Album news from Damien Rice: "9" due out in November

Several of my fantastic eagle-eye readers wrote me in the middle of the night to let me know that Damien Rice has announced his new, long-awaited follow-up album to 2003's "O".

In keeping with the pattern of succinct album titles, the new one will be called "9," and will come out in November in Ireland on Rice's own Heffa label. I hear that Rice produced & recorded the album himself, as well as designed all the artwork. So he multitasks.

You can listen to a stream of the first single from the album, "9 Crimes" on the 14th Floor Records site.

Also, here's a live version of that same song from my beloved KFOG studios on 2/10/2003:

"9 Crimes" - Damien Rice [mp3]

FULL TRACKLIST
1. 9 Crimes
2. The Animals Were Gone
3. Elephant
4. Rootless Tree
5. Dogs
6. Coconut Skins
7. Me, My Yoke And I
8. Grey Room
9. Accidental Babies
10. Sleep Don't Weep

Rice recently played a two-song set in New York City (and he didn't invite c) for the ONE (Make Poverty History) campaign, which means, of course, that Bono was there. The U2 frontman introduced Damien, and had some pretty serious words of praise for the Irish songwriter.

Bono said, "What you're about to hear and see is like being at a Bob Dylan gig in the early Sixties or a Cat Stevens gig in the early Seventies or James Taylor, or something extraordinary. Damien Rice is able to still and distill the storms into quiet reflection. He's really a remarkable talent, I can't quite believe that he's here. I'm very humbled and very honoured and I would ask New York to give him the kind of welcome only New York, only Manhattan can, and then give him the silence he deserves because this is something very special."

Then the best part is that Bono repeatedly demanded silence from the audience; among the stars who watched his performance were models Helena Christensen and Christy Turlington and actors Heather Graham and Ed Burns. An exact quote of Bono's words were: "Take your f*cking finger food and f*ck off!"

That entertains me to no end.
I want to take Bono around to concerts with me.