I’ve been listening to Ryan Adams‘ newly released Easy Tiger.
I’ve been a mostly on and sometimes off fan of Ryan’s since the first time I heard Faithless Street by his former band Whiskeytown. I tend to really like his alternative country stuff and run hot and cold on his more pop/rock offerings. I thought Cold Roses and Jacksonville City Nights were excellent. This one, while more varied in its tone, is too. If every song on it isn’t a 10 (as was the case on Strangers Almanac), there are enough 10s to make it a worthy purchase. And even the lesser songs sound better with each listen.
Ryan has long been one of the best songwriters in the business. His voice takes wistful to a new level, and the arrangements on this record are superb in their detail. Two is a perfect mid-tempo country-folk song, with a guest appearance by Sheryl Crow. Everybody Knows has a fabulous piano track and some wonderful acoustic guitar.
Tears of Gold is a steel guitar country weeper. Pearls on a String is a folky number with a bluegrass arrangement. Rip Off has a great guitar track and a vibe that would have been right at home on the slightly more countyish Cold Roses.
These Girls sounds the most Whiskeytown-like to me. Bare and powerful, but missing Caitlin Cary’s wonderful violin. I Taught Myself to Grow Old, the final track, is a moody slow number with some classic Ryan Adams lyrics.
HearYa (a great music blog) has a video and some sound clips. So does IHTFAF.
Newsome.Org 