Judy Collins’ first-ever album of all original songs out today

Judy Collins’ musical renaissance continues today with the release of her new album Spellbound. It has been met with tremendous support, including high-profile interviews with the New York Times for their My Ten feature which ran in the Arts & Leisure section last weekend, a Vulture Superlatives interview, and coverage from Pitchfork, Consequence of Sound, American Songwriter, and far beyond. Judy will also continue her international tour throughout all of 2022.

Ever prolific, Collins has released six albums in the past six years, for a total of 55 albums. She has also just shared a brand new episode of her podcast Since You’ve Asked, which she first debuted last summer. The episode is a lovely conversation between her and founder, chief executive officer and head of Elektra Records and Nonesuch Records, Jac Holzman. She credits Jac as the record executive that first “discovered” her. Listen here: https://since-youve-asked.simplecast.com/episodes/since-youve-asked-jac-holzman 

Collins dedicated Spellbound to Pete Seeger and Woody Guthrie who influenced her greatly, and it features 12 recently composed, modern folk songs and a bonus track of her evergreen “The Blizzard.” Watch the lyric video for focus track “Spellbound” here: https://youtu.be/JnTh7TkFK1U

Spellbound takes the listener into a deep-dive of Judy’s most transformative and remarkable moments. The lyrics showcase Judy’s painterly songwriting from “Grand Canyon” where she sings about running Fern Lake Lodge in Estes Park without any running water or electricity, to “So Alive” where she recalls her time in Greenwich Village in the early 60’s, “Arizona” where she shares her struggles with addiction and “Thomas Merton” which explores the life of the American Trappist monk who died under mysterious circumstances. While Collins has long been celebrated for her song interpretation and has shared a host of beloved original songs since her early albums, never before has she created an album entirely of her own work, until now.

In creating the album Collins worked with a trusted family of musicians including co-producer Alan Silverman and singer-songwriter-guitarist Ari Hest (Judy and Ari were nominated for a Best Folk Album GRAMMY in 2016 for their duet record, Silver Skies Blue). The album’s core studio musicians include multi-instrumentalist Thad DeBrock (Duncan Sheik, Nelly, Jonas Brothers), bassists Tony Levin (John Lennon, Sarah McLachlan, Pink Floyd) and Zev Katz (Marc Anthony, Elton John, Billy Joel), and drummer Doug Yowell (Suzanne Vega, Joe Jackson, Duncan Sheik). Spellbound’s instrumentation features acoustic guitar, electric guitar, piano, synthesizer, lyrical bass lines and brushed drums. Collins’ pristine vocals soar as though no time has passed since her mesmerizing 1967 debut, Wildflowers.

1. Spellbound

2. Grand Canyon

3. So Alive

4. Hell on Wheels

5. Shipwrecked Mariner

6. When I Was A Girl In Colorado

7. Thomas Merton

8. Wild with Mist

9. Gilded Rooms

10. Prairie Dreams

11. City of Awakening

12. Arizona

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