My ears are swinging and swaying now with a joyous release; Cardinology by Ryan Adams and the Cardinals. Ryan has been an anomaly of sorts in recent years...hell, his whole career, but in the last 18 months, he has seemed to find his stride. Yes, he still releases a enormous amount of material but when the overwhelming majority of it is pretty damn spectacular, it's hard to complain.
Cardinology may not be as strong as Easy Tiger, but I'm basing that on two listens and like every Ryan album, they continue to reveal themselves with each listen. Cardinology is full of picturesque storytelling lyrics evoking visceral images and thoughts. No other songwriter working today can accomplish this with such ease. The overall production of the album is warm and angelic. I'll do a full review in the weeks ahead, but I'll be damned if this doesn't make my top ten albums of the year.
Read my 2007 live/album review on Ryan here.
