News

New Ryan Adams Album

Ryan Adams long-awaited “return” album—titled Ashes and Rain —is scheduled to be released October 11. While Adams has released several albums since his departure from music—the heavy metal Orion (last October though recorded four years earlier) and a scattershot collection of Cardinals’ material last December ( III/IV )—this is his first proper follow up to 2008’s Cardinology.

While on a solo tour in the United Kingdom this summer—his first tour in roughly two years—he spoke with Q magazine. Among the interesting tidbits are that legendary producer Glyn Johns is credited with the new album’s production—Glyn’s son Ethan produced Adams’ Heartbreaker, Gold, Demolition and 29 —and that the album’s 12 tracks include guests such as Heartbreaker keyboardist Benmont Tench and longtime friend and collaborator Norah Jones. While the band lineup for the album is unclear, one can suspect Adams called upon longtime drummer Brad Pemberton for the sessions.

The 12 songs will most likely include “Dirty Rain,” “Kindness, Till I Found You,” “Lucky Now,” “Invisible Riverside” and “Shadow of the Light.”

One person, besides Pemberton, who’s likely involved, is keyboardist/producer Jamie Candiloro who was joined Adams’ fold with 2007’s Easy Tiger. In March, Adams posted to his Facebook, “Congrats Jamie C… After 4 years of production work we finished the infmous never-ending BLACKHOLE Record tonight! What a trip! Big love to the Candyman.”

Blackhole is but one of many unreleased (but oft mentioned and/or bootlegged) Adams records—others include Suicide Handbook, 48 Hours, Pinkhearts and Darkbreaker.

In 2007, Adams described Blackhole as “a real serious effort to make a rock record, really epic and big. None of those absurdist jokey lyrics like on Rock N Roll. You listen to it and think , ‘My God, this guy is gonna die.’ That was the last record I made in the last day of the drugs.”

No announcement has been made as to when Blackhole will be released but it would seem it will be sometime after Ashes and Rain.

And, finally, Adams has announced his first official show in the States- a solo performance at Benaroya Hall on October 21 as part of City Arts Music Festival 2011. Tickets and information available here.

Check out the videos below from this summer’s solo European tour. First is the new song “Dirty Rain” from Lisbon (with plenty of fun banter) and the second is “If I Were a Stranger” from Amsterdam.