Welcome to the Walk Alone

Welcome to the Walk Alone is the second album from the Devon-based band The Rumble Strips. It was released on 13 July 2009 by Island Records, and was preceded by a single release in June. The title and release date were confirmed by the band on their website on 11 May 2009,^[12] whilst "London" was made available to download for free from the band's website on 23 March.^[13] The album leaked onto the internet on 4 June 2009.^{[citation needed]}

Welcome to the Walk Alone
Studio album by The Rumble Strips
Released	13 July 2009
Genre	Rock
Length	31:26
Label	Island
Producer	Mark Ronson
The Rumble Strips chronology
Girls and Weather (2007) Welcome to the Walk Alone (2009) The Lightship Recordings - Part 1 (2016)

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	69/100[1]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
Clash	[3]
Daily Express	[4]
Drowned in Sound	[5]
Gigwise	[6]
Metro	[7]
Planet Sound	[8]
The Guardian	[9]
The Independent	(Positive)[10]
The Telegraph	[11]

Background

Following The Rumble Strips' reinterpretation of Amy Winehouse's "Back to Black", Mark Ronson offered his services in producing the album in New York. On working with Ronson, the band commented: "He definitely had an idea about how he wanted it to sound. Certainly for the drums, he kind of built the sound around this particular technique of drums. And obviously coming in fresh, he sort of sat down and listened to the songs, and trimmed off bits. But he’s no megalomaniac, he doesn’t come in and insist it has to be 'this way', but he’s got ideas."^[14]

As part of their First Listen series of features, The-Fly.co.uk put up a track-by-track synopsis of Welcome to the Walk Alone on 26 May. Whilst stating that "Ronson's kitchen sink production is evident after little more than a minute," they said that the sound of the record is "lush", highlighting "Dem Girls", "Sweet Heart Hooligan" and "Daniel" as the album's highlights.^[15]

Track listing

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Welcome to the Walk Alone"	2:44
2.	"London"	3:10
3.	"Not the Only Person"	2:20
4.	"Daniel"	2:57
5.	"Douglas"	2:37
6.	"Back Bone"	3:11
7.	"Sweetheart Hooligan"	1:53
8.	"Running on Empty"	2:27
9.	"Dem Girls"	2:55
10.	"Raindrops"	3:29
11.	"Happy Hell"	3:23

Personnel

The Rumble Strips

• Charles Waller – guitar, vocals
• Henry Clark – trumpet, vocals, piano
• Tom Gorbutt – saxophone, vocals, guitar
• Matthew Wheeler – drums
• Sam Mansbridge – bass guitar

Technical personnel

• Mark Ronson – producer
• Owen Pallett – string arrangements

References

1. "Welcome to the Walk Alone by The Rumble Strips". Metacritic. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
2. Allmusic review
3. "The Rumble Strips - Welcome to the Walk Alone". 15 June 2009. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
4. Spellman, Robert (13 July 2009). "Review: THE RUMBLE STRIPS: WELCOME TO THE WALK ALONE". Northern & Shell Media. Retrieved 14 July 2009.
5. "Album Review: The Rumble Strips - Welcome to the Walk Alone". Archived from the original on 6 October 2016. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
6. Gigwise review
7. Lavery, Aaron. "Review: The Rumble Strips: Welcome to the Walk Alone". metrolife (13 July 2009): 25.
8. Earls, John. "Review: The Rumble Strips/Welcome to the Walk Alone". Teletext. Retrieved 9 July 2009.
9. Costa, Maddy (10 July 2009). "Review: The Rumble Strips: Welcome to the Walk Alone". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 July 2009.
10. Price, Simon (12 July 2009). "Review: The Rumble Strips, Welcome to the Walk Alone, (Island)". The Independent. Retrieved 14 July 2009.
11. Green, Thomas H (13 July 2009). "Review: The Rumble Strips: Welcome to the Walk Alone". Telegraph Media Group Limited. Retrieved 14 July 2009.
12. Strips, Rumble (11 May 2009). "The Rumble Strips announce release date". Rumble Strips. Retrieved 11 May 2009.
13. Strips, Rumble (23 March 2009). "The Rumble Strips announce free download". Myspace. Retrieved 23 March 2009.
14. Strips, Rumble (7 April 2009). "The Rumble Strips Interview". Clash. Retrieved 7 April 2009.
15. Strips, Rumble (26 May 2009). "First Listen: The Rumble Strips 'Welcome to the Walk Alone'". The-Fly.co.uk. Retrieved 26 May 2009.