Diplo Presents Thomas Wesley, Chapter 1: Snake Oil

Chapter 1: Snake Oil is the second studio album by American DJ and musician Diplo, released under his country moniker Thomas Wesley. It was released through Mad Decent and Columbia Records on May 29, 2020.[3] The album features collaborations by Orville Peck, Cam, Morgan Wallen, the Jonas Brothers, Thomas Rhett, Young Thug, Blanco Brown, Noah Cyrus, Julia Michaels, Clever, Zac Brown, Danielle Bradbery, Ben Burgess, Lil Nas X, and Billy Ray Cyrus.[4]

Chapter 1: Snake Oil
Studio album by
ReleasedMay 29, 2020 (2020-05-29)
Genre
Length31:36
Label
Thomas Wesley chronology
LSD
(2019)
Chapter 1: Snake Oil
(2020)
MMXX
(2020)
Singles from Diplo Presents Thomas Wesley, Chapter 1: Snake Oil
  1. "So Long"
    Released: April 24, 2019
  2. "Lonely"
    Released: September 27, 2019
  3. "Heartless"
    Released: January 31, 2020

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic46/100[5]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [6]
Clash3/10[7]
DIY     [8]
Entertainment WeeklyC−[9]
The Line of Best Fit3/10[2]
MusicOMH     [10]
NME     [11]
The Observer     [12]
Pitchfork4.8/10[13]

Chapter 1: Snake Oil was met with generally mixed to unfavorable reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the release received an average score of 46, based on 9 reviews.[5]

Track listing

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Chapter 1: Snake Oil track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Intro" (featuring Orville Peck)
1:37
2."So Long" (with Cam)2:52
3."Heartless" (featuring Morgan Wallen)
2:49
4."Lonely" (with Jonas Brothers)
2:19
5."Dance with Me" (with Thomas Rhett and Young Thug)
  • Diplo
  • Jr Blender
  • Tedder
  • King Henry
  • Skelton
  • Maximilian Jaeger[a]
2:50
6."Do Si Do" (with Blanco Brown)
  • Diplo
  • King Henry
  • Maximilian Jaeger[a]
  • Von Boch Scully[a]
2:18
7."On Mine" (with Noah Cyrus)
2:26
8."Real Life Stuff" (featuring Julia Michaels and Clever)
  • Diplo
  • Von Boch Scully
  • Jaeger
3:13
9."Hometown" (featuring Zac Brown and Danielle Bradbery)
  • Pentz
  • Sloan
  • H. Allen
  • Hardy
  • Mathis
  • Diplo
  • King Henry
  • Great Dane[a]
  • Jaeger[a]
3:36
10."Heartbreak" (with Ben Burgess)
  • Diplo
  • King Henry
  • Jaeger
2:17
11."Heartless" (Remix; with Julia Michaels featuring Morgan Wallen)
  • Pentz
  • Michaels
  • Wallen
  • H. Allen
  • Vojtesak
  • Smith
  • Hurd
  • Diplo
  • King Henry
  • Joey Moi
  • Charlie Handsome
2:53
12."Old Town Road" (Diplo Remix; performed by Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus)
3:23
Total length:31:36
Deluxe edition (bonus tracks)[14]
No.TitleLength
2."Bottle's Bout Dead" (with Ernest)2:30
3."Horizon" (with Leon Bridges)2:28
Total length:36:34
Chapter 2: Swamp Savant disc one tracklisting
No.TitleLength
1."Sad in the Summer" (with Lily Rose)3:21
2."Use Me (Brutal Hearts)" (with Dove Cameron and Johnny Blue Skies)3:22
3."Rain on My Mind" (with Paul Cauthen and Sierra Ferrell)2:18
4."Never Die" (with Morgan Wade)2:39
5."Lonely Long" (with Parker McCollum)3:00
6."Wasted" (featuring Kodak Black and Koe Wetzel)2:35
7."Without You" (with Elle King)3:02
8."Heartbroken" (with Jessie Murph and Polo G)3:24
9."Heartbroken (Remix)" (with Jessie Murph)3:18
Total length:21:41

Notes

  • ^[a] indicates a miscellaneous producer.

