Sunday, December 14, 2008

#19 Album of 2008: Cardinology - Ryan Adams & the Cardinals





Cardinology

Ryan Adams & the Cardinals
Lost Highway Records.



Linking Ryan Adams records is like playing catalog-hopscotch; Love is Hell is a ghostly companion to Heartbreaker, Jacksonville City Nights is a return to former-Whiskeytown-glories, 29 is the ghostlier companion to Love is Hell, etc., etc. Well, save the overreaching this time around. Cardinology sounds like it could’ve been recorded the same day as Follow the Lights EP; the album’s production is right off the floor, the compositions streamlined and economic in length. It’s to the credit of Adams catalog that our expectations are so high, and while Cardinology won’t be competing with his best work, it’s an addictive classic-rock record, with enough country-hues and melancholic tinges to keep fans happy.

1 comment:

cgreen said...

The opening riff on this album is genius. Overall I loved the tempo of the album. The only word that comes to mind is humbling