In the liner notes of Cardinology, Ryan Adams thanks only the universe, for connecting us one and all. Consider this music a gesture of our appreciation."" Although his latest release with the Cardinals may not end up being humanity's greatest gift to the cosmos, it will surely take its place as one of the better albums of 2008.
Adams continues this spiritual theme with the backwood-sy opener ""Born Into A Light,"" wishing us ""Faith and hope and all the strength to cope / To be your own best friend / Have confidence and keep the faith."" Although this Stuart Smalley type of command may come across as grating on the page, Adams makes us believe him with his scratchily sincere baritone and with Jon Graboff's beautifully wandering steel guitar.
Although consistently pegged as a leader in the alt-country world, on Cardinology, Adams abandons this title for quite a few cuts, most notably on the Oasis-like ""Magick."" Tossing away the lap steel and faint Southern twang, Adams and the Cardinals are all distorted guitars and miked-up drums, commanding us to ""turn the radio up loud and get down."" It sounds like Adams is finally having some fun, which might be good for a guy who got famous off albums with titles like Heartbreaker and Love is Hell.
When Adams does return to his old stomping grounds of heartache and longing on tracks like ""Crossed Out Name"" and ""Let Us Down Easy,"" man, he does it well. A sunset never seemed so melancholy as when Adams writes about it in his song ""Go Easy"": ""I watch the sun grow tired / collapsing into the meadowlands."" Although Adams occasionally relies on uninspired melodies (""Fix It"" is a little too reminiscent of ""Two"" off his 2007 release), it is nearly impossible to fault him for his lyrics. Even when he does err on the side of trite, like on the opening track, the conviction behind his words saves him.
Cardinology is one of Adams' more grown-up albums to date. After all these years, he has finally mastered the art of editing. In 2005, he completed three full-length albums (Cold Roses, Jacksonville City Nights and 29) alone, showing how he can rush his work at times.
Cardinology is a solid 12- song release, balancing its way through the alt-country, rock' n' roll line that Adams loves. But there are times on the album that force you to wonder what he had to toss away to make an album this neat and listenable. Where is the evidence of the weird, passionate, tantrum-prone Adams? Those looking for Adams' previous incarnation may be better served going a few albums back in his catalogue, but this newly matured version is most definitely worth a listen.
