Zach Top With Love

When an artist of Mitch Ryder's calibre looks back over their storied six-decade career and tells you their latest album is essential listening, you should take that statement seriously. As he broaches his eighth decade, the Michigan-born singer-songwriter remains in constant motion, his backstory only rivalled by what is yet to come. It's an attitude epitomised by the new Don Was (Bob Dylan, The Rolling Stones, Bonnie Raitt, Iggy Pop) -produced studio album With Love, released February 2025 on Ruf, and packed with tough, tender, personal songs that stand alongside anything in his catalogue. "Out of the 21 studio albums that I have recorded, this one is in the top two," considers Ryder, reflecting on a catalogue that began with 1966's Take A Ride with The Detroit Wheels. "It is one of the most honest albums I've ever made. Not that the other ones were lies, but I was able to access previously hidden feelings." The stellar musicianship was certainly a catalyst, but no doubt the real driving force behind With Love are Ryder's ten new originals: as smart, satirical, witty and wry a collection of songs as the veteran songwriter has ever gathered on an album.