukes is that Stapleton is sort of meandering and doesn’t know where he’ll go next. Nobody does. He COULD decide to make an album that is less country than previous efforts, just like Sturgill did. That is all I was trying to say.
April 26, 2016 @ 4:28 am
Fair enough. I’ve read all your reviews and read the Dukes article. First, I think you do an incredible job with this site and I respect (and usually agree) with your takes/reviews. Some of my frustration is the accumulation of comments, not just yours. People can dislike whatever they choose but I can’t let someone say this album is not country.
To Sturgills comments….I think I know sturgill about as well as anyone outside his family/circle. Ok let’s be real, the guy is a touch off center. He also has a bit of history of contridiction. I don’t blame him, he just always has a microphone stuck in his face. I don’t think he “lies”; sometimes he just lets go and words flow. Also, like you probably know, and I’m not going to write, he has, or until recently had, hobbies that probably didn’t always have him in the clearest state during these interviews/shows. So I agree, he probably set up the ‘not country’ stuff more than anyone else. But he can be very insecure and was more nervous about what people thought about this than he led on. So I think he was trying to set expectations.
I just hope he continues doing what he is doing. He’s a really cool guy and in my opinion the best gigging artist going right now (when he’s on, see above comments). I’m really big into rock music so my personal taste leans more to guys like sturgill than some others
Great job man. Enjoy your stuff
April 26, 2016 @ 9:25 am
I think the thing everybody has to recognize is that Sturgill Simpson is now a polarizing artist. People may think the criticism of him is unfair, or they should hold him to genre distinctions etc. etc., but ultimately people’s perceptions are as part of the landscape as anything. And no amount of discourse is going to change that. Some people are pissed that he didn’t put out a country record, and others are pissed that they even care if it’s country or not. I’m trying to do the best to filter out other people’s perceptions and the polarizing nature surrounding Sturgill to just give my opinion purely. I see it from both sides. I think it’s a really solid album, but I think country fans have a right to be disappointed if they so choose. It’s a complicated situation.
Thanks for reading Big Cat.
April 26, 2016 @ 12:24 pm
Trig, you think he’ll stick to the ‘only 5 albums’ thing, or was he just blowing smoke?
April 26, 2016 @ 4:43 pm
I never thought Sturgill would stick to the 5 album plan, even the day after he said it. It seems especially far fetched now.
April 27, 2016 @ 6:12 am
Yes he can do whatever he wants but I don’t have to like it or think its great. If you do great but not everyone does. I think there are a couple of OK songs but overall don’t think it’s very good whether its country or motown or whatever you want to call it
December 1, 2020 @ 11:37 am
This video is back up KCRW youtube channel if anyone is interested.