Palace of Gold is the ninth studio album by the Canadian country rock band Blue Rodeo. It is the band's first album with guitarist Bob Egan, formerly of Freakwater and Wilco, and is notable for performances featuring the Bushwhack Horns.
Track listing All songs by Greg Keelor and Jim Cuddy, except where noted.
"Palace of Gold" – 3:47 "Holding On" – 3:56 "Homeward Bound Angel" – 5:47 "Bulletproof" – 4:43 "Comet" – 3:43 "Walk Like You Don't Mind" – 4:09 "Love Never Lies" – 3:27 "Stage Door" – 3:01 "Cause for Sympathy" – 4:11 "What a Surprise" – 3:33 "Clearer View" – 2:41 "Glad to Be Alive" – 3:20 "Find a Way to Say Goodbye" – 4:20 "Tell Me Baby" – 5:02 "The Railroad" (Lee Hazlewood) (Live – US edition only) – 4:19 "Bad Timing" (Live – US edition only) – 6:07 "You're Everywhere" (Live – US edition only) – 3:40
The title track was later covered by the Toronto surf-country band The Sadies under the title of "The Story's Often Told". The Sadies' album on which the track appears was produced by Blue Rodeo's singer/guitarist, Greg Keelor.
The singer/guitarist, Jim Cuddy, said in concert that "Bulletproof", the album's first single, was his attempt to emulate the songwriting of his admired singer-songwriter Ron Sexsmith. He originally wrote the song to give to Blue Rodeo's bass guitarist, Bazil Donovan, for use in a solo project, but chose in the end to keep the song for Blue Rodeo.
"Glad to Be Alive" was later re-recorded for Blue Rodeo's 2014 Christmas album, A Merrie Christmas to You.
"Clearer View" was later re-recorded for Jim Cuddy's 2019 solo album, Countrywide Soul.
Personnel Personnel taken from Palace of Gold liner notes.
Blue Rodeo Jim Cuddy – vocals, guitar, Wurlitzer Greg Keelor – vocals, guitar Bazil Donovan – bass Glenn Milchem – drums James Gray – piano, organ, Wurlitzer Bob Egan – pedal steel, mandolin, guitar
Additional musicians The Bushwhack Horns Bryden Baird – trumpet, French horn, flugelhorn Stephen Donald – trombone Chris Gale – baritone sax Richard Underhill – alto sax, baritone sax, horn arrangements Molly Johnson – backing vocals Laura Hubert – backing vocals Paul Aucoin – vibraphone The Planet Soul Strings Anne Lindsay – violin, string arrangements Jayne Maddison – violin Ron Mah – violin Adele Armin – violin Wendy Rose – violin Norman Hathaway – violin Claudio Vena – viola Dan Blackman – viola Richard Armin – cello Winona Zelenka – cello
Production Blue Rodeo – production, mixing, string and horn arrangements Nick Holmes – recording (all except "Tell Me Baby"), mixing Ian Osborne – recording on "Tell Me Baby" Greg Calbi – mastering
Charts Weekly charts +Weekly chart performance for Palace of Gold Chart (2002) Peakposition Canadian Albums (Billboard) 6 Year-end charts +Year-end chart performance for Palace of GoldChart (2002)PositionCanadian Albums (Nielsen SoundScan)89Canadian Alternative Albums (Nielsen SoundScan) 26
Certifications
References