Customer Reviews

Cardinology

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(12)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

Cardinology is my introduction to the world of Ryan Adams, and I have to say, I'm rather pleased with it. It's obvious that Adams is a man who reveres the classics, as sounds of classic country, Elton John, and especially Neil Young are very prevalent in the music, working into a seamless blend which results in something greater than the sum of its parts. The music runs through the typical gamut of moods for a modern indie rock musician, hitting all the high points of ballads, slow rockers, barn burners, and country folk mashups. Adams has a distinctively Neil Young-ish voice, which I suppose can either be a great asset or a terrible burden depending upon the listener. Personally, I dig his voice, which lends itself easily to the variety of styles seen on this record.

The individual songs are solid, but just like with the albums various styles, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. While no individual song really stuck out to me as an instantly appealing, needs-to-be-on-infinite-repeat kind of track, there were none I really disliked. I think fans of Adams will no doubt enjoy this record, and as I've seen, it may not be a bad place for newcomers to start.

7.5/10

When approaching a new Ryan Adams CD, I've always found that one should be a little wary, a little drunk, or perhaps both. He has a capricious sort of genius that is a little like lightning in a bottle. When he is hot, man he can light up the sky. When he is not, well, he is still often better than most other folks around. But the trick is, you never know who you are going to get...will it be the bad boy throwing out rock and roll at full tilt? Will it be the sensitive boy who just had his heart broken? The newly mature adult alternative darling? Well, for cardinology, I think they are all here to some extent.

Cardinology is a very solid, very well done collection of songs that are easy to like. He builds on the strengths of Easy Tiger, relying on his excellent backing band, the Cardinals. The songwriting is generally good, although it isn't his sharpest (see his towering masterpiece, Cold Roses, or his utterly amazing alt country opus, Heartbreaker, for that). The music is generally mid tempo, strong on guitars. Ryan's voice sounds fantastic--he sticks to his very strong middle register, but isn't scared to allow himself to wail when he slips into despair. He growls and pleads, shimmying up and down the scales when the moment requires, but grounds everything in the best portion of his middle range baritone. There is a dearth of the slide guitar that I had enjoyed on many of his earlier works, but I can certainly overlook this.

Lyrics alternate between assured posturing and raw pain. "I wish I could tell you just how I'm hurt," he says on Crossed Out Name, one of the stand out tracks on the album. Later, on Natural Ghost, he says "I was waiting around for somebody to die/...I think of somewhere I'd like to be and hold that in my mind/ but there's always tonight..." These two quotes encompass many of the themes of the album--the pain at the past, regret, and yet some expectation that some longing may be fulfilled.

This is an album that starts out easy to like with a number of simply structured basic rock songs. The middle of the album becomes stronger and stronger, until by Evergreen you realize that his songwriting continues to mature and get better--and with repeated listens gets better. I think that it will settle out signficantly better than Easy Tiger, much better than Demolition, as he seems more comfortable in his own skin, less like he has something to prove, but not quite as good as Cold Roses (that one will be hard to top regardless). It is one that should easily satisfy most of his fans, and is a good gateway for new fans as well.

Ultimately, then, this is an easy recommendation for those who already like Ryan. For those who are taking a chance, do so with confidence. This is a very very solid effort. For those who have never enjoyed him, I'm not sure this will change your minds, but go back and give "Heartbreaker" another chance.

"RYAN ADAMS IS THE SONGWRITING GENIOUS (sic) OF OUR MILLENIUM" proclaims one ecstatic reviewer on this page, while others on the opposite side of the spectrum urge the reader to go buy Cold Roses instead. Obviously this disc is divisive among the various camps of Ryan Adams fans, and that's surprising to me given how straightforward and pleasing this music sounds. But then, I am a relative newcomer to the world of Ryan Adams and the Cardinals so perhaps there's more to this than I'd think.

A bit of background. I have all the Whiskeytown material (or at least I think I do, I bought the 3 CDs available at the time) plus a copy of Heartbreaker, but after that I got off the train. Ryan's output became confusing and difficult to follow (stylistic jumps, overlong albums and a plethora of new material of dubious quality) and the music media often cast him as a whiny, narcissistic baby which is always a turnoff (quite frankly I usually don't care about such things but some of the stories did have an impact on whether I wanted to give my money to this guy). But recent positive reviews of Easy Tiger and reports that Adam has cleaned up his act and decided to focus on his music with more seriousness of purpose got me interested. This album is where I got back on the train and I'm happy I did so.

