Michael Rudd encourages deep thought with his music, soul searching of one’s place in the world. It’s fitting, then, that his new album is entitled “Ways of the World.” Anyone who has searched and sought, journeyed through the nuances of change, contemplated mortality, or coped with the weight of daily life will find something that rings true among Rudd’s lyrics. The new album, the third in a quintet of rapid-fire album releases, is more of the glorious Americana we’ve come to love from Rudd; the dusty twang and rootsy-blues is resplendent and enveloping in all of the best ways, a satisfying listen from start to finish. We sat down recently with Rudd to get the lowdown on his latest collection of songs.
Hi, Michael! You have an amazing new album out in February called “Ways of the World.” I understand this is part of a series of albums you are releasing. How does this album fit in among them?
Thank you. Ways of the World is the third in a five-album project. While all of the albums share themes, this album, beyond being more musically diverse than the first two, focuses a bit more on mortality and spirituality. I was diagnosed with Stage 4 Metastatic Prostate Cancer about a week after sessions were over for the last album, and that new reality has been surfacing in my songwriting in all sorts of ways.
One of the songs on your new album, “Not Today,” is wonderful and stood out to me. What can you tell us about that song? What inspired you to write it?
My anguish and confusion over the state of the Middle East is what inspired this song. As an American Jew, I was raised on Israel as a cornerstone of Jewish identity. I’ve traveled there several times, and I still believe in its necessity to exist, but I also believe in the need for a Palestinian state. What’s happening now in Gaza and the West Bank is beyond heartbreaking. The song is written from the perspective of a Palestinian man in Gaza who has lost his family in the war, but it could also be written from the perspective of the innocent Israelis murdered by Hamas in the Negev or the Lebanese who died when Israel forces retaliated against Hezbollah. The song asks: what’s the legacy of war on both the vanquished and the victor? It’s a question for future generations to answer.
What was it like recording this album? Any great studio stories? Did you work with the same folks as on the last album?
My favorite moment in the studio was Mark Clark breaking out his extensive collection of percussion instruments, many of which were designed for some other use. He came up with all sorts of interesting sounds, especially on “The Water.” This was the third album with Mark, Pat Malone, and Asher Barreras, and the second with Brant Leeper. Kelly Khun joined for the first time on backing vocals. Check her vocals out especially on “The Train is Coming.”
What do you hope this album’s message is to those who listen to it?
I don’t have a message or any real answers. I’m like everyone else, just trying to figure things out as I go along. I’m just hoping that listeners can find themselves in some of these songs. They’re mostly about people looking for something, people in the middle of some kind of transformation or revelation, or people just trying to get by on what they’ve been given. Those are three pretty big categories of human existence.
The album title… how did you choose it? What does it mean to you?
The album title comes from “The Water,” which is the first track on the album: “The ways of the world are too hard to know/If suffering is the root from which we all grow.” In the song, the man transcends his suffering and seems to find redemption and peace. This is the central idea in the album, and one of the main themes throughout the five-album project.
How do you feel you’ve changed as an artist/writer/creative person over the years?
More than 30 years ago, I was writing blues and rockabilly songs meant to be heard in a loud bar at 1:00 a.m. on a weekend night. Most of my creative efforts were spent the next morning writing fiction and poems. When songs started coming to me a couple of years ago after all those decades of not playing, I was trying to understand difficult things about my life and the people I knew and eventually the wider world, and songwriting turned out to be the most natural way to do that. I’m also working with a great band, so I’m constantly learning something new, which is one of the reasons why this project feels like it’s constantly evolving musically and lyrically.
Are there any artists who inspired what you did on this album, be it lyrically, musically, or both?
Even though my songs are very different from theirs, these days I often have Townes van Zandt, Tom Waits, Gillian Welch, and early Bruce Springsteen in the back of my mind when I’m writing and recording, even when I’m not aware of it. In the most moving of their songs, they’ve left in only what’s most essential and true and what serves the song itself. And they each had or have a gift for revealing a whole life in just a few words.
How does it feel to be releasing this album into the world for all to hear?
It hasn’t been that long since the release of the last album, but it feels like it’s been forever. So I’m really excited that the day is almost here. I’m also looking forward to my mother’s reaction when she sees the album cover. When we moved her out of her house that she’d been in for a very long time, we went through boxes and boxes of old photographs. In one of them, I found a black and white photo that was mesmerizing and decided to have my designer colorize it for the album. The photo was taken on September 4, 1960. My mother is in her wedding dress in the back of a car that’s taking her to her wedding to my father. Beside her is her mother and sister. Their eyes seem to say so much.
What has been the most exciting thing to happen for you in the past year? What are you most looking forward to in 2026?
I’m grateful that I’m continuing to write songs that feel right to me and that I’m continuing to record. Two albums will be released in 2026, and we’ll record another in March for an early 2027 release. It’s also been a lot of fun to be a new Voting Member of the Recording Academy. I heard so much brilliant and moving music through the voting process, which brought me hope that the world isn’t damaged beyond repair.
Got any tour plans? Where can fans see you on the road?
I wish. Maybe later in the year. My condition keeps me close to home for now.
Website & social media links:
Website: https://www.michaelrudd.com/
Spotify:https://open.spotify.com/artist/4869OblMiCdIqfAnViwLis?si=kb7yjg-2QvuLuSa1kxTmEw
Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/michael.rudd.music/
Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/michael.rudd.music/
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4O7NJ7GJELzQHQm0GbouYg
