CD REVIEW Ryan Adams-Easy Tiger

I think a lot of the reason I like Ryan Adams was that he is/was a cocky motherfucker. For god sakes, what sane man titles their debut solo album Heartbreaker and puts themselves on the cover. But sort of like how perfectly normal, straight laced baby boomers get off on the druggiest acid rock they can find, I lived vicariously through his alcohol soaked alt-country tales of drifting and drinking.

Seven years of drugs and heartbreak must be pretty exhausting though. After his critical and commercial fortunes waned as he released three albums in 8 months, Adams kicked drugs and got focused. Abandoning the the grit and the ragged confessionals that made albums like Cold Roses and 29 unique, his new work focuses on mature, middle of the road schmalt-country.
Sure, Easy Tiger is melodic and The Cardinals (his backing band) are as competent as competent gets, but for every affecting track like "Off Broadway" there is a shot for the Starbucks stars like the ode to settling down, "Two." The most interesting songs are the two songs that Ryan writes by himself. So different from the songs co-written with his Cardinal cohorts, you get the feeling he snuck into the studio while they were asleep to cut these tracks. "Halloweenhead" is a truly bizarre track, but the album's highlight is the broken and barren "I Taught Myself How To Grow Old." In a lonely Neil Young-ish tenor he admits "I know I'm probably better off this way" in such a sad voice you can't help but believe him. I'm not saying Ryan Adams should be back on coke, but his albums were best with a little more mischief than a watch reading "4:20" on the cover.

7/10

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