Search - Ryan Adams :: Cardinology

A different kind of RA & the Cardinals album

Joseph T. Beazley | 10/11/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Cardinology is an album that will upset some, anger many, and cause others to rejoice. It's an album that is mostly about Ryan Adams coming to terms with his life and career in music. The best advice I can give you is don't go into this album thinking of the Ryan Adams from the Gold/Heartbreaker era. If you do your going to be disappointed. Instead look for a more mature singer/songwriter who has refined his music to the best of his ability.



When I first heard Cardinology I wasn't sure what to make of it. It was so drastically different from the Cardinals other albums that it left me a little confused. It has taken me almost a year to finally realize just how wonderful this album really is. It starts off strong with Born Into A Light and it doesn't let up until the last note of Stop has been played. Cardinology has zero fluff and isn't afraid of getting straight to the point. It's a tightly refined and short album clocking surprisingly early for most Ryan Adams fans. As you well know, Ryan Adams is a verteran in singing about loss and love. The difference with Cardinology is that he's also facing these problems with a sense of closure and maturity that we started to see with Easy Tiger. My personal favorites off of this one would have to be Let Us Down Easy, Cobwebs, Evergreen, and Born Into A Light. It's hard to pick favorites though because every single song adds something different to the album.



No it isn't much like what we've heard from the Cardinals before. No it isn't much like Ryan Adams solo career. No it isn't much like Whiskeytown. Instead Ryan Adams gives us something both unique and refreshing to his long catalogue of music. Ryan Adams has taken a step back from music after this release. This is definitely a good one to leave his fans interested and waiting for his eventual return to music. Lets hope that this isn't the last we hear from him."