Ryan Adams & the Cardinals
There is nothing quite like an onslaught of misery to provide the materials for an amazing record.
On Cold Roses, the first CD of three that Ryan Adams plans on releasing in 2005, breakup angst is readily apparent. The tenuous and fragile “Meadowlake Mountain,” the foot-shuffling desperation of “When Will You Come Back Home,” and the somber piano and moody drum-brushes of “Now That You’re Gone” instantly vault themselves into classic status in Adams’ catalog. As darker, more emotive music goes, these tracks are just as intense as the inimitable “Hotel Chelsea Nights” (from 2003’s Love is Hell), although Cold Roses finds Adams ambling back down a Whiskeytown-themed road, rather than the heavier music and mood he favored for his last two releases (2003’s RocknRoll and Love is Hell).
This two-disc effort is split right down the middle – disc one is full of lonely, mournful, country-tinged ballads, and disc two, while hardly any less lyrically sorrowful, takes a more upbeat route. While the subject matter is the same, the music has a lot more attitude and depth. The standout tracks here are the snarling “Cold Roses,” the harmonica-infused, head-bobbing “Dance All Night,” and the heartfelt and passionately delivered “Life is Beautiful.”
This album does an excellent job of reinforcing perceptions of the caliber of Adams’ talents – it takes an enormous artistic gift to perpetually release such consistently exceptional work.
-- Jessica Netishen, 05/09/05
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