Because this is an unusual circumstance, and this album is new for most people, I'm going to wait a few days before posting the next album so I can let Darkbreaker sink in.

Next up is Easy Tiger; we'll be doing the 2006 internet stuff a bit later. And worry not, ET will have the little cache of rare goodies that were missing from 29 and Darkbreaker (though Darkbreaker itself is a 'rare goody')

When you say internet stuff, do you mean the DJ Reggie albums? That should be interesting.

Sad Dracula, Warren Peace, DJ Reggie, Werewolph, The Shit, among others.. pretty much everything he uploaded to his website. I think I have all of it.

"Fuck you, Abraham Lincoln!"

The Darkbreaker stuff is pretty good, I'm listening to it now. But I feel like it's another example that Ryan's been trying too hard in the last few years or so to have a cohesive direction or he just isn't interested in writing really diverse, weird songs anymore. Unless they're joke stuff up on the website like DJ Reggie.

I think I have most of the internet stuff but we'll see. There's some good stuff and funny stuff to be had if you wade through.

It's funny, I listened to it all in one fell swoop and "The Shit" and "DJ Reggie" are still of my 2 most listened to on Last.fm, full of 2 - 30 second songs.

EASY TIGER
(2007)



1. Goodnight Rose
2. Two
3. Everybody Knows
4. Halloween Head
5. Oh My God,Whatever, Etc.
6. Tears Of Gold
7. The Sun Also Sets
8. Off Broadway
9. Pearls On A String
10. Rip Off
11. Two Hearts
12. These Girls
13. I Taught Myself How To Grow Old


Well, this may come as a shock to many but this was my first Ryan album. It quickly (very quickly) spawned an obsession that nothing has really come close to matching (honorable mentions being Morrissey [duh], Lindsey Buckingham and Grateful Dead), and is still going strong today, if you couldn't tell from the fact that I started a thread devoted to sharing and discussing everything Ryan has ever done. So, this being my first Ryan album, it's quite meaningful to me and perhaps that means I like it more than I should.

But really, this is a fantastic album. This may be the start of the more undesirable, adult contempo New Ryan, but it's a great mix of styles, a mishmash of Ryan doing all kinds of 3 minute pop songs. The production perhaps could have used some work, and the album was culled from several different sessions so it sounds a bit hodgepodge -- but that's kind of why I like it. It makes a great introduction to Ryan because you get all his sides in one 40-minute slice. It's too bad it's mastered so hot, probably Ryan's worst sounding album. Follow the Lights and Cardinology sound way better than this piece of crap, and the vinyl version sounds a teeny bit improved, more dynamic; I would do a rip but of course because it's Lost Highway, the vinyl quality is crap and there is constant static in the left channel of Side 1.

The album begins with what sounds like Ryan doing New Country, one of his best post-2006 tracks, Goodnight Rose. Ryan's voice is a bit froggier than usual and it's kind of a bewildering way to start things off -- I could see this scaring off a lot of country-phobic people. If I ever play this album for someone who dislikes country, I generally skip this track as great as it is. It's got a great, halting chorus and some lyrics that seem pretty heartfelt and are either touching or cringeworthy, depending on your perspective. Either way it's clear this is an example of one of those singer-addressing-himself-as-fictional-character kind of thing, and marks yet another mention of Rose.

I must admit Two made me hesitant to even try the album, and Ryan in general; I thought "hmm I've heard so much about him, I should check out his new album" until I saw there was a 'duet' with Sheryl Crow. I thought, "my god, maybe I should just stay away from this" but decided to go against my better judgment and try it anyway... luckily Two turned out to be one of my favourite tracks, a very simple, gorgeous track with a great vocal by Ryan and thankfully tasteful and barely noticeable Sheryl Crow harmonies in the chorus. The chorus is pretty meaningless but it at least sounds like something.

Everybody Knows is a slightly more rockist track, but not by much. It features some beautiful acoustic playing (love that riff right at the end of the chorus), and some nice harmonies on the chorus. Definitely one of my fave Ryan tracks but there's not much to say about it, aside from the silly verse lyrics. What looks to be the token-dumb-rock track (Beautiful Sorta, this, Magick, etc..) follows and it's actually really enjoyable, nonsensical lyrics and of course the now legendary 'guitar solo!' naturally followed by what sounds more like a synth. Ryan's vocals here are actually pretty good for a throwaway, and I don't think this track deserves all the ire it gets -- it's not like this album is some Major Statement, this sort of fun track totally fits on here.

