Sweet Illusions February 28, 2009

This was a song that I really liked on my first listen because of the guitar intro.  It reminded me of those old Glen Campbell songs that had the solos with the tremolo effect.  While the “Wichita Lineman”/”Galveston” vibe may not have exactly been the intended sound Ryan and the Cards were going for on this song, it’s just a little something I always got out of it.  Luckily, once you get past the intro, there’s a really great song there.  Lyrically, it might be one of the best on Cold Roses (or any of his albums with The Cardinals). 

There are so many lines that just say more than a whole song could (in most cases):

Let me go, I’m only letting you down

I ain’t got nothing but love for you now

You never knew me, but I did my best

These are some incredibly heavy lyrics set to music that is really pleasant and cheerful sounding.  There are really nice jangly guitars and make a nice atmosphere around everything else, and great lines like the ones I just mentioned are icing on the cake.

Magnolia Mountain February 25, 2009

I got into Ryan Adams in 2006, and started going after his back catalog like it was nobody’s business.  I was nuts about “Gold” and “Demolition”, found pleasure in listening to “Rock n Roll”, and connected with “Love Is Hell” more than I should have.  When I finally hit “Cold Roses”, I didn’t know what to think.  I could tell by the artwork that this album was just going to be…  you know… different… 

So when I put in that first disc and heard this start up, I really didn’t know what to think.  After the first listen, I could get into “Beautiful Sorta” and a few other obvious ones, but it wasn’t until a few more spins that I realized how great of a song “Magnolia Mountain” is.  What I like about the album is the fact that it’s set in its own little world.  There’s Magnolia Mountain, the Easy Plateau, Cherry Lane, Meadowlake Street…  I’m not sure if all of the geographical titles were intentional or not, but I’m a big fan of them. 

What I really like about this song is the way they manged to really capture the soft/loud dynamics without sounding like Nirvana or something.  Really, this is probably the most live-sounding recording the band has.  Sure, they tried to achieve it on Cardinology, but there’s a certain freedom I hear on “Magnolia Mountain” that hasn’t been matched by any other studio recording I’ve ever heard.

Cherry Lane February 12, 2009

When I listened to Cold Roses for the first time, I was really enjoying it.  I mean, how could you not like an album that starts off with a track as awesome as “Magnolia Mountain” and covers everything from rowdy garage rock to country/jam rock?  So, I’m truckin’ through the album, having myself a good time, and then “Cherry Lane” starts up.  The guitar intro sounds great…  Then comes one of the strangest sounds I’ve ever heard come out of a human being.  EVER.  It’s supposed to be “Every night”, but it comes out like someone stepping up some creaky steps. 

Once you get past the opening line, though, it’s a totally kick-ass song.  Really, it doesn’t fall into that “jam rock” category that well, and has a very original sound.  There’s a country influence, but not a whole lot of alternative edge.  Well, with the exception of the word “fuck” appearing.  That one doesn’t find its way into a whole lot of country songs…

Mockingbirdsing January 11, 2009

I’ve mentioned on this blog before that my favorite Ryan Adams album is Love Is Hell.  It seems like it’s a pretty common favorite album, rivaled by Cold Roses.  Well, I’ll let you know that my favorite Ryan Adams song right now is from the latter, and it’s today’s song. 

“Mockingbirdsing” is odd for several reasons.  First, it contains religious imagery, which is uncommon in Ryan Adams’ writing.  Quite a few fans were put off by “Born Into A Light” for that reason, but I’ve never heard any complaints about Mockingbirdsing.  The vocals are also quite different from other songs in the Ryan Adams catalog.  They’re hushed and mumbled at times, with very clear backing vocals.  Speaking of those backing vocals, I think this song features the best performance by Catherine Popper during her time in the Cardinals.  She absolutely NAILS “I feel dead inside and dying” and the last “love her in the ways you want to be loved.”  The other day I mentioned how much I appreciate Neal Casal’s backing vocals on the version of “Dear John” released on Follow The Lights.  Well, that’s exactly how I feel about Catherine Popper’s contribution to this song. 

The lyrics aren’t that different from his other songs, really.  It’s more reflection on love and life with a pinch of faith thrown in there.  The chorus is unusual in that it totally drops out before it picks the song up.  There’s some obvious gospel influence in the “Love her in the way you want to be loved” part right before it goes alt-country on you again.  It’s a really nice, peaceful song (and one of my favorites to listen to while driving).

Cold Roses December 23, 2008

There are a lot of songs in Ryan Adams’ catalog that deal with questionable decisions.  Some of them are about enjoying these decisions, others are about the damage they do…  This one, “Cold Roses”, features a narrator looking at a female acquaintance and how these decisions impact her life.  Whatever it is she’s doing is causing some serious physical and emotional damage to her, and he’s watching it all.

The opening verse is “Mirrors in the room go black and blue/On a Sunday morning in her Saturday shoes/We don’t choose who we love/We don’t choose.”  This friend (?) of his went out and did some things (or people…) she didn’t want to.  Maybe her judgment was a little clouded from drugs/alcohol the night before.  She’s had a rough night and when she looks in the mirror, she sees just how damaged she is.  ”Sunday morning in her Saturday shoes” means she hasn’t caught up with real-life yet, which is really troubling.  I love this line the most, just because I think it’s really, really clever.

The second verse is more of the same, really.  He sings “Lights over the Midway melt on the street/In her Sunday shoes on her Saturday feet/She don’t choose who she love/She don’t need what she use.”  She’s out and about on Sunday even though she’s still coming down from whatever she was doing the night before.  My guess is that she isn’t feeling too well and realizes that whatever she does isn’t good for her, but feels like she doesn’t control it.  Then comes the chorus: “Daylight comes and exposes/Saturday’s bruises and cold roses.”  She realizes how bad things are when she’s sober, which is the day after she goes out and raises all kinds of hell.  That’s when she can see “Saturday’s bruises.” 

 The narrator says “Nothing but the sunlight can help you grow/From underneath your bed, you can’t see the window.”  She has to realize she has a problem before she can grow out of it.  If she doesn’t recognize this by lying to herself (hiding “underneath [her] bed”), she’s doing herself a disservice by keeping herself from getting healthy.  He says she’s “Fortunate and angry, just like a child/All this money buys you medicine it can’t buy you time”, which is a pretty harsh truth.  Maybe by calling her out like this, he’ll make her realize something’s wrong.

You never find out what happens, so you can go ahead and make your own ending.  I like to think she sees her mistakes and recovers, but that’s just me…