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Paper Airplane (album)

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Paper Airplane
Studio album by
ReleasedApril 12, 2011
GenreBluegrass
Length43:15
LabelRounder
ProducerAlison Krauss & Union Station
Alison Krauss chronology
Essential Alison Krauss
(2009)
Paper Airplane
(2011)
Windy City
(2017)
Singles from Paper Airplane
  1. "Paper Airplane"
    Released: March 28, 2011
  2. "My Love Follows You Where You Go"
    Released: January 2012

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.[1]

Reception

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Critical

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[2]
Rolling Stone[3]

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".[4]

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."[5] The album won Grammys for Best Bluegrass Album and Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical.[6]

Commercial

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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.[7] 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.[8] The album has sold 384,000 copies in the United States as of November 2016.[9]

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.

Track listing

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No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Paper Airplane"Robert Lee Castleman3:36
2."Dust Bowl Children"Peter Rowan3:06
3."Lie Awake"Viktor Krauss, Angel Snow3:55
4."Lay My Burden Down"Aoife O'Donovan3:52
5."My Love Follows You Where You Go"Barry Dean, Lori McKenna, Liz Rose4:03
6."Dimming Of The Day"Richard Thompson5:20
7."On The Outside Looking In"Tim O'Brien3:35
8."Miles To Go"Barry Bales, Chris Stapleton2:54
9."Sinking Stone"Jeremy Lister4:42
10."Bonita And Bill Butler"Sidney Cox4:03
11."My Opening Farewell"Jackson Browne4:08
Total length:43:15
Target bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
12."These Days" (also an iTunes pre-order bonus track) 
13."A Place Outside" 
14."Frozen Fields" 
15."We Hide & Seek" (live) 
16."Faraway Land" (live) 
17."Every Time You Say Goodbye" (live) 

Personnel

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Charts

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Certifications and sales

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[31] Silver 60,000*

* Sales figures based on certification alone.

References

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  1. ^ "Mike Shipley: Recording Alison Krauss' Paper Airplane". July 2011.
  2. ^ Jurek, Thom. "Paper Airplane review". Allmusic. Retrieved April 11, 2011.
  3. ^ Hermes, Will (April 28, 2011). "Reviews/Music". Rolling Stone (1129): 98.
  4. ^ "Paper Airplane - Alison Krauss & Union Station > Review". Allmusic. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
  5. ^ "Alison Krauss & Union Station - Paper Airplane". Christianity Today. April 2011.
  6. ^ "Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
  7. ^ "Alison Krauss & Union Station Fly to No. 1 on Country Album chart". Roughstock. Archived from the original on February 5, 2012. Retrieved April 22, 2011.
  8. ^ "The Country Boys Continue to Dominate the Charts". Roughstock. Archived from the original on July 18, 2011. Retrieved July 14, 2011.
  9. ^ "Upcoming Releases". Hits Daily Double. HITS Digital Ventures. Archived from the original on November 30, 2016.
  10. ^ "Alison Krauss Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
  11. ^ "Danishcharts.dk – Alison Krauss & Union Station – Paper Airplane". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
  12. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Alison Krauss & Union Station – Paper Airplane" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
  13. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Alison Krauss & Union Station – Paper Airplane" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
  14. ^ "Irish-charts.com – Discography Alison Krauss". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
  15. ^ "Charts.nz – Alison Krauss & Union Station – Paper Airplane". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
  16. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Alison Krauss & Union Station – Paper Airplane". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
  17. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
  18. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Alison Krauss & Union Station – Paper Airplane". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
  19. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
  20. ^ "Official Country Artists Albums Chart Top 20". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
  21. ^ "Alison Krauss Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
  22. ^ "Alison Krauss Chart History (Top Bluegrass Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
  23. ^ "Alison Krauss Chart History (Top Country Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
  24. ^ "Alison Krauss Chart History (Top Americana/Folk Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
  25. ^ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2011". Billboard. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
  26. ^ "Bluegrass Albums – Year-End 2011". Billboard. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
  27. ^ "Top Country Albums – Year-End 2011". Billboard. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
  28. ^ "Americana/Folk Albums – Year-End 2011". Billboard. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
  29. ^ "Bluegrass Albums – Year-End 2012". Billboard. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
  30. ^ "Americana/Folk Albums – Year-End 2012". Billboard. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
  31. ^ "British album certifications – Alison Krauss & Union Station – Paper Airplane". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 12 February 2022.