I can never decide whether or not I actually like Oh My God, Whatever, Etc.; it's so hushed it's barely there, but it has some gorgeous vocals, a somewhat complex melody and even interesting lyrics (aside from the stupid title)... and as with all the acoustic tracks on this album, beautiful playing with lots of very pretty hammer-ons/pull-offs (say what you want about New Ryan & The Cardinals, but they know how to play some damned nice acoustic guitar). Tears of Gold is a serviceable JCN-style country moper soaked in pedal steel, with some cheesy lyrics and absolutely FLOORING bridge (the 'bring the band around' part).

The Sun Also Sets seems to be a divisive track; it's long, repetitive, and totally adult contemporary, but it's also aching and austere. I think the production plays a large part in this, because it's awfully flat... live versions of this cool. Listen to Ryan tear out his vocal cords in the second verse, it's incredible. Neil-Young ish chorus too. A random Suicide Handbook track makes an appearance in Off Broadway, though this version is much more fleshed out and finished sounding than the 2001 version, and I think I like this one better -- it has a very distinct ascending/descending feeling, and of course wonderful vocals. Pearls On A String is a nice bluegrass track in the vein of Sweet Black Magic, but if I had one gripe it would be that the song is basically the same lyrics repeated over and over and over again. Still, the bluegrass track randomly placed between all these other tracks really displays Ryan's prowess at pretty much every kind of music.

The album enters it's final stretch with the fantastic Rip Off; again, this piano led song has pretty boring but the vocal performance is utter perfection, the way his voice snakes wildly around the verse and restrains itself for the chorus... love this track. Even the cheesy "I've got faith in you" part. Two Hearts is probably my least favourite track here; it's just firmly average. Nothing bad, nothing great. These Girls is another relic from the past, this time Hey There Mrs. Lovely with updated lyrics that are a bit less impressionistic and make more sense. I can never decide which version I like better although this one has a generally more confident vocal, and of course, amazing acoustic guitar. The album ends with what might be its best track, I Taught Myself How To Grow. Ryan goes in 100%-Neil-Young mode, and the harmonica makes a welcome reappearance. The lyrics here stand out on an album with otherwise generic lyrics:

Poor little rose, beaten by the rain
In the wind in the gale, thunder and the hail
Sometimes I feel like I'm going insane
Without the numbness or the pain so intense to feel
Especially now it added up through the years
And I, I taught myself how to grow
Without any love and there was poison in the rain
I taught myself how to grow
Now I'm crooked on the outside, and the inside's broke

Melodramatic, yes, but great. Another reference to rose and a direct lift from "One For The Rose," of all songs.

I'm really looking forward to hearing your thoughts, since I love this album so much and it always seems to elicit strong reactions from Ryan fans.

It has probably my favourite Ryan album cover too, what a great picture (only slightly marred by the bizarre font..)

Though this isn't my favorite RA album, there are some songs on here I totally love, and all of them sound so much better live. The live sessions for these songs kill the official album. Omg, Whatever, Etc., Rip Off and ITMHTGO are, imo, wonderful songs. That last one is I think one of the best he's ever written. I also really like The Sun Also Sets, and I agree that this version of Off Broadway is better than the version on SH, but I love the song in most any form, so I was glad to see it. I seem to be in the minority in really liking These Girls. I never liked the lyrics to the original, and I like this update musically, too. I'm a little tired of Everybody Knows, but it's a fine song, and even better live. Goodnight Rose was one I wasn't sure I liked when I first heard the album but now it's one of my favorites. There are versions of Two that I really like because of RA's plaintive vocals, and I like the beginning lines about the apartment with the leaking faucet, but like Everybody Knows, I'm a little tired of it. I've heard Goodnight Rose just as often, but I am not tired of it. I like Pearls on a String fine--I saw it done accapello, and it was charming. I feel like I should like Tears of Gold more than I do. It's probably my least favorite song on the album.

