Liberation (Deluxe Edition) ZZ Ward

• 1 Mother 02:56
• 2 My Baby Left Me 02:13
• 3 I Have No One 02:33
• 4 Cadillac Man 02:20
• 5 Love Alive 03:27
• 6 Naked In The Jungle 03:14
• 7 Liberation 02:50
• 8 Lioness 02:37
• 9 Grinnin' In Your Face 03:46
• 10 Dust My Broom 02:44
• 11 Sinner's Prayer 03:11
• 12 Something You Got 02:38
• 13 Clairvoyant 03:25
• 14 Next To You 03:18
• 15 Nobody Knows You When You’re Down And Out 04:28
• 16 Halfway There 03:06
• 17 Mother (EastWest Studios Session) 03:03
• 18 Naked In The Jungle (EastWest Studios Session) 03:16
• 19 My Baby Left Me (EastWest Studios Session) 02:29
• 20 Dust My Broom (EastWest Studios Session) 02:47
• 21 Cadillac Man (Sun Studios Session) 03:22
• Total Runtime 01:03:43

Info zu Liberation (Deluxe Edition)

Blues-rock powerhouse ZZ Ward releases "Liberation: Deluxe Edition", a dynamic expansion of her acclaimed March 2025 album. The deluxe set adds unreleased gems—including the new single “Halfway There”—and a slate of live recordings captured at East West Studios in Los Angeles and the legendary Sun Studio in Memphis.

“This expanded version means a lot to me because it shares songs we purposely held back from the original album, not because they didn’t belong, but because they were so special we wanted to give them their own moment,” says Ward. “Altogether, the deluxe album shows more sides of my artistry and feels like both a celebration of the music and a personal milestone.”

With the original Liberation, Ward delivered a bold declaration of independence, blending fierce originals with inspired takes on blues standards. The Deluxe Edition continues that story, completing the arc with songs that deepen the album’s emotional range and highlight her raw live energy. “The original album was about breaking free and finding my own voice, and this expanded edition builds on that journey with songs that add even more context and emotion,” she explains. “Some of the tracks we held back originally now feel like they complete the picture of the entire collection of songs.”

Among the highlights is Ward’s electric performance of “Cadillac Man,” recorded at Sun Studio in Memphis. “Recording at Sun was especially powerful for me, given its incredible history and the artists who came before me,” she shares. “There’s a magic in those walls, you can almost feel the spirits of the artists who recorded there, and capturing that in my own music is something I can’t wait for listeners to experience.”

For Ward, releasing these long-anticipated recordings is a chance to connect even more deeply with her audience. “What excites me most is that fans will get to hear songs like ‘Halfway There’ in the way I’ve always imagined them being shared,” she says. “My hope is that longtime fans feel an even deeper connection to the music, while new listeners get a sense of the honesty, energy, and soul that I try to put into everything I create.”

Raised on the sounds of Howlin’ Wolf, Muddy Waters, Robert Johnson, Etta James, and Big Mama Thornton, Ward started singing the blues at the age of 8 and performing by 12 with her father’s band. After a decade on a major label, she reemerged on her own terms, signing with Sun Records and fully embracing the music she’d always been destined to make.

Her recent single “Mother” and the Mother EP chronicled her journey into motherhood with grit and authenticity, setting the stage for Liberation earlier this year. That LP debuted at #5 on the Billboard Blues Chart and reached #1 on Billboard’s Blues Album Sales chart, showcasing both her own originals and fearless reimaginings of catalog gems. With the Deluxe Edition out today, Ward continues to shape a new chapter in Sun’s legacy while carving her own as one of modern blues’ most distinctive voices.

“This is who I’ve always wanted to be—a blues artist, on my terms,” she says. “It just took me a long time to get here.”

ZZ Ward

ZZ Ward
One of the most profound lessons ZZ Ward learned from growing up listening to the blues greats was to be authentic to your story. When the LA-based singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist began to write new music, she found herself in the midst of one of the biggest life changes a person will ever experience: motherhood.

