Keith Urban releases his new record, Ripcord, the follow-up to his 2013 album Fuse, tomorrow (Friday, May 6th). The collection features special guests Carrie Underwood, Pitbull and Nile Rodgers and a who’s who of creative writers and producers.
“This album’s journey began back in January, 2015 and took me to a lot of unexplored people and places,” Keith has said. “The end result was the recording and exploring of more songs than I’ve ever done before and carving that down to what I felt constituted Ripcord.”
They include new collaborations with Jeff Bhasker, busbee, Greg Wells and Nile Rodgers, as well as those who Keith has worked with before on his previous No. 1 album Fuse, including Shane McAnally, Ross Cooperman, Dann Huff and Nathan Chapman.
Keith has said when he first started working on his new album, he thought it was going to be a continuation of Fuse. However, that all changed once he started recording last January (2015).
“I went into the studio and recorded two songs, and I heard them. We recorded them and I lived with them for about a week, and every time I listened to them, I thought ‘Why aren’t I satisfied with these songs?’ The songs sounded like they would have been on Fuse, and I thought that’s what I was wanting,” says Keith. “So it’s interesting, even the thing in my head that I think I want, being in that setting, suddenly there’s something else. No, this is not what you want, you want something else. Just go back into the forest where there’s no road and just go. Have the faith and go and go for it.”
Keith’s eighth studio album has already produced two No. 1 hits – “John Cougar, John Deere, John 3:16” and his 20th No. 1 song, “Break On Me.” He also has a third hit on the way with “Wasted Time.”
To celebrate, the Grand Ole Opry member will play a FREE outdoor lunchtime show in Nashville on the plaza at the Bridgestone Arena (home of the Nashville Predators) on Monday (May 9th). He also has performed a show last night in New York City and will put on another show in Los Angeles on Tuesday (May 10th).
Keith will definitely be playing several songs from his new album when he launches his ripCORD World Tour 2016 June 2nd in Kansas City, Missouri. He’s going to take Brett Eldredge and Maren Morris along for the ride.
Keith Urban, Ripcord Track List:
- “Gone Tomorrow, Here Today” (Written by Jeff Bhasker, Samuel Tyler Johnson and Keith Urban/Co-produced by Jeff Bhasker, Tyler Johnson and Keith Urban)
2. “John Cougar, John Deere, John 3:16” (Written by Shane McAnally, Ross Copperman, Josh Osborne/Co-produced by Dann Huff and Keith Urban)
3. “Wasted Time” (Written by Greg Wells, J. Hart and Keith Urban/Co-produced by Greg Wells and Keith Urban)
4. “Habit of You” (Written by K-Kov and Jackson Morgan/Co-produced by K-Kov and Keith Urban)
5. “Sun Don’t Let Me Down” (Written by Nile Rodgers, busbee, Armando Christian Perez and Keith Urban/Co-produced by Nile Rodgers, busbee and Keith Urban)
6. “Gettin’ in the Way” (Written by Emily Weisband, Jordan Reynolds and David Hodges/Co-produced by Dann Huff and Keith Urban)
7. “Blue Ain’t Your Color” (Written by Steven Lee Olsen, Hillary Lindsey and Clint Lagerberg/Co-produced by Dann Huff and Keith Urban)
8. “The Fighter” (Written by busbee and Keith Urban/Co-produced by busbee and Keith Urban)
9. “Break on Me” (Written by Jon Nite and Ross Copperman/Co-Produced by Nathan Chapman and Keith Urban)
10. “Boy Gets a Truck” (Written by Ash Bowers, Aaron Sherz/co-produced by Dann Huff and Keith Urban)
11. “Your Body” (Written by busbee and Keith Urban/Co-produced by busbee and Keith Urban)
12. “That Could Still Be Us” (Written by Jason Duke, Jesse Lee and Jonathan Price/Co-Produced by Jonny Price and Keith Urban)
13. “Worry ‘Bout Nothin’” (Written by Chris Tompkins, Rodney Clawson and Josh Kear/Co-Produced by Dann Huff and Keith Urban)
Audio / Keith Urban talks about changing the direction of his new album, Ripcord.
DownloadKeith Urban (change of course on Ripcord) OC: …you gotta go. 1:04
“I think of that probably in terms of when I recorded in January. I went into the studio and recorded two songs and I heard them. We recorded them and I lived with them for about a week, and every time I listened to them, I thought ‘Why aren’t I satisfied with these songs?’ The songs sounded like they would have been on Fuse, and I thought that’s what I was wanting. So it’s interesting, even the thing in my head that I think I want, being in that setting suddenly there’s something else. No, this is not what you want, you want something else. Just go back into the forest where there’s no road and just go. Have the faith and go and go for it. And part of me was like ‘Ah, not again!’ Like making Fuse was so arduous and complicated and such a process and I would have given anything to just go into a studio with one producer and record thirteen songs and be done. That would have been just bliss for me. And I could have done that, but I would have so been so denying the inner voice that was saying to just go where you gotta go.“
Audio / Keith Urban talks about the title of his new album, Ripcord.
DownloadKeith Urban (Ripcord title) OC: …the tour. :32
“The name Ripcord comes from a play that’s opening in New York soon. But the image of a ripcord, I like it. I like the sound of the word. I like the energy that it denotes, but metaphorically I also love that it’s a thing that you grab to save your life, and that’s a really beautiful thing. And I was thinking about the various things in my life that I reach for, like family, faith, music, all manner of things. So, Ripcord took on a whole new meaning, but it really, for me, fits the music. It definitely fits the tour.”