Adams is apparently one of those guys who has absorbed a lot of influences over the years. I'm not sure how old he is but I think he's probably at least about a half-decade younger than myself, which means he grew up in the era of alternative rock. However it's also clear that he's spent some time with classic rock as well - possibly the Grateful Dead and/or the Eagles - as well as the classic country stuff that formed the backbone of the Whiskeytown sound. Thus the album sounds both modern (the production is rich, not unlike a U2 record) and classic, which to me is appealing. Songs like "Cobwebs" reflect more of the 80s alt-rock influence, while "Go Easy" falls into more of the classic rock camp. The closing track "Stop" is beautiful and shows that Adams has learned something from whatever rehab he's been in. Somehow it all gels, the various threads coming together to create a song cycle that is appealing and sounds of a piece.

Now to finish where I started, this may be the closest thing we have to the "classic rock of the new milleneum," but I wouldn't call this a work of genius. It's just a good, solid album that I know I'll still enjoy years down the road, and that's enough to make me happy. It's also enough to make me want to check out Cold Roses and see what I've been missing. Score one for Adams - good job, mate.

I love Ryan. I have pretty much enjoyed the heck out of every previous release. If I had to choose a least favorite I would say Gold.

As far as Cardinology is concerned, I think all the critics who ragged on Ryan's rate of production finally got what they want. This is Ryan's safest, most predictable album. The first time I listened to it, I hated it. The melodies are not as catchy, and the writing seemed derivative of earlier stuff. There was not a single song that took me out of my head and just made me marvel at this man's talent.

On further listening, the lyrics are deeper and more introspective than I thought. He's in his post-drug, post-bad relationship phase where he is examining the drugs and the relationships. The overall vibe is a little Grateful Dead mixed with Ryan's more confessional side. All audible trace of his North Carolina roots are pretty much gone. It's weird to here him sing about walking uptown in Manhattan looking for Central Park. I know he has lived in New York for many years now, but it doesn't really fit into his music very well. He sounds like a tourist.. but I digress.

The real story here is the magic (no pun intended) is gone from the music. This is all craftsmanship.The songs are good, but overwrought and predictable. There is no strange, inexplicable beauty like "Halloweenhead" that makes you shake your head, laugh, and get down. There is no epic beauty like "Dear John" from JCN. And unfortunately, there's no song on par with anything from Heartbreaker.

In general, the vibe is very downtrodden and reflective. This vibe is pretty uniform from song to song as well. This definitely creates a distinct mood, but it's a mood I don't think many folks will want to be in for too long (especially when the melodies are kind of a drag).

Honestly, I hope he comes out with a solo album soon. Where is the crazy, unpredictable Ryan who wrote some of the best country and rock music ever put on wax? Was that all a pose before he found his more serious, post-drug, analytical writing style? Who knows. I wish him the best.

I appreciate the various comments from other Adams aficionados, but still want to add my bit. "Cardinology" is as good an effort as any record that came out in 2008. You get the distinct impression that Ryan checked his demons at the studio door and used found refuge in the chords and melodies. The songs are expressive. Universal, yet personal. The musicianship is exceptional across the board. The best at their instruments? Doesn't matter. These guys cut a groove and then invite you to fall into it. Pop this into you ipod, rise early in the morning and find an out-of-the-way place to go walking, biking, whatever, and then let this music fill your head. Or better yet, do so in traffic or while sitting on the train. Ryan and Co. will carry you away. THAT to me is the mark of a good record. It takes you somewhere you would rather be.

The production is excellent, engineering as good as it gets. Balanced if not slightly saturated (which I happen to like), fully dimensional and yet cohesive. And I even like the CD cover. Not a fan of Adams? No matter. Listen to "Fix It," then listen again. Then again.

Ken

This review is for the record/lp limited edition version of Ryan Adams Cardinology. Nice packaging on this one, but boring album. I guess my expectations were quite high for this album given all the hype surrounding its release...boy, was I ever disappointed. Not unlike some of Ryan Adams' other releases, this album is just plain Ryan Adams. What I mean is that it takes some effort on the part of the listener to make it through the whole album because there aren't any real standouts (in my opinion), minimal emotion, plaintive melodies that are ultra-typical of this artist. Please don't misunderstand me, it isn't that this is a bad album, but rather that it isn't anything new, different, engaging, etc. So, I'd say hold off on this one and wait for an actual turning point in what this artist is releasing, because this isn't it.

