Afraid Not Scared March 4, 2009

This song is one of my favorites to hear live, and I swear that’s not just because it’s off of my favorite album.  There’s an intensity that you can really feel in the room during this one.  It doesn’t have the same effect on the rest of the fans in the room, since some of them came to hear more Heartbreaker and Gold songs than from the rest of the catalog.  But while they’re itching for him to bust out the harmonica, there are those of us who are more than happy to hear this one.  It’s a very different energy than what you get out of a song like “Magick” or “Peaceful Valley”, and it’s something I really appreciate. 

There are some lines in this song that are, to put it simply, terrifying.  The best/worst is “I’m getting really cold and I’m looking at you/And you’re not moving.”  No offense to a certain song off of Cardinology, but this is my favorite Ryan Adams song that features an aquatic disaster.  I’ve always felt that the song deserved a bigger, more powerful ending than it got.  It just fades out, while I’d like to hear it get the same treatment as “Political Scientist.”

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.

Go Easy February 24, 2009

Before the album came out, I had read several reviews that mentioned a U2-esque quality found in some of the recordings.  I expected it from “Cobwebs”, but was very pleasantly surprised by how well the studio version of “Go Easy” turned out.  The lyrics aren’t anything special, really, but that doesn’t take away from the emotion found in the song.  The second part of the chorus is what carries the song: “If only I could say this to myself: I will always love you/I will always love you/So go easy on yourself.”  It’s something we all have to tell ourselves time and time again…

Another line that always stood out to me comes in the first verse.  It’s when he sings “Funny how I still hear that voice/Sometimes it’s like it’s so loud/I only hear a ringing sound.”  Yeah, it’s just a line, but it’s hard to hear it and not immediately think about the hearing issues that have been plaguing Ryan for the last year. 

While the song itself isn’t great (still good, though), it’s obviously very personal, and I appreciate being along for the ride in this case.

Blue Hotel February 20, 2009

You know, I’m more than just a little ashamed to say I’ve actually never heard Willie Nelson’s recording of this song. I imagine it sounds great, since Ryan wrote it for Willie, but I just never really got around to finding a recording anywhere.  I have to say, though, I really enjoy the sound.  It reminds me of “Let Us Down Easy” from Cardinology in more ways than one, and part of me thinks “Blue Hotel” definitely influenced, if not inspired, the latter.  The recording found on Follow The Nights is pretty good, but there are some absolutely stellar live versions out there.  I found one that I particularly enjoyed on YouTube and posted the link at the bottom of the post here.

It’s smooth and bluesy, but has that classic Cardinals twang.  Sure, it may have been written for another musician, but you can really tell that it’s a Ryan Adams song.  There’s something about the way he sets up each line in his verses that no one else can reproduce.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yTkdMOT6-_U&feature=related

This House Is Not For Sale February 19, 2009

I’m excited to finally get around to posting about this one.  It’s one of my favorite songs on my favorite Ryan Adams album, and one I have yet to hear live.  Before I saw the band in Indianapolis and St. Louis this fall, I sent a message to Brad Pemberton’s Facebook, asking if they would play “This House Is Not For Sale” at one of the shows.  Well, while the sets were absolutely awesome, they didn’t play the song.  I figured they get tons of requests online, and completely understood.  Well, after the St. Louis show, Brad was signing my poster and complimenting me on my large marker (which he dubbed “the Sharpie Magnum”) I let him use to sign everyone’s stuff.  Some girl made a comment about how she added him on Facebook, and I said I had, too.  He looked at me and goes, “What’s your name?  You kinda look familiar…”  I replied, “Yeah, I wrote on your wall and requested ‘This House Is Not For Sale’ for tonight…  You guys didn’t…  You know…  Play it…”  We all laughed and he explained that he has to make the setlist with all of the other guys, and they can’t fit EVERYTHING in there (as much as they’d like to). 

I’m going to see them one last time (possibly?) in Nashville next month.  Maybe I’ll get my chance to hear it then…

Like Yesterday February 8, 2009

I’ve always really enjoyed “Like Yesterday” more than most people seem to.  I feel like it is the best reflection of who the Cardinals are on the album.  When they hit that instrumental break at 1:15, it sounds like something that could have come from a 1960s country rock record, before the harmony laden chorus falls into place.  Really, it seems like it should be one of their best live songs, since it’s so open-ended.  I expected Cardinology to feature a lot of the jams and space that you get when you see them in concert, but felt a little disappointed.  Sure, there are some cool instrumental breaks, but it’s different when they’re written in as a bridge. 

