Ryan Adams and The Cardinals – Cardinology
Posted by Evan James
Lost Highway
How come the bands that kill it on stage have so much trouble in the studio? Bottom line, the latest release by Ryan Adams and the Cardinals is “OK.” A couple stand out songs, but overall a bit of a letdown.
The album opens with “Born Into A Light” a hum drum opener with a catchy little guitar riff and things do not get much better until the rock parody “Magick” wraps up and the opening chords of “Cobwebs” begin to sing. The first person lyrics on “Cobwebs” are the kind of lyrics only Ryan can get away with and not come off as pretentious (it is expected from Ryan…). The next 3 tracks (”Let Us Down Easy”, “Crossed Out Name” and “Natural Ghost”) sort of meander along not offending but not impressing either. ”Sink Ships” is saved by the prowess of John Graboff on the Pedal Steel but the tune never crosses over into anything memorable. ”Evergreen” shows the boys starting to put things together and is maybe the “best” song on the album. The pedal steel, guitar and soft drumming seem to come together on this number. With hopes elevated the listener is brought down once again by “Like Yesterday” with some rays of hope shining through on the final “Adamsesque” piano ballad “Stop” which is a beautiful number that closes Cardinology.
Don’t underestimate these studio versions. Live, some of the numbers are already amazing. ”Fix It” lets Ryan open up his vocals while the rest of the band hammer along (with Neal Casal making it work with his harmonies and guitar) and “Crossed Out Name” slowly builds into a rollicking number that is worth the ride.
Because of their prowess on the stage and their devotion to their fan base “The Cardinals” remain one of the most revered live bands around currently. The inability to put together a great album tosses their studio efforts to date onto the pile along with the Grateful Dead. Some great album tunes here and there, but save your energy for the live shows because nobody does it better than the Cards right now!
Cardinology is worth picking up and adding to your collection so you will know the tunes when they kill it live on stage, but as a stand alone product Cardinology leaves the listener a bit confused and searching for something more…
Bless the crew at RAA for giving us the more in their librabry of live shows:
Fix It – 2008-11-17, Birmingham, England
Crossed Out Name – 2008-09-30 Palace Theatre, Cleveland, OH
Tags: Cardinals, Cardinology, Lost Highway, Ryan Adams
This entry was posted on Saturday, December 6th, 2008 at 4:28 pm and is filed under REVIEWS. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Really digging the live cuts you provided. Nice review.. I pretty much feel the same thus far, but will give RA some more time in the stereo to prove himself.
December 8th, 2008 at 12:12 pmI agree with your assessment. After a few listens, Cardinology, like Easy Tiger, has failed to make a lasting impression. They don’t play Texas again until March… until then I’ll stick with Jacksonville City Nights.
December 9th, 2008 at 6:34 pm