Grand National is the fourth album by The John Butler Trio. Somewhere between 22 to 25 songs were considered for this album, some created during or before Sunrise Over Sea.

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 March 10, 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.

Track listing

All music and lyrics written and arranged by John Butler.

The following tracks were including on the limited-edition vinyl version of the record:

1. “Good As Gone”
2. “Recognise Me”
3. “Ain’t That Just The Way”
4. “Thou Shalt Not Steal”

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, Ukelele (track 8), Yidaki (Didgeridoo) & Electric guitar (track 9)
• Shannon Birchall - Backing vocals, Double bass, Electric bass guitar, Violin and string section composition and arrangement (track 4)
• Michael Barker - Backing vocals, Drums, Shakers, Tambourine, Glockenspiel, Marimba, Congas, Timbale, Cow Bell, Timpani, Vibraphone, Tubular Bell, Crotale, Vibraslap, Kalimba, Tongue drum, Clave, Cabassa, Bongos, Triangle, Beat Box (track 2)

• Danielle Caruana - Backing vocals (tracks 2, 7, 11)
• Meng Jones - Beat Box (2)
• Chad Hedley - Turntables (2)
• Money Mark - Clavinet (2)
• Bobby Singh - Tabla (2, 9, 12)
• Michael Caruana - Piano and B3 Hammond (5), Wurlitzer (7, 8)
• Ray Pereira - Talking drum (7)
• Jex Saarelaht - Piano (7), Hammond organ (9)
• Vika Bull - Backing vocals (7, 8)
• Linda Bull - Backing vocals (7, 8)
• Stacia Goninon - Backing vocals, chants & claps (7)
• Jesse Goninon - Backing vocals, chants & claps (7)
• Nicky Bomba - Backing vocals, chants & claps (7), Police skank (8)

Strings section on “Caroline”:

• Charlotte Armstrong - Violin
• Aaron Barndon - Violin
• Andrea Keeble - Violin
• Jane Mason - Violin
• Sue Simpson - Violin
• Stephanie Thom - Violin
• Michelle John - Cello
• Helen Mountford - Cello
• Caerwen Martin - Cello
• Jason Bunn - Viola
• Erkki Veltheim - Viola
• Sharni Williams - Viola

Horns section on “Gov Did Nothin’”:

• Eugene Ball - Trumpet
• Mark Elton - Tuba
• Ben Gillespie - Trombone
• Cam Robbins - Clarinet

Singles

• “Funky Tonight” was released as the first Australian single (December 2006)
• “Good Excuse” was released as the second Australian single (March 2007)
• “Better Than” was released on February 20, 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 (November, 2007).

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.

• “Good As Gone” (released on the Funky Tonight single)
• “Recognize Me” (released as bonus with iTunes pre-order)
• “Waited For You”
• “Feel Forever”
• “The Frame”
• “Happy Home”
• “On This Sad Day”
• “Start Again”
• “These Chords”
• “Tomorrow”
• “All Night Long”