Hear a ‘Bootleg’ Version of Ryan Bingham’s ‘Island in the Sky’
Ryan Bingham will kick off 2015 with the release of Fear and Saturday Night, a collection of songs written in total seclusion — an airstream parked high in the California mountains, far away from the nearest cell phone signal — and inspired by heavy topics like his father’s suicide. Before that full-length album hits stores on January 20th, though, he’ll offer up a teaser in the form of a rare, 10″ vinyl release.
Bootleg is due out on Black Friday, with an extremely limited pressing — 1,000 copies, to be exact — that will be sold exclusively by independent record stores. Although three of Bootleg‘s four song titles also show up on the Fear and Saturday Night tracklist, the 10″ is largely filled with demo versions and acoustic performances. The exception is Bingham’s new single, “Radio,” which makes an appearance in its official, full-band arrangement. Other songs on the vinyl record include an alternate take of “For Anyone’s Sake,” which Bingham wrote for the 2013 Nicholas Cage film Joe, and the original demo of “Island in the Sky,” whose double-tracked vocals and layered acoustics bring to mind the heady heyday for California’s folk-rock scene. The song makes its exclusive debut today on Rolling Stone Country. [Listen below.]
“This album has taken me back to my roots,” Bingham says. “I still feel adventurous, but also grounded in the sense that I’m not trying to escape from anything. Recording demos of the songs allows me to capture them in their earliest stage. They inevitably change from there, so in a way, these demos capture them in their purest form. This is the first time I am releasing original demos, and I hope people will enjoy hearing these couple of songs and how they evolved from here to the album versions.”
Bootleg Tracklist:
Side A:
1. “Radio” (Album Version)
2. “For Anyone’s Sake” (Alternate Version)
Side B:
1. “My Diamond Is Too Rough” (Demo)
2. “Island in the Sky” (Demo)