# Trail of Stars

Trail of Stars is the ninth studio album by American alternative country band The Walkabouts released on August 2, 1999 through Glitterhouse Records. It's their return album to Glitterhouse, formerly Sub Pop Europe, after a two album detour with major label Virgin.

## Track listing

All tracks written by Chris Eckman, except where noted.
* "Desert Skies" (Eckman, Carla Torgerson, strings arrangement by Glenn Slater) – 7:32
* "Straight to the Stars" – 4:32
* "Gold" – 6:26
* "Last Tears" – 6:21
* "Crime Story" – 4:39
* "Hightimes" (strings arrangement by Fred Chalenor) – 4:53
* "Harvey's Quote to Me" (Slater) – 1:29
* "On the Day" (Eckman, Chalenor, woodwinds arrangement by Chalenor) – 6:30
* "Till I Reach You" – 4:37
* "Drown" – 4:30
* "No One the Wiser" (strings arrangement by Slater) – 6:43

### limited edition

* "Bonnie and Clyde" (Serge Gainsbourg) – 6:27
The limited edition also contained a multimedia track with a screen saver.
The album was engineered and mixed at Paradise Sound, Index, Washington and Avast!, Seattle, Washington and Swanyard, London. The album was mastered at Country Masters, Surrey.

### Release history

| Region | Date | Label | Format | Catalog |
| Germany | August 2, 1999 | Glitterhouse Records | 2xLP | GR 450 |
| Germany | August 2, 1999 | Glitterhouse Records | CD | GRCD 450 |
| United States | 1999 | S2 Records | CD | S2CD 2500 |

### Drown (Single)

Drown is the eleventh single by American alternative country band The Walkabouts released on August 23, 1999, through Glitterhouse Records. The catalog number is GR 461.

#### Track listing

* "Drown (Stars on 45 edit)"
* "Bonnie and Clyde" (Serge Gainsbourg)
* "Lost in the Scraps"
The song "Bonnie and Clyde" was also released as a bonus track of the limited editions (both LP and CD) of Trail of Stars.

## Personnel

* Fred Chalenor – bass
* Terri Moeller – drums, percussion, loops
* Glenn Slater – organ, Fender Rhodes, piano, ARP synthesizer, Moog synthesizer, mellotron, tapes
* Carla Torgerson – vocals, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, percussion, tapes
* Chris Eckman – vocals, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, piano, wobble board, samples, loops

### Additional musicians

* Steve Moore – trombone
* Christine Gunn – solo cello
* Bev Setzer – clarinet
* Kevin Suggs – pedel steel
* April Acevez Cameron – viola
* Justine Foy – cello
* Tyler A. Reilly – violin
* Rebecca Clemens-Keith – violin
* Phill Brown – loops, sounds

### Technical personnel

* Phill Brown – production, mixing
* Kevin Suggs – additional engineering
* Pat Sample – assistant engineer
* Kip Beelman – assistant engineer
* Jason Howes – assistant engineer
* Dennis Blackham – mastering

### Additional personnel

* Maurizio Poletto – design
* Enrico Bravi – design
* Mark Van S. – band photographs
* David French – space-ship sculptures

## Critical reception

Professional ratings :
| Review scores ||
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic | |
| KEXP-FM | favorable |
John Duffy wrote for Allmusic: "... Drenched in John Cale-like soundscape washes and heavy strings, Trail of Stars comes off as morose and dirge-like. Only "Straight to the Stars" doesn't feel like a death march. This is frustrating, since the instrumentation of the record is expertly crafted and lovingly played. ..."
Don Jates wrote for KEXP-FM: "The veteran Seattle band continues to evolve with this album of dark, delicately textured atmospheric pop."
Gaesteliste compared it to Portishead, Massive Attack, and Roxy Music.

## Charts

The album charted one week (36/1999) on position 30 of the Norwegian album charts.