Personnel

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Musicians

  • Diplo – drums (2–4, 6–10), programming (2–4, 6–9), remixer (12)
  • King Henry – bass (2, 6, 9, 10), drums (2–4, 6, 9, 10), guitar (2, 4, 6, 9, 10), programming (2–4, 6, 9)
  • Thomas Lea – violin (2)
  • Charlie Handsome – guitar (3)
  • Diablo – programming (3)
  • Jr Blender – drums and programming (4)
  • Ryan Tedder – drums and programming (4)
  • Maximilian Jaeger – drum machine (6, 9), drums (6–10), programming (6–9), guitar (7, 8), keyboards (8)
  • Philip von Boch Scully – drums and programming (6)
  • William John Wilde – harmonica (6)
  • – vocals (7)
  • Orville Peck – bass, guitar, and piano (7)
  • Tommy Brenneck – piano (7)
  • Matt Zara – guitar (8)
  • Great Dane – drums and programming (9)
  • Jocelyn "Jozzy" Donald – background vocals (12)

Technical

  • Eric Lagg – mastering (1, 5–12)
  • Joe LaPorta – mastering (2, 3)
  • Chris Gehringer – mastering (4)
  • Maximilian Jaeger – mixing (1, 3, 6–10), recording (6–10)
  • Sean Moffitt – mixing (2)
  • Serban Ghenea – mixing (4, 5, 11)
  • A Bainz – mixing (5)
  • Zaq Reynolds – recording (1)
  • Analog in the Digital – recording (7)
  • King Henry – recording (10)
  • Cinco – recording (12)
  • Ernesto Olvera-LaPier – engineering (2)
  • Joey Moi – engineering (3, 11)
  • John Hanes – engineering (4, 5, 11)
  • Rich Rich – engineering (4
  • Joe Grasso – engineering (12)
  • Lindsay Marias – vocal production (2)
  • Ryan Tedder – vocal production (4)
  • Hauf – vocal production (10)
  • Benjamin Rice – vocal production (11)
  • Andrew "VoxGod" Bolooki – vocal production (12)
  • Jocelyn "Jozzy" Donald – vocal production (12)
  • Jesse Brock – engineering assistance (2)

Charts

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Certifications

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Certifications for Diplo Presents Thomas Wesley, Chapter 1: Snake Oil
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[22] Platinum 80,000
United States (RIAA)[23] Platinum 1,000,000

Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

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  1. ^ Malone, Chris (May 29, 2020). "Diplo Goes Country (And Ditches His Stage Name) On New 'Snake Oil' Solo Album". Forbes. Retrieved May 30, 2020.
  2. ^ a b c Caldas, Juliette (May 26, 2020). "Diplo fails to capitalise on any of country music's fusion momentum on his new conceptual outing". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved May 30, 2020.
  3. ^ Gregory, Al (April 19, 2020). "Diplo gets Orville Peck, Young Thug for new country album". Exclaim!. Retrieved May 30, 2020.
  4. ^ Richards, Will (April 19, 2020). "Diplo shares full details of country album as Thomas Wesley featuring Orville Peck and Noah Cyrus". NME. Retrieved May 30, 2020.
  5. ^ a b "Metacritic Review". Metacritic. Retrieved May 30, 2020.
  6. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. Review of Chapter 1: Snake Oil at AllMusic. Retrieved September 23, 2020.
  7. ^ Murray, Robin (May 27, 2020). "Clash Magazine Review". Clash. Retrieved May 30, 2020.
  8. ^ Wright, Lisa (May 29, 2020). "Album Review DIPLO - DIPLO PRESENTS THOMAS WESLEY CHAPTER 1: SNAKE OIL". DIY. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
  9. ^ Johnson, Maura (May 28, 2020). "Snake Oil, Diplo's take on country music, is a bummer". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved May 30, 2020.
  10. ^ Devlin, Ben (June 1, 2020). "MusicOMH Review". MusicOMH. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
  11. ^ Cooper, Leonie (May 29, 2020). "Diplo – 'Diplo Presents Thomas Wesley Chapter 1: Snake Oil' review: super-producer falls off the saddle". NME. Retrieved May 30, 2020.
  12. ^ Mongredien, Phil (May 31, 2020). "Diplo: Presents Thomas Wesley Chapter One: Snake Oil review – country cash-in". The Observer. Retrieved September 23, 2020.
  13. ^ Blum, Dani (May 30, 2020). "Pitchfork Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
  14. ^ "Diplo Presents Thomas Wesley: Snake Oil (Deluxe) by Diplo". December 18, 2020.
  15. ^ The ARIA Report: Week Commencing 8 June 2020. Australian Recording Industry Association. June 8, 2020.
  16. ^ "Diplo Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
  17. ^ "Diplo Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
  18. ^ "Diplo Chart History (Top Country Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
  19. ^ "ARIA Top 50 Country Albums for 2020". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved January 15, 2021.
  20. ^ "Top Country Albums – Year-End 2020". Billboard. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
  21. ^ "Top Country Albums – Year-End 2021". Billboard. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
  22. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Diplo – Diplo Presents Thomas Wesley Chapter 1: Snake Oil". Music Canada. Retrieved December 22, 2023.
  23. ^ "American album certifications – Diplo – Diplo Presents Thomas Wesley Chapter 1: Snake Oil". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved September 13, 2024.