Rainbow Ends

Background

Album produced by Chris Price. It features contributions from Roger Joseph Manning, Jr., Jason Falkner, Nels Cline, Aimee Mann, Jon Brion, Susanna Hoffs, Bleu and members of Brian Wilson’s band.

The first single, "Dog on a Chain", featuring harmonies by Mann and a solo by Brion was premiered by The Wall Street Journal's blog Speakeasy in November 2015.

Track listing

All songs composed by Emitt Rhodes except when otherwise indicated.

Release and reception

Rainbow Ends has received positive reviews. On the aggregate website Metacritic, the album has received a score of 81 out of a possible 100 with five reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". Mark Deming of AllMusic says it is "a mature, introspective work from a man looking for answers to the questions of life and love, and it's a brave and genuinely impressive return to the spotlight from a major talent." Hal Horowitz of American Songwriter wrote that the songs on the album are "just a notch below Rhodes’ earlier work and may yet become as well-regarded as those songs." In a 7 out of 10 review for UNCUT (magazine), Rob Hughes writes that the album "Rainbow Ends is an intensely personal vision. Indeed, it feels more like a companion piece to his great ’70s work than it does a postscript ..... if it occasionally lapses into self-pity, there’s also a confessional aspect that feels unnervingly candid"

Rainbow Ends debuted on the Billboard 200 at #150 for the week of March 19, 2016. It also placed at number 27 on the Independent Albums chart and number 46 on the Top Internet Albums chart. It is Rhodes' first charting album since 1971's Mirror, as his following album, 1973's Farewell To Paradise, never charted.