Songs of the Plains

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

1. Thomas Erlewine, Stephen. "AllMusic Review". AllMusic. Retrieved September 23, 2020.
2. Wicks, AManda (October 15, 2018). "Pitchfork Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved September 23, 2020.
3. Gage, Jeff (July 25, 2018). "Colter Wall Details New Album 'Songs of the Plains'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved September 23, 2020.
4. Bjorke, Matt (March 3, 2020). "Top 10 Country Albums In Pure Sales: March 2, 2020". Roughstock. Retrieved September 22, 2020.
5. "Metacritic Review". Metacritic. Retrieved September 23, 2020.
6. Horowitz, Hal (October 10, 2018). "American Songwriter Review". American Songwriter. Retrieved September 23, 2020.
7. Henderson, Stuart (October 9, 2018). "Exclaim! Review". Exclaim!. Retrieved September 23, 2020.
8. 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.
9. "Album of the Year Review". Album of the Year. Retrieved September 23, 2020.
10. "American Songwriter's Top 25 Albums of 2018". American Songwriter. Retrieved September 23, 2020.
11. "The Best Country Albums of 2018". The A.V. Club. December 6, 2018. Retrieved September 23, 2020.
12. Hall, Parker (December 12, 2018). "The Best Albums of 2018". Digital Trends. Retrieved September 23, 2020.
13. "Glide's 20 Best Albums of 2018". Glide Magazine. December 26, 2018. Retrieved September 23, 2020.
14. "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.
15. Bernstein, Jonathan (December 15, 2018). "40 Best Country and Americana Albums of 2018". Rolling Stone. Retrieved September 23, 2020.
16. "The Best Albums of 2018". Vinyl Me, Please. December 19, 2018. Retrieved September 23, 2020.
17. "The Night Herding Song". Library of Congress.
18. "Billboard Canadian Albums Charts". Billboard. Retrieved September 22, 2020.
19. "Official Americana Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 23, 2020.
20. "Independent Albums Chart". Billboard. Retrieved September 22, 2020.
21. "Top Country Albums Chart". Billboard. Retrieved September 22, 2020.
22. "Americana/Folk Albums Chart". Billboard. Retrieved September 22, 2020.