Ride into the Sun

Ride into the Sun
Studio album by
Brad Mehldau
ReleasedAugust 29, 2025 (2025-08-29)
RecordedJanuary 24–28, 2025
Genre
Length72:50
LabelNonesuch
ProducerBrad Mehldau and Dan Coleman
Brad Mehldau chronology
Solid Jackson
(2024) 		Ride into the Sun
(2025)

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]

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]

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic86/100[9]
Review scores
SourceRating
All About Jazz[2]
The Arts Desk[4]
Jazzwise[5]
Mojo[6]
PopMatters9/10[7]
Uncut[6]
Tom HullB[8]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Elliott Smith except where noted.

No.TitleWriter(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"Mehldau4:45
6."Between the Bars" 5:02
7."The White Lady Loves You More" 4:41
8."Ride into the Sun: Part I"Mehldau3:20
9."Thirteen"Big Star (Chris Bell, Alex Chilton)4:01
10."Everybody Cares, Everybody Understands" 4:02
11."Somebody Cares, Somebody Understands"Mehldau3:49
12."Southern Belle" (feat. Daniel Rossen) 3:53
13."Satellite" 3:53
14."Colorbars" (feat. Chris Thile) 5:24
15."Sunday"Nick Drake3:34
16."Ride into the Sun: Conclusion"Mehldau9:38
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

References

  1. ^ a b "Ride into the Sun by Brad Mehldau". Nonesuch Records Official Website. Retrieved August 31, 2025.
  2. ^ a b c Housh, Frank (August 29, 2025). "Brad Mehldau: Ride into the Sun". All About Jazz. Retrieved August 31, 2025.
  3. ^ Turney, Jon (August 25, 2025). "Brad Mehldau – 'Ride into the Sun'". UK Jazz News. Retrieved November 24, 2025.
  4. ^ Scotney, Sebastian. "Album: Brad Mehldau - Ride into the Sun". The Arts Desk. Retrieved December 10, 2025.
  5. ^ Harris, Selwyn. "Brad Mehldau: Ride into the Sun". Jazzwise. Retrieved December 10, 2025.
  6. ^ a b "Brad Mehldau - Ride Into The Sun". Album of The Year. Retrieved December 10, 2025.
  7. ^ Ingalls, Chris (September 8, 2025). "Brad Mehldau Immortalizes Elliott Smith on Brilliant LP". PopMatters. Retrieved November 24, 2025.
  8. ^ "Tom Hull: Grade List: Brad Mehldau". Tom Hull. Retrieved December 2, 2025.
  9. ^ "Ride Into The Sun by Brad Mehldau". Metacritic. Retrieved March 15, 2026.
  10. ^ "Ultratop.be – Brad Mehldau – Ride into the Sun" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 14, 2025.
  11. ^ "Ultratop.be – Brad Mehldau – Ride into the Sun" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 14, 2025.
  12. ^ "Album Top 40 slágerlista (fizikai hanghordozók) – 2025. 36. hét". MAHASZ. Retrieved September 10, 2025.
  13. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Brad Mehldau – Ride into the Sun". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 8, 2025.
  14. ^ "Offizielle Deutsche Charts Top 20 Jazz-Charts – Oktober 2025" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved October 7, 2025.
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