Ryan Adams & the Cardinals: Cold Roses
Rating: 
Three things are known about Ryan Adams. 1) He’s a jerk who will get angry if you request a Brian Adams song at one of his concerts. 2) He’s a classicist, not an innovator. And there’s nothing at all wrong with that; not everyone can invent new musical styles. Besides, Ryan has decades of great music to draw influence from, which he’s done again with Cold Roses, his first band effort since leaving Whiskeytown. 3) Ryan Adams is one prolific songwriter. Cold Roses is just the first of three records he’s scheduled to release this year, and it’s freaking double album. Not only that, it’s a beautiful double album filled with gorgeous songs and instrumentation. Cold Roses is the record many fans have been waiting to hear — a full-fledged, unapologetic return to the country-rock that made his reputation when he led Whiskeytown. There’s no attempt to sound like Paul Westerberg, or U2, or the New York Dolls; this is Ryan Adams doing his best Harvest-era Neil Young impression, singing love songs that break will your heart and actually sounding like he means what he’s singing. No kidding, this is an excellent album.
Buy album– Kevin
May 11th, 2006 at 3:50 pm
I like to think of Ryan Adams as the odd dip that people avoid at a party, taste, aren’t much interested in, yet somehow manage to keep going back to until there isn’t any left and they’re fighting for the dregs. I will have to check this album out to see if it has that same magnetic quality; sounds like it might!