Album Review: Ryan Adams and The Cardinals, "Cardinology"

BuzzSugar — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 15:32:14 PDT

Ryan Adams's new album Cardinology, won't hit record stores until next week (Oct. 28), but he threw his fans and curious music lovers a bone by streaming the entire thing for free for 48 hours (starting yesterday) via iLike here.

It's been a year since we heard new music from this prolific songwriter and I'm pleased to report that this Ryan Adams album delivers the goods and offers up something for everyone. Fans will likely be satisfied with a sound that is the Adams they know and love, and folks who haven't given him much thought will have a hard time denying the rock charms imbued throughout. To read why I will be first in line to pick this up next week,

Most notably, this is a decidedly hopeful collection of songs. The first track, "Born Into a Light," kicks things off with Adams crooning, "We gotta keep the faith," his voice and guitar invoking another time in classic rock. I always think it's impressive when an artist can blend rock with hope, using lyrics that give me goosebumps, and Adams pulls that off throughout this album with few exceptions. "Fix It" is the first single off the album (you can buy it on iTunes here). It's a grooving, bluesy song that has the most mainstream appeal and the kind of swelling build up that is more on the amphitheater-rock side of the coin than one of his other heavy influences: alt-country rock.

Two more songs stood out to me and will likely make their way onto a road trip mix on my iPod soon. "Go Easy" is a love song toward the beginning of the album that helps kick everything off in a strong way. I also really like the intense thrumming of "Cobwebs," full of wistful questions like, "Will you confuse my love for the cobwebs?" Things slow down a bit after "Cobwebs" and some of the songs lose me a little. But right as I was feeling a tiny bit bored, the simple piano melody of "Stop" cues up to end the story and Adams's quivering, melancholy voice is lovely.

All told, these are solid, plaintive songs that give you plenty of excuses to rock when you need it. I love Adams the most at times like this, when he sticks to what he's good at.

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Song of the Day: Ryan Adams and the Cardinals, "Don't Fail Me Now"

BuzzSugar — Sat, 03 Feb 2007 10:04:22 PST

Until recently, I never much cared for Ryan Adams, the insanely prolific alt-country rocker who cut his teeth in the North Carolina band Whiskeytown. Then, Lost Highway records sent me a copy of Jacksonville City Nights, one of the three albums Adams released with his band, the Cardinals, in the past two years. Unlike Adams' other more rock-oriented albums, this one leans heavily toward Gram Parsons-style country, and the more subdued mood really suits me. I especially like this track "Don't Fail Me Now," with its haunting piano and mournful fiddles. You can listen if you