Customer Reviews

Follow the Lights [Vinyl]

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The prolific Ryan Adams (& The Cardinals) follows the late June '07 release "Easy Tiger" with a new seven-song EP, "Follow The Lights".

The new songs are very good, with "My Love For You Is Real" particularly standing out. Of the other tracks, RA & The Cardinals cover of "Down In A Hole" by Alice In Chains carries on Ryan's tradition of taking iconic songs and making them his own. His reworking of his own "If I Am A Stranger" manages to make a great song even better.

Adams' older fans who still clamor for his drunken days of punk-inspired, sloppy recordings will be sadly disappointed. Ryan's recent sobriety continues to pay big dividends in great songwriting, fantastic arrangements and outstanding musical production.

Highly recommended.

With his summer album "Easy Tiger" still fresh, Ryan Adams already has a new batch of songs on his hands with "Follow the Lights," an attractive new EP released to physical and digital markets this week which also officially credits his backing band the Cardinals.

A restless creative spirit, Adams composes new material faster than he can release it, making the concept of an EP one well-suited for him. This being his long overdue debut EP (unless counting his moody "Love Is Hell" album, initially released in two halves) it seems he has wizened up to the critical flack he incurred for releasing an abundance of material - 3 full albums - during 2005. However undue such criticism is if the material is consistently high quality (it was), the charts don't lie - his first album that year, "Cold Roses," debuted at number 26 on the Billboard chart, while the third, simply titled "29" and his most intriguing record thus far, fizzled out at number 144. Clearly, a change was needed in marketing terms.

What immediately makes "Follow the Lights" a credible release in its own right is how well it accentuates "Easy Tiger," which netted Adams his first top 10 LP this summer. Although that collection may have scored well commercially, for the first time an album found Adams sounding slightly too even-handed and polished, but "Follow the Lights" strikes the balance between raw musicianship and studio precision.

"My Love For You Is Real" and the title track are mellow ballads that are more mainstream-sounding than his typical output, which in this case is a good thing - this is no grocery store intercom schlock. The latter is as soul-searching as the former is romantic, and both sport lyrical bite and inviting melodies.

A slice of bittersweet blue-eyed soul can be heard with "Blue Hotel," which Willie Nelson last year recorded for his Adams-produced "Songbird" album, and a cover of Alice in Chains' anguished "Down In a Hole" is very well suited for Adams vocally, sounding right at home with his originals.

He also crafts subtle reworkings of three back catalogue tracks. "This Is It," which opened his 2003 "Rock `N Roll" album in brazen, electric fashion, is intriguing in a lilting new arrangement, and "Dear John," written and performed with Norah Jones for 2005's "Jacksonville City Nights," sounds crisper and less melancholy as a solo track. However, the contemplative fashion with which he approaches these older songs best benefits "If I Am a Stranger," the lyrical highlight from the "Cold Roses" album that finds Adams at the top of his form as he meditates on how love can't survive with insecurity blocking the way: "If we're only scared of losing it, how will it last?"

"Follow the Lights" certainly improves what has already been an exciting year creatively and professionally for Adams, and should hopefully be a sign of things to come.

I love the music of Ryan Adams but this little CD is more or less a side dish compared to the main entrees of his other works. "Dear John" without Norah Jones and "If I am a Stranger" are highlights (I don't mind ol' Norah but it's nice to hear how the song might be without her).

For the price, well, it's a good price. If you're a fan, definitely pick it up. I did. I don't regret it but of all his CDs I have, it's the one I put on at rare times - which is not bad, comparatively speaking, I don't own Rock N'Roll and don't plan to purchase it in the near future. ("If I Am Stranger" - I think is my favourite track...I love the acoustic rendering...)

If you're new to Ryan Adams, start with Gold and work your way around, feel it out, if you prefer the alt-country (Cold Roses, Jacksonville City Lights) aspects or the folk-rock n'roller (Heartbreaker, 29, Love is Hell). This CD is not the best place to start. It's the kind of CD you want because you are a fan but if you could live without it, you would.

A biased review because of my long time fanship of Ryan but he has put together a wonderful EP. It mixes new with restructured old and another fantastic cover. I am not a huge cover fan but when an artist takes a song and turns it on its head then it is worth it. I usually decry most of Hollywood and the modern music scene for not being original and remaking everything that has been done before but his renditions are so different. Buy it, it is great.

Well, something short and sweet for the Ryan Adams fans. The sound is mostly light and breezy-love the song "Blue Hotel" and the live toned down version of "This is It." Nice, soft, ear candy until you get to the cover of the Alice in Chains song "Down in a Hole." There is nothing light and breezy about this song-think Johnny Cash singing "Hurt." Adams' version is so good, you can hear and feel the devastation, even close your eyes and conjure up a vision of the broken man-perhaps because he was that man. The song is sequenced right in the middle of the cd, so unexpected, it just about took my breath away. I don't usually recommend a cd because of one song, but you are cheating yourself if you don't hear this version of "Down in a Hole." The rest of the cd is good too. Mr. Adams should keep The Cardinals around. They suit each other well. Go buy it. Now!