The cover picture is fabulous! I have to admit I hardly ever play the actual album. I have the live sessions, whatever they were called, on my mp3 player, and play those often (with the addition of a live version of Halloween Head, which may be silly but is lyrically rather cleverly put together. ) I don't think ET holds together as an album exactly, too many different kinds of songs, but it seems to be a transistion album anyway. I know a lot of people dislike this album--some seem to truly hate it--but I'm not sure why, except that it is a transition album and a lot of fans don't want him to change. For what it's worth, I play these songs far more often than I do the ones from Heartbreaker, but then, I was a huge Whiskeytown fan (I still am) and I suspect HB was for me what ET was for a lot of other people--the moment you realize the musician you love most is leaving the territory you first loved him in.

That is a shock! It wasn't the first RA album that I'd heard (I'd listened to Rock N Roll and the Love is Hell EPs a couple times each, as well as Cold Roses once, but none grabbed me at the time), but it was the first that really hit me hard and finally got me into him. So it's probably my favorite as well, though Cold Roses and Heartbreaker have since started fighting for those honors.

wow, heretix, yr always a surprise ain'tcha!

first ryan-associated album i heard was stranger's almanac. loved his songwriting ever since!

Easy Tiger's a good place to start. I'd agree with one of the reviews I read of the album saying it sounds like a 'Ryan Adams best-of'... I think I got into Ryan Adams with Stranger's Almanac for sure, but the 2nd one I heard after that was Gold and I listen to this album more than that.

The first RA album I heard was Gold and it's still my favourite of his, mostly because I got lost keeping up. If I ever feel in the mood, I may ransack this thread.

My initial reaction to Easy Tiger was that it wasn't nearly as cohesive of an album as Cold Roses, JCN, and 29 were before it, yet it was good enough that I couldn't understand the dislike that came from a lot of hardcore fans. I didn't go back to it much right away because (and I think I've said this earlier in the thread) I had Cold Roses and Heartbreaker, things that I did think were great all the way through, that I could keep going back to. But then about a month later, early on a hot Sunday morning, I grabbed Easy Tiger to listen to on my drive to work and it really clicked. Then seeing a bunch of the songs live in September of 2007 helped even more. The songs are there, but since it isn't a giant genre exercise, I think in the grand scheme of things it just doesn't stand out quite as much as some of his other releases. Don't get me wrong, I still think it is a really great bunch of songs, but only at that right moment is it a great album.

One of my initial impressions of the album, and something that I still feel in regards to Easy Tiger, is that it is basically Demolition Part 2. In my opinion, Demolition (at this point) was the only other solo Ryan Adams release that didn't really work together as an "album," which was because the songs came from a bunch of different sessions. While the songs on Easy Tiger were most likely all recorded around the same time, look at where they came from. A few were originally from Darkbreaker/Elizabethtown Sessions, a couple debuted live in a previous incarnation of the Cardinals, and then there is a song from the Suicide Handbook and one from Destroyer. Easy Tiger comes off a little as this clearing house of songs from a few years, so it makes sense that it can be hard to find what's holding it together as an album. Maybe the fact that it was a pretty conventional album other than "Halloween Head" (which is a song I like, by the way), that turned a lot of people off from it. It does sort of feel like a conscious choice on Ryan's part to make an album that was accessible to the musical narrative that had be spun by the press of him since Gold, you know, being the 70s rock artist of this generation. But at the same time, I don't feel like it was a sell-out move, maybe because it didn't really work.

With "Hey There Mrs. Lovely" vs. "These Girls", I have to side with the original. There's just something about it that feels more organic. Maybe it's the lines that don't make any sense. I like "Oh My God, Whatever, Etc." maybe just because it finally gets one of those weird and natural phrasing moments like the "yeah right" at the end of "Goodnight Hollywood Boulevard" into the title of the song. And my favorite song on the album is probably "The Sun Also Sets" which I've almost made about eight sad mixtapes for girls I'll probably never talk to again with the song on it.

Spot on -- and like most sequels, the original was better.

Does this thread have any comment on the impending retirement of Mr. Ryan Adams?


Also

Will this thread be reviewing his poetry?

I don't think it will last forever. But even if it does, he's recorded a ton of shit. Still, it'd be a bummer of that's it.

I think he should have not announced his retirement, and continued releasing pre-recorded songs for ten more years while he sent a clone of himself to go on tour with the Cardinals. Um... at least that's I would have done.

