Jerry Douglas Previews New Album ‘The Set’ with Stirring “While My Guitar Gently Weeps”
Photo Credit: Scott Simontacchi
Today, Jerry Douglas has officially announced The Set, the musician’s first solo album in seven years. Set to release on September 20 via Nolivan Records, the new collection summons Douglas’ impressive experience as a virtuosic session musician and road warrior, digging deep into his repertoire to craft a collection reflexive of his live shows. To preview his exciting return to the studio, Douglas has unveiled the lead single “While My Guitar Gently Weeps,” available on all streaming platforms now.
Douglas’ rendition of George Harrison’s iconic 1968 Beatles hit blooms from long roots. This first studio recording of his treatment arrives as the culmination of a longtime instrumental version that became a staple of Jerry Douglas Band sets, creating such ease with the tune that the artist famously staged it alongside Eric Clapton during the Transatlantic Sessions tour.
“I love how easy it was to play the song,” the artist muses on his comfort with the classic. “It just lays perfectly for the dobro. It gives you all the latitude you need to play the whole song from end to end, in different octaves. That melody always got me, but I never tried to play it. And when I did, it was like, ‘Wow! Why haven’t I done this before?’”
In crafting The Set, Douglas designed to capture the time-tested sonic atmosphere of a Jerry Douglas Band concert; like the balance in the shows, the project features five new songs alongside six revived tracks from the deep catalogs of Douglas and his bandmates. Bandmate contributions on the record include “Renee” by guitarist Mike Seal, “Deacon Waltz” by fiddle pro Christian Sedelmyer, and “Loyston” by bassist Daniel Kimbro. The album closes with the instrumental cuts “Pushed Too Far” and “Sir Aly B,” mirroring the conclusion of the band’s live sets. “When people leave they have a certain song in their head,” Douglas notes of the format, “And we always play ‘Sir Aly B’ last as the final encore. That’s the last thing people hear, so I wanted that to be there, too.”
Commenting on The Set, Douglas says, “I’m proud of it. I’ve left no stone unturned. I’ve been producing records for a long time, so I really, really put on that hat for this record. Usually, I like instrumentalists to have free rein in whatever they do. It’s the way they speak. If anybody had an idea, we chased it down to the end. I feel like it’s really finished. I’m really happy with the outcome of this whole experience.”
The Set will be available on all streaming services and issued on CD and vinyl, available to pre-order and pre-save now. In anticipation of his upcoming album, the 16-time GRAMMY Award-winner and three-time CMA “Musician of the Year” will be performing on a number of festival stages this summer and fall. Find more information about Douglas’ festival appearances and upcoming music at jerrydouglas.com.
Read on for The Set’s complete tracklist.
Jerry Douglas – The Set
1. Gone to Fortingall
2. Renee
3. What Might Have Been featuring Aoife O’Donovan
4. From Ankara to Ismir
5. Something You Got
6. Deacon Waltz
7. The Fifth Season
8. While My Guitar Gently Weeps
9. Loyston
10. Pushed Too Far
11. Sir Aly B