Sturgill Simpson – High Top Mountain (Vinyle translucide verre bouteille de Coca)
RARITY - Sealed
Vocals, acoustic guitar, Telecaster - Sturgill Simpson
Backing Vocals – Leroy Powell (A6)
Bass – Bryan "Freedom Eagle Bear" Allen (A4, A6, B3, B5-6), Robby Turner (A1-3, A5, B1-2, B4)
Drums – Chris Powell
Organ, Mellotron – Bobby "Diamond Bob" Emmett
Piano – Hargus "Pig" Robbins
Steel Guitar – Leroy Powell (A6, B4), Robby Turner
Twelve-String Guitar – Dave Cobb (B2)
Vocals, Acoustic Guitar, Electric Guitar – Sturgill Simpson
Written by Sturgill Simpson (A1 to B4), Ray Cline (B5), Ralph Stanley (B5), Steve Fromholz (B6)
1LP, Gatefold jacket
10th Anniversary limited edition
Original analog Master tape : YES
Heavy Press : 180g
Record color : Coke Bottle Clear
Speed : 33 RPM
Size : 12'’
Stereo
Studio
Record Press : Memphis Record Pressing
Label : VMP - Vinyl Me Please, Country series
Original Label : High Top Mountain Records
Recorded 2012–13 at Falling Arms (Nashville, Tennessee) and Hillbilly Central (Nashville, Tennessee)
Engineered by Vance Powell
Produced by Dave Cobb
Mastered by Wes Garland
Lacquer cut by Ryan Smith at Sterling Sound
Originally released in 2013
Reissued in 2023
Tracks:
Side A:
- Life Ain't Fair And The World Is Mean
- Railroad Of Sin
- Water In A Well
- Sitting Here Without You
- The Storm
- You Can Have The Crown
Side B:
- Time After All
- Hero
- Some Days
- Old King Coal
- Poor Rambler
- I'd Have To Be Crazy
Reviews :
« As soon as High Top Mountain begins to unspool, it's hard to shake the feeling that Sturgill Simpson's 2013 debut isn't some kind of tribute to Waylon Jennings. When the tempo slows down and the arrangements are stripped to an acoustic guitar, he can at times recall Jamey Johnson, but that troubadour himself owes a significant debt to Waylon, so having the slow tunes conjure Johnson isn't a dramatic shift in tone, but it does give High Top Mountain a bit of depth, suggesting Simpson knows he does not reside in 1978. He'll admit as much in the lyrics -- he'll grudgingly accept the internet and other inconveniences of modern life -- but the sound belongs to the late-'70s and Simpson is particularly fond of the hard, lean, rolling sound of Waylon's outlaw period, molding his band and songs after the records that came after Honky Tonk Heroes. If Simpson doesn't have the gravity of Jennings in his voice, he compensates with attitude, taking his sweet time to re-capture the long, languid strut of Waylon. Simpson's ace in the hole is how he can craft a song -- he can conjure the spirit of Jennings, never sounding as overwhelming as Waylon, but he can capture the muscular inevitability that pulsated through the peak of outlaw country. High Top Mountain doesn't succumb to the weaknesses of prime outlaw -- the tunes aren't tired, they're fresh, often deriving from Simpson's pen -- and his evident passion means High Top Mountain feels fresh even if it so clearly means to conjure the ghosts of the '70s in every one of its songs and every one of its performances. » AllMusic Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Ratings :
AllMusic : 3.5 / 5 ; Discogs : 4.67 / 5