I see this more as a disbanding of The Cardinals if anything, and not even sure I believe that.. this just seems like another one of Ryan's little freakouts, especially considering he deleted the post shortly after... though if he really did split with The Cardinals, that'd be an interesting way to shake up his career. Sure, The Cardinals were a GREAT live band, but who're we kidding, Ryan will be great no matter who he's with, or if he's alone...

I expect a new Ryan album by the end of the year. There is that album he announced last month, but I wouldn't be surprised if that never surfaced either.

Easy Tiger b-sides/whatever tomorrow.

were that announcement true, it would indeed be a damn shame.

good thing pretty much everyone and their momma knows it probably aint true.

The complete irony. It's why I love Ryan so much.

Ryan blogs for the final time. States he's taking a step back from music. Expresses regret for outlandish behaviour and public image. Criticises the media for taking what he writes out of context. Media takes what he's written out of context. Media announces his retirement from music. Ryan blogs again with bitter sarcasm.

Glad I got tickets to what looks like his last Australian show for a while.

Sha. I'm sure, though, that even if he worked out some kind of deal with his record label for an extended break/2014 comeback tour (that sounds awesomely futuristic) they'd be releasing an assload of goodies in the meantime. Let's just hope his mum doesn't handle his legacy a la Jeff Buckley (I don't know why that would happen...)

So when's the next Cardinals LP due?

Should drop next week some time.

did an interview with him today...i was the first person to ask him about it...

the australian tour is the end of the cardinals - he can't wait for the shows, as he sees them as a celebration of one part of his career.

he still wants to be creative, but his (book) writing is his focus for the moment. he just handed in his second novel.

he wants to thank all of his fans and supporters over the years for believing in him, but he's tired and he's sick to death of being spoken about.

he can see a time when he returns to music...but he's not sure when that will be or in what capacity.

i spoke to him for about 25 mins and he basically talked the whole time. he's deadly serious about what his blog post said - not what has been reported of what it said.

Thanks for the update. Where/when can we read the interview? Complete transcript post-publication?

I can't believe I'll be at the last ever Cardinals show. They'd better play every fucking song he's ever written or I will be SEVERELY disappointed.

Regardless of what he may have said to DemonAndrew, I still don't believe him. I'm sure he's decided to quit music in the past, whether publicly or not. I don't see why we should take him any more seriously than we do usually. Which is not very much. For me, anyway.

Look, I know what you mean and I'm totally with you on the grain-of-salt thing.

I guess a few things have changed in recent years - 1. He's clean, 2. His last couple of albums have been...not disappointing exactly. I guess uninspired would be the word. 3. He's got a (seemingly genuine) alternative source of expression in his writing.

As much as the Cardinals re-invigorated him sonically, there's only been a handful of great songs released since '05. I don't know what's happening with him personally but from the last couple of blogs I just get this gut feeling that he's had a major shakeup in the last 6 months.

Yeah, he's a drama queen but even drama queens have real crisis points from time to time. If his writing continues to satisfy him, I think he's got a genuine reason to not NEED to make as much music as he did.

And remember, it's a step back, which really could be interpreted however you like and still be true when the new album is released tomorrow or whenever.

Enough postulation! I want to talk John Graboff v. Norah Jones and the definitive version of 'If I Am A Stranger'!

I see this is as a good and necessary step. He's been playing shows and making albums with the Cardinals for a few years and albums now. Some people may feel differently, but I feel like he's been in - not a rut exactly - but there's just not much new or exciting or essential about Easy Tiger or Cardinology to me. Other fans like Heretix who came to RA later are obviously gonna have a different perspective on this but it's just how I see it. Ryan will do things whether it's with Whiskeytown or David Rawlings or Emmylou Harris or whoever. I don't see this as a 'band break-up'. It's just the end of another project during the career of Ryan Adams. And a step away from music is usually good for people. Sometimes you have to go away a while - for inspiration, rest, whatever.

Makes sense. The guy has been in a huge rut musically. "Cardinology" was a disaster. He could easily come back with a good album of focused material in a few years that avoids the lite-mzak he began to dip into.

Agreed, it's hard to get any perspective if you don't step back for a while.

