Vacant Horizon Posted July 17, 2009 Share Posted July 17, 2009 very true. i consider myself to be a hardcore RA fan, hell, i have a Cardinals tat, and i've yet to check out 3/4 of his demos and such. there also seems to be a plethora of live recordings, he allows tapers to use the soundboard, and i haven't listened to hardly any of them yet either. btw, Ryan just re-launched his Pax Am record label. looks like there will be some new recordings coming out soon well, i bought cardinology on a whim a few weeks ago, and i'm forcing myself to listen to it. so far i like a few songs. some of it is just so dramatic, especially the vocals. as i said before, i just wish he was just sing his songs straight and not do all these quivering inflections etc. the band is amazing though. i really do love that cardinals sound. Link to post Share on other sites
Smokestack Joe Posted July 17, 2009 Share Posted July 17, 2009 i love Ryan Adams work and the Cardinals work but it is hard to listen to it now since i lost the love of my life. his music was at the center of our relationship so it is hard to spin Easy Tiger or 29 or Gold. sucks. the records you lose after losing your girl..... Link to post Share on other sites
tangara Posted July 17, 2009 Share Posted July 17, 2009 well, i bought cardinology on a whim a few weeks ago, and i'm forcing myself to listen to it. so far i like a few songs. some of it is just so dramatic, especially the vocals. as i said before, i just wish he was just sing his songs straight and not do all these quivering inflections etc. the band is amazing though. i really do love that cardinals sound. I truly love Ryan Adams, but Cardinology is probably my least favorite of his records. And the quivery, cheesy vocals you describe are made doubly worse in the live show when Neal Casal chimes in. All of my boots from the last tour have Neal waaaay too high in the mix. Link to post Share on other sites
Vacant Horizon Posted July 17, 2009 Share Posted July 17, 2009 I truly love Ryan Adams, but Cardinology is probably my least favorite of his records. And the quivery, cheesy vocals you describe are made doubly worse in the live show when Neal Casal chimes in. All of my boots from the last tour have Neal waaaay too high in the mix. actually, i've been listening to cardinology and thinking about neil young's voice. maybe RA is doing some neil impression or maybe that's how his voice really is. i'm getting used to it. Link to post Share on other sites
Golden Smoghead Posted July 19, 2009 Share Posted July 19, 2009 Like Wilco, his new stuff is more laid back, when it really needs to be more rocking somehow. Now this is a sentiment I can get behind. I kind of think of it as there's not enough "fuck you" in the music... or something. Just a meanness / toughness for me, particularly with RA. I was listening to "Dancing with the Girls at the Bar" the other day and just missing whatever Ryan Adams wrote that song. Link to post Share on other sites
Lodestar Posted July 19, 2009 Share Posted July 19, 2009 I was listening to "Dancing with the Girls at the Bar" the other day and just missing whatever Ryan Adams wrote that song. Ah, that's one of my favourite songs of all time. He was so young when he wrote it, but it's just so exact. Link to post Share on other sites
Dean Moriarty Posted July 25, 2009 Share Posted July 25, 2009 I know people hate the Tweedy/Ryan Adams comparisons, but I think Ryan Adams last 2 Albums are way better than Wilco's last 2 albums. Link to post Share on other sites
mclain13 Posted July 25, 2009 Share Posted July 25, 2009 I know people hate the Tweedy/Ryan Adams comparisons, but I think Ryan Adams last 2 Albums are way better than Wilco's last 2 albums. I don't know about that. I'm a huge (H-U-G-E) DRA fan. But, (The Album) is a better album than Cardinology.Easy Tiger is a better album than SBS. Push, IMHO.Both have not produced completely mind blowing work in a few years, but both are still far and beyond putting out better stuff than 95% of the other bands out there.With the Cardinals break up, I can only hope when DRA works out whatever needs to be worked out he will come out of the gate with 05 quality stuff again. The only problem; being content with life tends to limit introspection, etc, etc... Link to post Share on other sites
Vacant Horizon Posted July 25, 2009 Share Posted July 25, 2009 I don't know about that. I'm a huge (H-U-G-E) DRA fan. But, (The Album) is a better album than Cardinology.Easy Tiger is a better album than SBS. Push, IMHO.Both have not produced completely mind blowing work in a few years, but both are still far and beyond putting out better stuff than 95% of the other bands out there.With the Cardinals break up, I can only hope when DRA works out whatever needs to be worked out he will come out of the gate with 05 quality stuff again. The only problem; being content with life tends to limit introspection, etc, etc... DRA = Darling Ryan Adams...? anyway, kind of got into cardinology, but it's really not too good. i'll just stick to farrar and tweedy for new music. Link to post Share on other sites
Three dollars and 63 cents Posted July 25, 2009 Share Posted July 25, 2009 If he learned to edit, he'd be brilliant. As it is, Cardinology is about half great songs and half throwaways. It would've been a great EP. Link to post Share on other sites
brianjeremy Posted July 25, 2009 Share Posted July 25, 2009 DRA = Darling Ryan Adams...? I'm guessing they mean that DRA = David Ryan Adams. Link to post Share on other sites
