Barton Hollow[1] is the first full-length studio album from the Civil Wars. Produced by Charlie Peacock, it was released on February 1, 2011. It peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard Digital Albums chart, No. 10 on the Billboard 200, No. 1 on the Billboard Folk Albums chart, and No. 2 on the Billboard Rock Albums chart, selling 25,000 copies in its first week.[2] As of August 2013[update], the album has sold 623,000 copies in the US.[3]
Barton Hollow was preceded by the lead single and title track, which was performed live on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on January 14, 2011.[4] A track on this album, "Poison and Wine" was previously released as a single from their EP Poison & Wine in 2009. On November 30, 2011, Barton Hollow was nominated for Grammys in the Best Folk Album and Best Country Duo/Group Performance categories, for the title song. The album ended up winning both awards. Numerous publications noted that the Civil Wars were snubbed a Best New Artist nomination by The Grammys. At the ceremony the Civil Wars performed a portion of "Barton Hollow".[5][6][7] The vinyl LP version of the record was pressed at United Record Pressing in Nashville, TN.[8]
Andrew Leahey of AllMusic said that Williams and White "trace each other's melodies with close harmonies that never fail to lose their romance". He gave Barton Hollow four of five stars and called it "Good stuff".[9] Darren Lee of MusicOMH also gave four of five stars, saying "The album's songs of love, loss and longing are an immediate pleasure to listen to, displaying real restraint in a disc that is pleasingly sparse and unembellished."[10]
In 2017 it was ranked No. 66 in Paste magazine's "The 100 Best Indie Folk Albums" list.[22]
Track listing
All songs were written by Joy Williams and John Paul White, except where noted. The two bonus tracks are available with electronic album's versions. but not on the CD. An extended version of Barton Hollow was released in Europe through Sony Music on March 1, 2012, which contained the 12 tracks included with the North American release, the 2 bonus tracks from the electronic version, plus 4 additional tracks.
^Chenfeld, Cliff (December 8, 2011) The Best Music of 2011. Retrieved 2011-12-10, from The Huffington Post
^Moody, Nekessa Mumbi (December 20, 2011) Adele tops AP's list of Best Albums of 2011. Retrieved 2011-12-22, from SFGate.comArchived December 21, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
^Tennessean Music Team (December 21, 2011) 2011's Biggest Albums: Music That Made a Mark. Retrieved 2011-12-22, from Tennessean.comArchived March 7, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
^AMG Staff (December 14, 2011) AllMusic's Favorite Folk Albums of 2011. Retrieved 2011-12-25, from AllMusic.com