Mitch Ryder releases new CD, book

Mitch Ryder knows all about putting his heart on his sleeve: With a career in the soul-singing business for more than half a century, it's practically his job description.

But perhaps nowhere has the Detroit-bred musician bared more than in his raw new autobiography, "Devils & Blue Dresses" (Cool Titles, $26.95). It's an exhaustive — and sometimes emotionally exhausting — account of his tumultuous life and career, a trip that began with '60s hits such as "Jenny Take a Ride!" and "Devil with a Blue Dress On," soul-rock hybrids that helped establish an enduring Detroit music template.

The book launches what could be a relatively high-profile year for the 66-year-old singer, whose colorful Don Was-produced album, "The Promise," was released Tuesday. It's his first official American record since 1983's "Never Kick a Sleeping Dog" (produced by John Mellencamp).

For Ryder, the book was a tough but cathartic journey that found him revisiting his early whirl of fame, the start of a personal roller coaster that included showbiz foul play, busted marriages and periods of drug abuse. Ryder reserves ample venom for his early managers and lawyers, who he says swiped his royalties while spurring his lifetime distrust of "the slime-laced ... scam-artist music establishment.""The Promise" was recorded at Henson Recording Studios in Los Angeles. "It was magical, that whole experience," he said.