Songs of the Plains

2018 studio album by Colter Wall

Songs of the Plains

Studio album by

Colter Wall

Released

October 12, 2018 (2018-10-12)

Genre

Americana^[1]
Folk music^[2]
Country music^[2]

Length

34:08

Label

Thirty Tigers

Producer

Dave Cobb

Colter Wall chronology

Colter Wall
(2017)

Songs of the Plains
(2018)

Western Swing & Waltzes and Other Punchy Songs
(2020)

Songs of the Plains is the second studio album by Canadian singer-songwriter Colter Wall. It was released on October 12, 2018 under Thirty Tigers.^[3]

Commercial performance

Songs of the Plains has sold 18,800 copies in the United States as of March 2020.^[4]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	79/100^[5]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[1]
American Songwriter	^[6]
Exclaim!	8/10^[7]
Pitchfork	7.6/10^[2]
Rolling Stone	^[8]

Songs of the Plains was met with "generally favorable" reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, this release received an average score of 79, based on 8 reviews.^[5] Aggregator Album of the Year gave the release a 78 out of 100 based on a critical consensus of 7 reviews.^[9]

Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic said: "Throughout Songs of the Plains, Wall relies on stories and sketches designed to conjure ghosts of the Canadian prairies he calls home. As alluring as his spooky, skeletal arrangements are -- steel guitars are used as howling accents, not solos; he occasionally gooses his band to follow a train track rhythm".^[1]

Accolades

Accolades for *Songs of the Plains*
Publication	Accolade	Rank
American Songwriter	American Songwriter's Top 25 Albums of 2018	21^[10]
The A.V. Club	The A.V. Club's Best Country Albums of 2018	N/A^[11]
Digital Trends	Digital Trends' Top 50 Albums of 2018	26^[12]
Glide Magazine	Glide's Top 20 Albums of 2018	N/A^[13]
The Independent	The Independent's Top 40 Albums of 2018	6^[14]
Rolling Stone	Rolling Stone's Top 40 Country and Americana Albums of 2018	39^[15]
Vinyl Me, Please	Vinyl Me, Please's Top 40 Albums of 2018	14^[16]

Track listing

*Songs of the Plains* track listing
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Plain to See Plainsman"		3:49
2.	"Saskatchewan in 1881"		2:51
3.	"John Beyers (Camaro Song)"		2:01
4.	"Wild Dogs"	Billy Don Burns	4:52
5.	"Calgary Round-Up"	Wilf Carter	3:34
6.	"Night Herding Song"	Harry Stephens^[17]	2:20
7.	"Wild Bill Hickok"		2:39
8.	"The Trains Are Gone"		2:08
9.	"Thinkin' on a Woman"		3:20
10.	"Manitoba Man"		3:58
11.	"Tying Knots in the Devil's Tail"	Gail I. Gardner	2:36

Personnel

Musicians

Colter Wall – guitar, vocals
Billy Don Burns – featured artist
Wilf Carter – featured artist
Dave Cobb – guitar, producer
Corb Lund – vocals
Blake Berglund - vocals
Chris Powell – drums
Mickey Raphael – harmonica
Jason Simpson – bass

Production

Gena Johnson – engineer

Charts

Chart performance for *Songs of the Plains*
Chart (2018)	Peak position
Canadian Albums (Billboard)^[18]	36
UK Americana Albums (OCC)^[19]	12
US Independent Albums (Billboard)^[20]	9
US Top Country Albums (Billboard)^[21]	17
US Top Folk Albums (Billboard)^[22]	7

References

^ ^a ^b ^c Thomas Erlewine, Stephen. "AllMusic Review". AllMusic. Retrieved September 23, 2020.
^ ^a ^b ^c Wicks, AManda (October 15, 2018). "Pitchfork Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved September 23, 2020.
^ Gage, Jeff (July 25, 2018). "Colter Wall Details New Album 'Songs of the Plains'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved September 23, 2020.
^ Bjorke, Matt (March 3, 2020). "Top 10 Country Albums In Pure Sales: March 2, 2020". Roughstock. Retrieved September 22, 2020.
^ ^a ^b "Metacritic Review". Metacritic. Retrieved September 23, 2020.
^ Horowitz, Hal (October 10, 2018). "American Songwriter Review". American Songwriter. Retrieved September 23, 2020.
^ Henderson, Stuart (October 9, 2018). "Exclaim! Review". Exclaim!. Retrieved September 23, 2020.
^ Hermes, Will (October 12, 2018). "Review: Colter Wall's 'Songs of the Plains' Is a Modern Twist on Classic C&W". Rolling Stone. Retrieved September 23, 2020.
^ "Album of the Year Review". Album of the Year. Retrieved September 23, 2020.
^ "American Songwriter's Top 25 Albums of 2018". American Songwriter. Retrieved September 23, 2020.
^ "The Best Country Albums of 2018". The A.V. Club. December 6, 2018. Retrieved September 23, 2020.
^ Hall, Parker (December 12, 2018). "The Best Albums of 2018". Digital Trends. Retrieved September 23, 2020.
^ "Glide's 20 Best Albums of 2018". Glide Magazine. December 26, 2018. Retrieved September 23, 2020.
^ "The 40 best albums of 2018: From Arctic Monkeys to Christine and the Queens, Kendrick Lamar to Janelle Monae". The Independent. December 19, 2018. Archived from the original on 2022-05-24. Retrieved September 23, 2020.
^ Bernstein, Jonathan (December 15, 2018). "40 Best Country and Americana Albums of 2018". Rolling Stone. Retrieved September 23, 2020.
^ "The Best Albums of 2018". Vinyl Me, Please. December 19, 2018. Retrieved September 23, 2020.
^ "The Night Herding Song". Library of Congress.
^ "Billboard Canadian Albums Charts". Billboard. Retrieved September 22, 2020.
^ "Official Americana Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 23, 2020.
^ "Independent Albums Chart". Billboard. Retrieved September 22, 2020.
^ "Top Country Albums Chart". Billboard. Retrieved September 22, 2020.
^ "Americana/Folk Albums Chart". Billboard. Retrieved September 22, 2020.