For his 17th studio album, Rick Springfield is taking listeners back to his roots.

Due in stores Jan. 26, Springfield's new The Snake King LP finds him adopting a grittier, more blues-oriented approach than many of his earlier efforts — which, as the veteran singer-songwriter told Billboard, was a conscious choice as well as a way of embracing the music that inspired him during his teenage years.

"All my first bands that I played in as a kid in Australia were blues bands, trying desperately to copy as best we could the amazing music we were hearing coming out of the Chicago blues scene and the older stuff from the deep South," Springfield explained. "My guitar playing was always influenced by the same guys who influenced all the English players I grew up with — Keith Richards, Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page."

Explaining that he's added a handful of bluesy originals to his setlist during recent tours — and was encouraged by the audience's response to the material — Springfield admitted that current events were also a factor in his drift back to the music that helped him find his own creative path. "The blues songs are so much fun to play, and they got such a reaction from the audience that I started thinking about including some of that vibe in my next album," he added. "And with the shape of humanity’s struggle against this amazing planet, I wanted the album to be more lyric driven, so, for better or for worse, it produced The Snake King."

The Snake King is available for pre-order now, and fans who purchase the digital edition will receive an immediate download of leadoff single "Little Demon," which you can stream above while looking over the complete track listing below.

Rick Springfield, 'The Snake King' Track Listing

"In the Land of the Blind"
"The Devil That You Know"
"Little Demon"
"Judas Tree"
"Jesus Was an Atheist"
"The Snake King"
"God Don’t Care"
"The Voodoo House"
"Suicide Manifesto"
"Blues for the Disillusioned"
"Santa Is an Anagram"
"Orpheus in the Underworld"

 

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