Ryan Adams has always been one of those artists that you either loved or you hated. When you loved him you hoped he would get more focused so you could love him more. When you hated him you hoped he would become more focused so you could love him. With the release of Cardinology with the Cardinals he has finally found a band to make an album that reminds us of the genius of Whiskeytown.
Adams, along with his crack band the Cardinals, have made a classic rock-country record and I mean that in a very good way. Adams has messed around with a lot of sounds from the alt-country of Whiskeytown to his solo excursions in rock, rap and country, and Cardinology is the melting pot of all of it. The album opens with the stellar “Born Into A Light” which shows Adams at his melodic best. ”Let Us Down Easy” and “Fix It” are strong songs with great melody and strong muscular playing from the band of Neal Casal, Brad Pemberton, Chris Feinstein and Jon Graboff. The band veers throughout the album from rockers like “Magick” to more poignant songs like “Crossed Out Name” with equal grace and emotion.
Long time fans will appreciate the songwriting and consistency of this record along with the excellent playing of the Cardinals. Easy Tiger, Adams’ previous record, showed us a glimmer of what he could do, Cardinology shows us the light.