Littered throughout the copious reviews of the Adams' mountainous body of work, you're going to find "Adams best album" applied to every one several times. Those of us who've listened to the diverse mishmash of noise and waded through the many stylistic changes of this alt-rock chameleon know that one's preference really says more about the reviewer's taste than it does about the quality of Adams' albums themselves. That being said, if you're reading this and already know you prefer the fine country of Cold Roses and Jacksonville City Lights, the top 40ish Gold and Heartbreaker, the weirdly Radioheadesque Love is Hell, or even (shudder!) the sonic ragamuffin pseudopunk of Rock N' Roll, read no further; my intention here is to lay out why the Adams neophile is best of starting with Cardinology and working backward.

Simply put: if you're a fan of well constructed, intelligently crafted and lyrically inspirational rock albums, Cardinology will become one of your all time faves. There's not a single bad track on the album, and even champions of Adams' early work know how difficult it is to say that. Several tracks ("Born into the Light", "Fix it", "Let Us Down Easy", "Natural Ghost", "Like Yesterday") are out and out classics; the album in and of itself has something of a spiritual overtone mended with pure rock power. Adams himself seems like he's vocally and lyrically channelling both Axel Rose and Bono, yet (again unlike some of his early work) creates a voice unique to himself.

I discovered this gem after hearing and not really being crazy about some of Adams' earlier albums. Then I decided to work backward and see what I was missing. Frankly I could easily see why a lot of the people who had followed the whirlwind of albums he recorded in eight years prior can't hear Cardinology for the true classic that it is. Call it sonic overload. There are so many albums and stylistic changes that it's almost impossible to not hear this as just another one, yet this album demands to be listened to freshly and with open ears. That's not to say there aren't diamonds in the rough in the earlier albums; what's frusturating is that it's almost impossible to dismiss any of them outright, since there are always a few decent tracks and one or two really good ones.

For my money, though, nothing quite stacks up to this one. Part of the reason was apparently Adams getting sober but frankly much credit is to be given to the Cardinals and, specifically, guitarist Neil Cassell. Adams' work with the Cardinals in general is a cut above his other work and it's when Cassell comes on board for Easy Tiger and Follow the Light that Adams suddenly begins to acheive his songwriting potential. It's as if the structure and tightness Cassell provides to the songs allows Adams to acheive lyrical maturity. Oddly, the only other comparison I can this of is how Steve Nieve's keyboards with The Attractions drove Elvis Costello to songwriting heights he's never been able to acheive before or since. It's almost a crime that Adams chose to stop recording after this album, so we don't know if this was truly his apex or he was only starting to hit his stride.

So, whoever you are that decides to put your foot in the water of Adams's oceanic canon: I recommend starting here. If you like it try out the almost equally impressive Easy Tiger and Follow the Lights. If you don't like it... well, really, just keep trying. You may disagree with me but you're almost bound to find one or two of his albums that speak to you eventually.

....I am such a HUGE fan of Ryan Adams, but I just can't get into this disc. Granted, I've only listened to it a couple of times, but there is just something lacking - passion? Is it over-produced? I can't quite put my finger on it. If you're just being introduced to Ryan Adams, I would definitely start off with one of his earlier works (Cold Roses is particularly good), or any of his Whiskeytown discs are worth an introductory listen.

I'm hoping this disc grows on me. If it doesn't, that doesn't mean that my status as a huge fan will change.

Also, for those of you that haven't seen him live - that is something not to be missed. Saw him in Seattle last year and was completely blown away.

Newest release from Ryan Adams is a solid effort of what you might expect from him since he has been working with The Cardinals. However, those who are fans of his earlier solo work, and original band Whiskeytown may be disapointed. This latest work lacks the diversity and cutting edge of his earlier work. The newest cd is filled with solid songs, none of which are bad, but also none of which stand out as memoriable as some of his best work.

Not the worst Ryan Adams album I've heard but far from the highs of "Love Is Hell", "Cold Roses" and "Jacksonville City Nights". I agree with someone else who reviewed this that he seems to be playing it safe and the songs, while perfectly nice, lack the passion of much of his work. It's not a bad album, just not something I'm going to listen to again and again and again is all.