Ride into the Sun
2025 studio album by Brad Mehldau
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ride into the Sun is a studio album by American jazz pianist Brad Mehldau. It was recorded on January 24–28, 2025 and released on August 29, 2025.[1] The album includes ten compositions by singer-songwriter Elliott Smith and four of Mehldau's own, which he says are "inspired by, and reflect, Smith's oeuvre".[1] The title of the album was inspired by the lyrics to Smith's "Colorbars": "Everyone wants me to ride into the sun. But I ain't gonna go down, Laying low again, high on the sound."[2]
| Ride into the Sun | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | August 29, 2025 | |||
| Recorded | January 24–28, 2025 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 72:50 | |||
| Label | Nonesuch | |||
| Producer | Brad Mehldau and Dan Coleman | |||
| Brad Mehldau chronology | ||||
| ||||
Reception
Frank Housh of All About Jazz wrote, "Ride into the Sun's 16 tracks are bursting with great music, love and respect. The album—like Smith's music, like life itself—is beautiful and sad."[2] Jon Turney, writing for UK Jazz News, said, "If you know and like Smith's songs, I'm fairly sure you'll like this. If you care for Mehldau's work, and are curious about what inspires him, you’ll likely enjoy it too but perhaps, as I did, only intermittently."[3]
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 86/100[4] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| All About Jazz |   [2] |
| The Arts Desk | [5] |
| Jazzwise | [6] |
| Mojo | [7] |
| PopMatters | 9/10[8] |
| Uncut | [7] |
| Tom Hull | B[9] |
Track listing
All tracks are written by Elliott Smith except where noted.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Better Be Quiet Now" | 4:03 | |
| 2. | "Everything Means Nothing to Me" | 5:20 | |
| 3. | "Tomorrow Tomorrow" (feat. Daniel Rossen) | 4:03 | |
| 4. | "Sweet Adeline" | 3:22 | |
| 5. | "Sweet Adeline Fantasy" | Mehldau | 4:45 |
| 6. | "Between the Bars" | 5:02 | |
| 7. | "The White Lady Loves You More" | 4:41 | |
| 8. | "Ride into the Sun: Part I" | Mehldau | 3:20 |
| 9. | "Thirteen" | Big Star (Chris Bell, Alex Chilton) | 4:01 |
| 10. | "Everybody Cares, Everybody Understands" | 4:02 | |
| 11. | "Somebody Cares, Somebody Understands" | Mehldau | 3:49 |
| 12. | "Southern Belle" (feat. Daniel Rossen) | 3:53 | |
| 13. | "Satellite" | 3:53 | |
| 14. | "Colorbars" (feat. Chris Thile) | 5:24 | |
| 15. | "Sunday" | Nick Drake | 3:34 |
| 16. | "Ride into the Sun: Conclusion" | Mehldau | 9:38 |
| Total length: | 72:50 | ||
Personnel
- Brad Mehldau – piano, producer (all tracks)
- Daniel Rossen – acoustic guitar (3, 10, 12, 14, 16), lead vocals (3, 12), backing vocals (10), resonator guitar (12)
- Chris Thile – mandolin (3, 14), lead vocals (14), backing vocals (3)
- Felix Moseholm – acoustic bass (3, 6, 12, 14)
- John Davis – acoustic bass (1, 11), electric bass (2, 10, 15, 16), engineering, mixing
- Matt Chamberlain – drums (1–3, 6, 10–16), percussion (2, 13), screams (2)
Orchestra: (1–3, 7, 8, 10, 11, 15, 16)
- Dan Coleman – producer (all tracks), conductor (1, 2, 7, 8, 11, 15, 16)
- Jill Dell'Abate – contractor
- Jackie Thompson – copyist
- Jessica Han, Alex Sopp (flute solo on 15) – flute
- Agnes Marchione – clarinet
- Adrian Morejon – bassoon
- Eric Reed – horn
- Christina Courtin, Ellen DePasquale (violin solo on 1), Laura Frautschi, Joanna Maurer, Derek Ratzenboeck, Austin Wulliman – violin
- Mario Gotoh, Dov Scheindlin, Nadia Sirota – viola
- Michael Haas, Sophie Shao (cello solo on 16), Caitlin Sullivan – cello
- David Grossman – bass (orchestral)
Charts
Weekly charts
|
Monthly charts
|