The resulting music is her truest and most blues-infused to date. ZZ’s smolderingly soulful single, “Mother,” out July 19th, and upcoming Mother EP, out October 4th, speaks to both an authenticity of living and a sense of intrepid creativity. These releases are ZZ’s first for Sun Records, and commemorate an exciting era for her as she returns to her blues roots on a label that is the vanguard of Americana.

“I didn’t plan to make a blues album about motherhood, it just sort of happened naturally,” ZZ shares. “I’ve always written to get through things in life. Suddenly, I was faced with a new job that’s 24/7 with no breaks, and that’s what I wrote about. But when you get tested, you discover who you are, and this album comes from a feeling of empowerment.”

At the time she wrote this fiercely individual body of work, ZZ found herself without a home for her music after a decade on a major label. It was a painfully complex time, and she sought solace in the blues, her most formative influence. ZZ started singing the blues at the age of 8, spurred on by her bluesman father and his righteous record collection. She started performing blues music when she was just 12 years old. However, as a professional female musician, ZZ often felt she had to compromise her blues tendencies to satisfy music industry demands. “I used to care so much about what other people wanted my music to sound like, but after I became a mother my priorities changed,” she says.

For ZZ’s new music, she began to write about her life as a new mother through a lens of the blues. She had just toured for the first time as a working mother, bringing her son along the way, and she had a second baby. Motherhood and the challenges working mothers face began to seep into her songwriting. It was a time of self-rediscovery, and empowerment and she took this sprawling catalog of music to multi-platinum producer Ryan Spraker (Eli “Paperboy” Reed, Weezer, In This Moment).

Songs began to take shape that reached back to the soul-blues stylings of Aretha Franklin, Tina Turner, and Nina Simone. Also seeping into ZZ’s new music were the artists she was weaned on by her father—the sounds of Howlin’ Wolf, Muddy Waters, Robert Johnson, Etta James, and Big Mama Thornton. Signing to Sun for this new era was serendipitous. “It was the perfect alignment for me.—Howlin’ Wolf recorded for Sun!,” ZZ enthuses.

Her first single, “Mother,” is a wailing Chicago blues-styled song with ZZ’s gritty vocals taking center stage but being dexterously accompanied by searing lead guitar blues soloing. “That’s a mother’s cry,” ZZ says. “It’s that feeling of being weighed down with this new situation. I never expected men to hear it and relate, but I’ve heard more than a few feel it, too.”

The six-song Mother EP is a treasure trove for the dirty shine crew.

ZZ muddies up past hits like “Put The Gun Down” and “Lil’ Darlin’,” kicking them down the dirt road of her blues liberation. ZZ also exuberantly dives into Sun’s esteemed catalog and turns in a raucous blues rave-up of “Cadillac Man” and a knee-buckling-beautiful soul version of “I Have No One” replete with horns and backing vocals.

“Put The Gun Down” was ZZ’s first single from her 2012 debut, Til the Casket Drops. It broke into the AAA Radio Charts Top 10, and stayed there for 10 weeks, followed by the single, “365 Days,” which hit #2 on the charts. Til the Casket Drops also snuck into the Billboard Top 40 Alternative Chart. Her sophomore album, The Storm, released in 2017, peaked at Number 1 on the Billboard Blues Charts, highlighted by singles featuring GRAMMY-Award winners Fantastic Negrito, “Cannonball,” and Gary Clark Jr., “Ride,” which was also the end title song for Pixar’s feature film Cars 3.

This isn’t just a one-off for ZZ—her blues journey will continue. This summer she will be opening for Slash, who also just released a blues-fueled album, and ZZ will be releasing more blues-oriented music in 2025. “This is who I’ve always wanted to be—a blues artist, on my terms,” she says. “It just took me a long time to get here.”

Dieses Album enthält kein Booklet