The album precedes Jackson's highly anticipated European tour which kicks off at the Olympia Theatre in Dublin on Friday February 29th. Jackson will then play a one-off UK show at the London Shepherd's Bush Empire on Sunday March 2, followed by a full UK tour later in 2008.

Very much in keeping with the eclecticism of Jackson's wonderful three-decade spanning career, Rain is another genre-stretching effort from an artist who continues to extend the boundaries of his craft. Reflecting the title, the record is melancholic in places, but also boasts plenty of humor, swing, sophistication and barbed social commentary as well as some out and out rockers.

The common thread running through the record is its simplicity; where Jackson's distinctive piano and voice, Maby's intricate and melodic bass and Houghton's tough and tender drums are all you hear. A rich yet stark production by Jackson and mixed by Paul Kolderie and Sean Slade, Rain boasts a broad, grand sound, open yet tightly wound and focused at the same time, that emphasizes Jackson's sterling songcraft -- a unique amalgam of pop, rock, jazz and classical ideas and lyrics with deep, sympathetic glimpses into the human spirit written by a man who is keenly sensitive, sharp and complex.

About the four-year break between albums, Jackson says: "I wasn't in a hurry to make a new album. I promised myself that I wouldn't make a record until I had an album's worth of songs that were the best I could do. I think several of these songs are the best songs I've ever written, and I wanted to have 10 or 12 songs that I felt that way about before I put out another album. I used to be a bit of a workaholic, but I am now much more patient. The quantity has gone down, but the quality has gone up."

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