I would imagine he needs to figure out how to deal with his ear problems on stage, too. Menieres isn't any fun, it includes a lot of pain and vertigo attacks often without warning as well as going deaf. For someone with stage fright, the combination sounds really stressful.
And not being able to hear well what you are performing has to suck, also. He's been hinting in various posts for a while that he needs a break and that his ear problems are, well, a big problem. Yeah, he's a little dramatic, but hey, it's rock n roll. He's made some good music with the Cardinals, and I've seen some really good shows with them but would I go see the Cards without him? No way. It will be interesting to see
how and when he comes back to music after his 'break.'

what he said.

i liked Easy Tiger a decent amount, even if it didn't bring anything new to the table, but Cardinology was just rehashed with some of his weakest songwriting to date. i don't DISLIKE the record, it's just very average

Easy Tiger is a pretty good album. Not everything's fantastic, but there were definitely some good tracks throughout. "Rip Off," especially, is a good one. I felt like Cardinology wasn't offensively bad, just forgettable.

Glad I caught his show in Dec. with Oasis.

I think it'll be good for him to take a break. I agree with the statements of Cardinology, it was in no ways bad too me, but it felt like it was another product off the assembly line.

I am excited about whatever he releases this year, and whatever way he changes as a musician after taking some time off.

I didn't know about the ear problems. Sounds like a potentially serious Roger Miller-type situation. So Ryan will have to quit music for 19 years and then come back with a pretty awesome new album and great live shows.

i think this is as close to praise for RA as i remember ever seeing from monty. the funny thing is that at least in some part, he's right.

Sorry this took so long!

EASY TIGER RARITIES


1. Nobody Listens to Silence (Japanese Bonus Track)
2. Alice (Japanese Bonus Track/Best Buy Bonus Track)
3. France (Streaming-only track)

This is a small little upload, there were no b-sides for this album (only single was Two backed by Halloweenhead), just these bonus tracks and France which was available on Ryan's website for a while and was separate from all the DJ Reggie/Werewolph stuff....

Nobody Listens to Silence is a bizarre pseudo-reggae version of a rather Neil Youngish DJ Reggie Song..needless to say it doesn't sound like Neil Young anymore. This is a realy, really weird song with lyrics that sound improvised and rather humourous.. Ryan sounds like he's having fun though and it's a rare moment for an album that often sounds calculated and tightly wound.

Alice is a tender acoustic track that really really sounds like Neil Young... like Ryan's doing an imitation. It's a pretty meh track with an uninteresting melody and largely uninteresting lyrics. At 2 minutes and 16 seconds it feels way too long, and that's not a good sign.

France (also called Lovely and Blue) is a serviceable rocker... imagine Rock N Roll fed through Easy Tiger pretty much. It's catchy but mediocre... nothing really stands out except for the driving energetic quality missing from most of Easy Tiger.

Next is Curtain of Light (which is much better than this little package, I promise).

I'll be seeing him next Sunday night, so it'll be interesting to see if he's stale, or whether he's using these last few dates as a going-out party.

Either way, trainwreck or not, it'll be interesting.

this'll be the first ry-ry tour to australia that i won't see.

very sad if this is the last time ever.

I'll be seeing him this Saturday in Oz. Given the recent news, I feel lucky that I decided to buy the ticket. This thread has really re-sparked my interest in Adams so thanks for all the work Heretix.

Awesome show last night;

On 8.58pm

Born Into a Light
Fix It
Everybody Knows
Beautiful Sorta
Bartering Lines
Easy Plateau >
Two
Peaceful Valley >
Please Do Not Let Me Go
Desire
Let it Ride
Goodnight Rose
Freeway to the Canyon (Neal Casal)
(Evening joke)
When the Stars Go Blue
Like Yesterday
Magnolia Mountain
Oh My God, Whatever, etc
Evergreen
Dear John
I Taught Myself How to Grow Old

* set break *

Wonderwall
Sink Ships
Off Broadway

Off stage 11.28pm

Bolded songs kicked a helluva lot of ass. Best 'Goodnight Rose' I've heard and seeing (and hearing) it last night has convinced me of it's brilliance and how it should be the opening track on any Ryan best of which eventually comes out. It's pretty much the ultimate Cardinals jam now.