I'll openly admit it - I'm a voracious fan of Ryan Adams and his superb song writing - not to mention The Cardinals who seem to play a blinder on everything they touch! So I legged it into my local London HMV this a.m. - 19 Nov 2007 - day of release - and bought this EP with the look of a child let loose in a candy factory. And I'm pleased to say - it's a quiet little peach. A real gem. In fact, I suspect this limited edition will garnish cult collectability almost immediately. (In the USA, it's a 7-track EP with "Follow The Lights" as the lead track, but in the UK, it's an 8-track EP with "Everybody Knows" as the lead).

"Everybody Knows" is from the "Easy Tiger" album of earlier this year and is the same as the album track - so no surprises there. It is a beautiful tune and hopefully it will get airplay. But then we get 7 bonuses, two new songs and five more 'live in the studio' versions of older songs.

"Follow The Lights" and "My Love For You Is Real" are the `new' songs. "Follow" is good, but hardly great, while "Real" is just gorgeous - brilliant - I'll be playing it to buggery for days!

"Blue Hotel" first appeared on Willie Nelson's "Songbird" CD of 2006 (he covers the Fleetwood Mac track from Rumours - hence the album title). Adams wrote it for Nelson and the album project, produced the CD and The Cardinals are the backing band on the track (see my review for further details). It's probably his best `outside' song not officially on any of his own albums. Adams also featured "Blue Hotel" to spectacular effect on the recently aired BBC 4 Sessions program - where the audience cheer was loud and heartfelt. It's fantastic at last to hear his own version - and it's graced with Jon Graboff's beautiful pedal steel guitar work throughout. I can't make up my mind, which version I prefer actually, both are superb. This is a MUST OWN for any fan.

Next follows a cover version and a great choice it is too. "Down In the Hole" is on 1992's "Dirt", the second album from Alice In Chains (written by Jerry Cantrell). It's rockin' in that Cardinals countrified kind of way - a definite highlight on this disc.

"This Is It" was co-written with Johnny T and first appeared on the Ryan Adams "Rock N Roll" album from 2003. The version here is a softer `unplugged' take on the song and is actually a cool reworking of the hard rocking original. "If I Am A Stranger" originally appeared on the first of the 2005 trilogy, the 2CD set "Cold Roses" (May 2005). Again the pace is slowed down and given a softer more acoustic treatment - bringing out the lovely melody buried in the original.

"Dear John" originally turned on up "Jacksonville City Nights" (Sept 2005), the second in his trilogy of 2005 releases. The original version featured NORAH JONES to superb effect on duet vocals (it's also co-written with her), but this version is just Ryan on his own. It's a great song and one that probably got unfairly lost on that album, hence I suspect why he's returning to it here - and why he features it so much in the live sets. It's a good way to end the EP - on a high note - with a real song.

It's not all genius of course, but for me, even his second best is a better listen than most of the bilge I'm told I should like. Bluntly - Ryan Adams and The Cardinals have produced better quality on a throwaway end-of-year EP than more bands do on an entire album. And that's cause to celebrate.

Buy this now while you can. I envy you the journey.

What a purchase for any fan!! I got this ep via the U.S and love every track. Have played it everywhere I go and as a beautiful cousin to Easy Tiger it's perfect. 'My love for is real' is gentle and warm, 'This is it',and 'Dear John' are reborn and the Cardinals in fantastic form. At twelve bucks it's a bargain, and having seen him twice this month at York(Good)and Manchester(Immense!)it's a fine time for this Ryan fan. The box set of unreleased stuff,in the new year will be the next stop I reckon.

This album is sort of a palate cleanser and place holder between Easy Tiger and Cardionology. It nods to the past and hints at things to come. Certainly not his best, but Ryan even at his most workman like still hints at the raw genius those in his fan base know him to be. Not a must listen, but a must have for any completist. The acoustic version of "If I Am A Stranger" is reason enough to have the EP alone. "Down In A Hole" is equally riveting. All in all, a pretty decent spin, but truly only necessary if you've got Ryan on the brain most of the time.

All of the tracks are nice little alternative country, wish there where more tracks, but oh well. i would recomend to anyone that wants to hear Ryan Adam's great music.

Excellent EP - These songs are great, and this EP is even better than Easy Tiger, which was released not too long before this. I'm a big Alice in Chains fan, so the cover of Down in a Hole was great for me.

Every other song on the album is excellent, highly recommended.