Paper Airplane (album)
Paper Airplane is an album by Alison Krauss and Union Station. Released on April 12, 2011, it was Krauss's 14th album and her first release with Union Station since "Lonely Runs Both Ways" in 2004. It includes cover versions of "My Opening Farewell" and "Dimming of the Day", originally recorded by Jackson Browne and Richard Thompson, respectively. The album's lead single, the title track, was released to country music radio and Adult album alternative radio on March 28, 2011, but failed to chart. The album was engineered and mixed by Mike Shipley, whom Krauss persuaded  to return to engineering after a 10‑year absence. Reception. Critical. Thom Jurek of "AllMusic" gave "Paper Airplane" four-stars, describing it as melancholy, with songs revolving around themes of trial and perseverance. He also praised the cover versions of "Dimming of the Day" and "My Opening Farewell". He considered the album "polished yet authentic". Andrew Greer of "Christianity Today" also honored "Paper Airplane" with four stars, finding it "an exquisite eleven-song canon," and added: "Though their haunts are heavy-hearted, a tangible hope pervades "Airplane", attesting to the band's spiritual sensitivity even without the band's usual faith  song standout." The album won Grammys for Best Bluegrass Album and Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical. Commercial. "Paper Airplane" sold approximately 83,000 copies during its first week of release, making it Krauss's first number one album on the "Billboard" Top Country Albums chart. It is also the highest entry for Krauss on the "Billboard" 200, where it debuted at number three. "Raising Sand", Krauss's collaboration with Robert Plant, reached number two on the "Billboard" 200 upon its release in 2007. In addition to these charts, it also debuted at number one on the "Billboard" Top Bluegrass Albums and  number one on "Billboard" Folk Albums. The album has sold 384,000 copies in the United States as of November 2016. "Paper Airplane" was a minor hit in Europe, debuting in the top forty of several European countries, such as the Norwegian Albums Chart. It became Krauss' most successful album in the UK, reaching number 11 on the UK Albums Chart (overtaking 2009's compilation "Essential Alison Krauss", which reached number 13) and earning a silver certification from the BPI.