Grand National is the fourth album by the John Butler Trio. Somewhere between 22 and 25 songs were considered for this album, some created during or before Sunrise Over Sea. To date, it is the John Butler Trio's most ambitious work, containing many more instruments than previously seen on their albums, including a whole strings and horn section on some songs, with numerous percussion instruments for many more. Butler, having previously tried to self-produce the album, called upon Mario Caldato Jr. to assist. The album reached number one on the ARIA Albums Chart and the Billboard Heatseekers chart in the US, and as of 10 March 2008 it has reached triple Platinum Status. Grand National was the 7th highest selling album in Australia in 2007, remaining in the ARIA top 20 album charts for over nine months. The title of the album is derived from the antique dobroresophonic guitar that Butler inherited from his grandfather. In the 1920s the Dobro and National were competitors in the development of resonator or resophonic guitars, in 1934 they merged to form the National-Dobro Corporation, and hence the name of the album.
Track listing
All music and lyrics written and arranged by John Butler. The following track listing and song times are from the official release:
"Better Than" – 3:29
"Daniella" – 4:16
"Funky Tonight" – 5:27
"Caroline" – 3:48
"Good Excuse" – 3:26
"Used to Get High" – 4:28
"Gov Did Nothin'" – 8:04
"Groovin' Slowly" – 4:32
"Devil Running" – 4:49
"Losing You" – 3:47
"Nowhere Man" – 3:21
"Fire in the Sky" – 5:36
"Gonna Take It" – 4:44
The following tracks were including on the limited-edition vinyl version of the record:
"Good as Gone"
"Recognise Me"
"Ain't That Just the Way"
"Thou Shalt Not Steal"
The following track listing and song times are from the bonus disc:
"Ain't That Just the Way" – 5:21
"Good as Gone" – 2:30
"Thou Shalt Not Steal" – 4:51
"Funky tonight " – 6:00
"Funky tonight " – 3:40
Personnel
John Butler – vocals, acoustic/amplified open back banjo, 12-string, 6-string, resonator lapsteel, and Weissonborn lapsteel guitars, baritone tricone resonator guitar, nylon string acoustic guitar, banjo, mouth harp, harmonica, ukulele, yidaki & electric guitar
"Funky Tonight" was released as the first Australian single
"Good Excuse" was released as the second Australian single
"Better Than" was released on 20 February 2007 as an online single in the United States, available via iTunes and later in Australia as a CD single in August 2007 and it served as the third single in Australia.
"Used to Get High" was released as a radio promotional fourth single in Australia.
Other songs recorded during ''Grand National'' sessions
Before the official track list was released, these tracks were considered for the album, but were left out of the final cut.
