Turnpike Troubadours - The Turnpike Troubadours [Black Vinyl]

Formed in 2005 in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, the Turnpike Troubadours released their self-titled fourth album in September 2015 via Bossier City Records and Thirty Tigers. Following the breakthrough success of 2012's Goodbye Normal Street, this 12-track collection finds frontman Evan Felker and his bandmates taking an unhurried approach to songwriting and recording. The album was tracked at Prairie Sun Recording Studios in Cotati, California, where the band set up in former chicken coops converted into studios and worked through 12-hour sessions until every story and note rang true. The result debuted at number three on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart and broke into the Top 20 of the Billboard 200, cementing the group's status as one of independent country music's most compelling acts.

The album showcases the band's signature blend of roots rock, folk, and raw country, with Felker's vivid storytelling anchored by fiddle, pedal steel, and Telecaster. Opening track "The Bird Hunters" sets a deliberate pace with a five-minute waltz built upon Kyle Nix's fiddle work, while "The Mercury" pays tribute to Tulsa's iconic Mercury Lounge with the band's raucous energy on full display. "7 Oaks" recounts a life made desperate by poverty, set to an incongruous hoedown accompaniment, and the album includes re-recorded versions of "Easton & Main" and "Bossier City" from their 2007 debut, now enriched with the full band's instrumentation. Tracks like "Down Here" and "A Little Song" reveal the group's more poignant and melodic side, balancing the album's high-energy moments with introspective ballads.

This black vinyl pressing delivers the warmth and detail of the band's organic performances, capturing the fiddle's rasp, the twang of the steel guitar, and the clarity of Felker's vocals. The single LP format includes a standard jacket with inner sleeve, presenting the album's full 12-track sequence in a cohesive listening experience that flows from rowdy honky-tonk to reflective storytelling.

• Format: Black Vinyl LP
• Standout tracks: "The Mercury," "7 Oaks," "Easton & Main"
• Pressing details: Single LP with inner sleeve, recorded at Prairie Sun Recording Studios
• Genre/style: Red Dirt Country, Americana, Honky Tonk, Roots Rock
• UPC: 696859966040

The Turnpike Troubadours stands as a defining work in modern Red Dirt country, showcasing Evan Felker's remarkable songwriting and the band's ability to blend traditional country instrumentation with contemporary storytelling. This vinyl edition offers the full depth of their sound, from sparse acoustic moments to full-throttle performances.

* The Spotify track list may not exactly represent the tracks and audio of this LP edition.

Track List:

Side A:

1. The Bird Hunters
2. The Mercury
3. Down Here
4. Time Of Day
5. Ringing In The Year

Side B:

1. Long Drive Home
2. Easton & Main
3. 7 Oaks
4. Fall Out Of Love
5. Bossier City