Lodestar Posted July 26, 2009 Share Posted July 26, 2009 If he learned to edit, he'd be brilliant. As it is, Cardinology is about half great songs and half throwaways. It would've been a great EP. I always find it weird when people refer to this as "editing" (seems to be a real theme with Adams). Probably because in writing and filmmaking, "editing" both mean completely different things. Link to post Share on other sites
Vacant Horizon Posted July 26, 2009 Share Posted July 26, 2009 I'm guessing they mean that DRA = David Ryan Adams. didn't know that. thanks! Link to post Share on other sites
Dean Moriarty Posted July 26, 2009 Share Posted July 26, 2009 Oh come on (The Album) is not as good as Cardinology. Link to post Share on other sites
mjpuczko Posted July 26, 2009 Share Posted July 26, 2009 i love ryan but cardinology sucks. i think it's too overdramatic or something. i just cannot get into it. i really like easy tiger though. Link to post Share on other sites
Three dollars and 63 cents Posted July 26, 2009 Share Posted July 26, 2009 I always find it weird when people refer to this as "editing" (seems to be a real theme with Adams). Probably because in writing and filmmaking, "editing" both mean completely different things. I'm a writer and was thinking of it in terms of writing--I tend to overwrite, then go back and trim away what isn't my strongest material. With his last few albums, I've felt like he could've done the same. Link to post Share on other sites
Dean Moriarty Posted July 26, 2009 Share Posted July 26, 2009 I agree that some of the songs on Cardinology are week, but I really like like some of them. Back to my original point though is the best songs on these last 2 Ryan Adam's albums are better than the best songs on Tweedy's last 2 albums. The litmus test for me is which one's sound better when I've put my mind in chill and listen to tunes mode if you know what I'm saying. The RA albums are better in that frame of mind. I know this is a little off topic here, but it is becoming more evident with each of Wilco's releases since Jay Bennett was booted that the band was better with him in it. Bennett on his own sucked, but the influence he had on Being There, Summerteeth, and YHF and even the Mermaid albums cannot be denied. I love Tweedy but he seems to be floundering to me in these week 70's soulish popish style. Link to post Share on other sites
Maggie Posted July 26, 2009 Share Posted July 26, 2009 i love ryan but cardinology sucks. Exactly how I feel. It's beyond me that the same people who love Heartbreaker and Cold Roses can also love Easy Tiger and Cardinology (although I do find the former relatively listenable). I'm not saying that they're wrong to feel that way - I just don't get it! Link to post Share on other sites
brianjeremy Posted July 26, 2009 Share Posted July 26, 2009 i love ryan but cardinology sucks. i think it's too overdramatic or something. i just cannot get into it. i really like easy tiger though. I felt the same way and still do to a certain extent but when my wife and I saw them live back in March it changed my tune at least. My wife loves Cardinology but the live setting won me over. I still find it to be a weak album in comparison to his other albums but I think his stuff is top notch anyways. Link to post Share on other sites
jimtweedy1977 Posted July 26, 2009 Share Posted July 26, 2009 The more I listen to the songs, the more I realize how much I like the Love Is Hell album. I see it as one entity, which is how it should have been released in the first place. Rock and Roll had some decent songs, but way overproduced and Love Is Hell definitely had more solid songs. Favorites include, "Avalanche" "City Rain, City Streets" "World War 24" and "The House Is Not For Sale". Link to post Share on other sites
Analogman Posted July 26, 2009 Share Posted July 26, 2009 I like Political Scientist and I See Monsters. Link to post Share on other sites
anthony Posted July 27, 2009 Share Posted July 27, 2009 Love is Hell is my favorite DRA record (especially when combined w/ the Japanese Bonus Disk. If you don't have this, it is worht searching for). Link to post Share on other sites
awatt Posted July 27, 2009 Share Posted July 27, 2009 Did I miss discussion about Strangers Almanac in this thread? No doubt the best of the Whiskeytown releases... Link to post Share on other sites
SkortBrun Posted July 27, 2009 Share Posted July 27, 2009 i love ryan but cardinology sucks. i think it's too overdramatic or something. i just cannot get into it. i really like easy tiger though. Exactly how I feel.It's beyond me that the same people who love Heartbreaker and Cold Roses can also love Easy Tiger and Cardinology (although I do find the former relatively listenable). I'm not saying that they're wrong to feel that way - I just don't get it! I agree with these two statements. Cardinology was just plain awful except for "Stop". Easy Tiger is a good album, but not as good as his previous albums and I predicted it was the beginning of a shift to him releasing inferior music (ex: Cardinology). Ryan used to be my favourite musician, but I question whether the quality of his albums will get any wheres near the level of his 2005 output again. Link to post Share on other sites
Lodestar Posted July 27, 2009 Share Posted July 27, 2009 There isn't really any song I dig on Cardinology ("Stop" is the closest, though even it's a bit melodramatic), but "Goodnight Rose" and "I Taught Myself..." alone make Easy Tiger worth it for me. Both do more for me than any single song off of Wilco's last two records. I'm also a huge fan of Love is Hell. It seems better and better every year for some reason. Link to post Share on other sites
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