Search - Ryan Adams :: Follow The Lights

Ashley M. from SWAINSBORO, GA
Reviewed on 6/22/2010...

A++

EP (n.): An Ideal Vehicle for Ryan Adams

Rudy Palma | NJ | 10/25/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"With his summer album "Easy Tiger" still fresh, Ryan Adams already has a new batch of songs on his hands with "Follow the Lights," an attractive new EP released to physical and digital markets this week which also officially credits his backing band the Cardinals.



A restless creative spirit, Adams composes new material faster than he can release it, making the concept of an EP one well-suited for him. This being his long overdue debut EP (unless counting his moody "Love Is Hell" album, initially released in two halves) it seems he has wizened up to the critical flack he incurred for releasing an abundance of material - 3 full albums - during 2005. However undue such criticism is if the material is consistently high quality (it was), the charts don't lie - his first album that year, "Cold Roses," debuted at number 26 on the Billboard chart, while the third, simply titled "29" and his most intriguing record thus far, fizzled out at number 144. Clearly, a change was needed in marketing terms.



What immediately makes "Follow the Lights" a credible release in its own right is how well it accentuates "Easy Tiger," which netted Adams his first top 10 LP this summer. Although that collection may have scored well commercially, for the first time an album found Adams sounding slightly too even-handed and polished, but "Follow the Lights" strikes the balance between raw musicianship and studio precision.



"My Love For You Is Real" and the title track are mellow ballads that are more mainstream-sounding than his typical output, which in this case is a good thing - this is no grocery store intercom schlock. The latter is as soul-searching as the former is romantic, and both sport lyrical bite and inviting melodies.



A slice of bittersweet blue-eyed soul can be heard with "Blue Hotel," which Willie Nelson last year recorded for his Adams-produced "Songbird" album, and a cover of Alice in Chains' anguished "Down In a Hole" is very well suited for Adams vocally, sounding right at home with his originals.



He also crafts subtle reworkings of three back catalogue tracks. "This Is It," which opened his 2003 "Rock `N Roll" album in brazen, electric fashion, is intriguing in a lilting new arrangement, and "Dear John," written and performed with Norah Jones for 2005's "Jacksonville City Nights," sounds crisper and less melancholy as a solo track. However, the contemplative fashion with which he approaches these older songs best benefits "If I Am a Stranger," the lyrical highlight from the "Cold Roses" album that finds Adams at the top of his form as he meditates on how love can't survive with insecurity blocking the way: "If we're only scared of losing it, how will it last?"



"Follow the Lights" certainly improves what has already been an exciting year creatively and professionally for Adams, and should hopefully be a sign of things to come.

"

Sobriety Suits Him Well

James C. Smith | kent, ohio | 10/23/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The prolific Ryan Adams (& The Cardinals) follows the late June '07 release "Easy Tiger" with a new seven-song EP, "Follow The Lights".



The new songs are very good, with "My Love For You Is Real" particularly standing out. Of the other tracks, RA & The Cardinals cover of "Down In A Hole" by Alice In Chains carries on Ryan's tradition of taking iconic songs and making them his own. His reworking of his own "If I Am A Stranger" manages to make a great song even better.



Adams' older fans who still clamor for his drunken days of punk-inspired, sloppy recordings will be sadly disappointed. Ryan's recent sobriety continues to pay big dividends in great songwriting, fantastic arrangements and outstanding musical production.



Highly recommended.



"