While “Like Yesterday” has the right sound, I feel like the band could have launched right into the stratosphere.  There’s just so much sonic ground to cover following the pre-chorus…  I’m not sure why they didn’t extend it, since it seems like they can’t help themselves from doing it during live performances of other songs.  Still, even without the potential for awesome jams, “Like Yesterday” is a favorite of mine from the album.

Touch, Feel & Lose February 2, 2009

A few weeks ago, some HD channel was showing the “Music In High Places” featuring Ryan Adams.  I hadn’t seen it before, but it was something I was always interested in ordering from the store on the old website.  I’ll be honest, I actually had no clue what it was until I DVR-ed it and got a chance to sit down and enjoy a really interesting series of performances and cultural experiences.  Anyway, the special was right around Gold, as that’s what the majority of the material was from; and the real standout track, for me, was “Touch, Feel & Lose” with a bunch of Jamaican kids.

I’m not sure if I like the performance because of the choir of little Jamaicans or if it’s just the really cool acoustic arrangement, but it gave me a whole new appreciation for the song.  It had always blended in with the rest of the songs on the album for me, but I feel like that particular live recording captured the essence of the song.  Really, I find it hard to go back to the version found on Gold, so I guess it’s a good thing I have the audio from “Music In High Places”  on my computer, isn’t it?

Cool song with a really great performance officially released…

YouTube: (the amazing clip
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dw8TmlMAyA

Crossed Out Name February 1, 2009

Last night, I went to Champaign to see Jeff Tweedy doing a solo show at Foellinger Auditorium, and decided to listen to Cardinology on the trip up there.  One of the passengers in the car (who I hadn’t met before earlier that evening) noticed the Ryan Adams/Cardinals posters in my room and said he was a fan, too.  What proceeded was one of the greatest nerd-offs ever: the debate over what the best song on Cardinology was. 

He agreed with me that “Magick” and “Crossed Out Name” were the two best, it was the order that we couldn’t reach a consensus on.  He said he felt like his voice was a lot stronger on “Magick” than on the rest of the songs, and that it was probably the best representation of The Cardinals playing off of each other.  I argued that, while “Magick” totally kicks ass, it doesn’t contain the emotional knock-out you get when you hear lines like “I wish I could tell you just how I’m hurt” and “When I close my eyes, I see a fire so plain/And my crossed out name…” 

Really, hearing him sing “MY crossed out name” seems to hit a lot harder than “a crossed out name.”  He doesn’t sing it much differently, but those two letters completely transform the lyric for the listener.  I don’t know about the rest of you, but I feel like that’s what makes this song go above and beyond the rest for me…

The Sun Also Sets January 31, 2009

I’d like to add something to the list of “Oh shit” moments. (See: “Shakedown On 9th Street”)  I would challenge anyone to find a musical moment that comes close to having the same amount of emotion as the second verse in “The Sun Also Sets”, when Ryan yells out “Oh be sure/You’re gonna tear someone apart.”  The rest of the songs snakes along at a comfortable pace with airy falsetto vocals and stop breaks, but that part gives the song a feeling of aggression, intensity, and bitterness that can’t be replicated. 

While I’m a big fan of the album version, I really dig the bluesier performances from the Cardinology tour.  Hearing Neal bang it out on that Rhodes creates a funkier vibe that I didn’t even realize was possible with the song in the first place!

I’ll go ahead and say it…  This is, without a doubt, my favorite song on Easy Tiger and quite possibly any Ryan Adams (and the Cardinals) release since Cold Roses. 

How Do You Keep Love Alive? January 29, 2009

This song has always sounded like a different version of “La Cienega Just Smiled” to me.  However, I can’t say “How Do You Keep Love Alive?” hits me in the same way.  It might be because I always associate with a song that’s one of my favorites in the Ryan Adams catalog, which isn’t really fair.  There are some real high points in this song for me, like the line “She runs through my veins like a long black river and rattles my cage like a thunderstorm.”  Other than that, this song has always just been a little off for me. 

I’ve heard it live several times, and I have to say I find it a bit surprising how often they perform it.  It definitely isn’t one of the high-energy jam songs, and I feel like there are a lot of songs with the Cardinals that are a lot stronger.  I guess it’s a band favorite or something.  I feel the same way about a lot of those songs that seem to be staples in the setlist.  When you haven’t had any hits or classic songs, it’s a little tough to understand why the shows could become somewhat predictable after a while… 

I don’t know…  I’m more of a Love Is Hell-era Ryan Adams fan, anyway.