Grand National by John Butler Trio

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. (Beastie Boys, Tone Loc) 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 (210,000+ copies sold). 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 dobro resophonic 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.