Warren Haynes Announces New Album With Railroad Earth

Warren Haynes has announced the upcoming release of a new studio album which finds the Gov’t Mule frontman backed by Railroad Earth. Ashes and Dust is due July 24 via Concord Records.

Ashes and Dust, whose title comes from the song “Spots Of Time,” a song Haynes wrote with Phil Lesh, is only the third album Haynes has released under his own name. Warren aimed to encompass “beautiful acoustic arrangements, a rootsy/Americana soundscape, folk-based songwriting and soulful, honeyed vocals” on the new LP. Besides Railroad Earth, Grace Potter, Shawn Colvin, Mickey Raphael, Oteil Burbridge and Marc Quinones also appear on the record.

The new album features a mix of songs Haynes wrote as long as 30 years ago with new compositions. “I’ve been writing songs all my life from a more folky, singer-songwriter, even Celtic direction,” Haynes said. “For a while, I’ve been compiling songs that didn’t necessarily fit in with Gov’t Mule or the Allman Brothers or even my last solo album. So this record was really a chance to bring a lot of that music to fruition. It’s really given me the opportunity to take a lot of songs I love, that didn’t have a home, and build a home for them.” Warren enlisted Railroad Earth to collaborate on the album and even co-wrote the track “Word On The Wind” with RRE’s Todd Sheaffer. “We’ve known each other casually for several years, and then at Del-Fest a few years ago, we winged a few songs together and it went really well. A little later, when I was opening the Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, NY, they joined me for part of the set. We did that with a little more rehearsal, more preparation, and it was a great experience. At that point, I started thinking that maybe I should make my next record with these guys,” Haynes said about Railroad Earth.

As we reported, fans will soon have a chance to see Haynes and RRE perform some of the songs from the album on an upcoming episode of PBS’s Front and Center.

Listen to “Spots Of Time” from the new album at Consequence of Sound. The album is available for pre-order via Warren’s website. Look for a tour to be announced soon.

Tracklist

1. Is It Me Or You
2. Coal Tattoo
3. Blue Maiden’s Tale
4. Company Man
5. New Year’s Eve
6. Stranded In Self-Pity
7. Glory Road
8. Gold Dust Woman featuring Grace Potter 9. Beat Down The Dust 10. Wanderlust 11. Spots Of Time 12. Hallelujah Boulevard 13. Word On The Wind

Deluxe Edition (bonus CD):
1. Company Man (demo)
2. New Year’s Eve (demo)
3. Glory Road (demo)
4. Wanderlust (demo)
5. Hallelujah Boulevard (live from 12/28/2006)