So I've never really gotten too deep into Ryan's catalog, except for Heartbreaker and Jacksonville City Nights, which I really enjoy both of. Myself and a few friends are going to be in Jacksonville, FL on the night that he's playing one of his supposed "last shows" with a not a lot to do; is it worth us picking up some $30 tickets?

God, yes. And I'm sure you'll leave the venue wanting to dig deeper into the catalogue...

god it makes me so, so sad to be missing out on this final oz tour.

the 2 shows last time were the best and worst of ry-ry - bad-tempered and a cross-patch on the first evening, spellbinding and brilliant on the second.

At the Enmore? The first show was woeful. I did chuckle at his histrionics, though. Second show was amazing. Something about that Theatre that suited the set to a T. I'm not inspired by that current setlist, though. A couple of rare gems would tip the balance towards the sweet side of bittersweet.

yeah, at the enmore - the worst and best of ry-ry on successive nights. twas magic!

CURTAIN OF LIGHT
(2007, live-in-studio session to promote Easy Tiger)


1. Goodnight Rose
2. Two
3. Everybody Knows
4. Oh My God, Whatever, Etc.
5. Tears of Gold
6. The Sun Also Sets
7. Off Broadway
8. Pearls On A String
9. Rip Off
10. Two Hearts
11. These Girls (Rock Version)
12. I Taught Myself How To Grow Old
13. Beautiful Sorta
14. Magnolia Mountain

This is a fun set. This was a live session done for the promotion of Easy Tiger, most of it was available streaming online around the release of that album -- which is where my caveat comes in; these are ripped from streams and so sound quality isn't OPTIMAL, but it's totally listenable and worth a listen at least once. It's essentially a live run through of Easy Tiger, with two songs thrown in at the end for good measure. Despite the weird track numbering (you'll see if you download), Halloweenhead was NOT performed at these sessions, so, sorry about that.

This set is far more essential than it looks; the performances are loose, elastic, and the band sounds like it's having tons of fun; I guess without an audience they can pretty much just do whatever the fuck they want (even moreso than usual) so the songs are pretty relaxed, and well-explored. I guess it's worth noting that this is an electric band performance -- dig those little licks in Two, they completely revitalize the song. The performance of Goodnight Rose is spastic, and Oh My God, Whatever, Etc. sounds pretty different in this context.. it barely feels like the same song. Tears of Gold, Everybody Knows and The Sun Also Sets sound (predictably) pretty similar to the ET versions, since those were full band tracks on the album.

Pearls On A String is where it's at. You NEED this, um, 'album' for this version; it's propulsive, lush, energetic, and completely gorgeous. It sacrifices the rural breeziness of the studio version for something completely otherworldy and great. Off Broadway here is pretty weird and different too, but nowhere near as great as Pearls. Two Hearts is arguably even *worse* here, not even worth listening. Rip Off is pretty standard, if not a bit looser. But These Girls is when things really start getting interesting. This is the 'rock' version, it's an 8-minute monstrosity that starts off like some sort of lurching, mutant slowcore monster and kind of speeds up into vaguely thrashy territory, and then cools down again. It's obviously a joke but it's quite impressive, and to hear such a pretty little song blown up to these ridiculously huge proportions is really fun.

We're then treated to fairly standard (but good) performances of Grow Old and Beautiful Sorta, followed by a transcendent performance of Magnolia Mountain -- but is there really a bad performance of this song?

These Girls and, I think, Two were posted on the Amazon site when ET was first released; these sessions are when Ryan was wearing those thick-framed glasses, and they're in the weirdly lit orange room...there's a photo of it in the LP version of Easy Tiger.

If you're a fan of Easy Tiger, this is basically that album with a more consistent, Cardinals-rock sound, and it's totally enjoyable, so I'd give it a try.

Next up is a little surprise; it's nothing rare or anything, and it's something I would usually save until AFTER the main discography, but it's too good to wait until then, and it fits in right after this anyway, despite its unofficial nature.

colour me intrigued.

Thanks again. Haven't had the chance to listen, but I will tonight.

Saw the final Australian Cardinals show last night. Extreme fizzer. Just over an hour onstage. Totally gutted. Plus they'd sold out of books.

I don't think it was an extreme fizzer but the abrupt end did leave a sour taste in the mouths of many. The show is available here if anyone wants to hear it:

http://www.archive.org/details/ryanadams20...1.h160.sbd.flac

wow, why so short?