After the (at times brilliant) three album madness of 2005,
Ryan Adams returned with the more straightforward Easy Tiger. There are a couple of overblown rockers
(Goodnight Rose, Halloween Head) which don’t help matters. Equally off-putting is the hokey country of
Tears of Gold. However he’s better when
he slows it down and plays it simple.
The rather bland Two (a duet with Sheryl Crow – edgy!) and Two Hearts
are an improvement, but there are stronger tracks on the album.
Everybody Knows is a ringer for Neil Young in his acoustic,
After the Gold Rush period. It’s
perfectly executed and all over in two and a half minutes. The leisurely guitar picking of Oh My God
Whatever, Etc works well, as does the bluegrassy Pearls On A String. Finest song on the album is possibly piano
ballad, Rip Off, a weary and worn-out ballad.
He trawls back to his vast, unreleased tracks in the vault
for two of the stronger tracks for wistful ballad Off Broadway and the drawling
guitar plucking of These Girls (previously known as Hey There Mrs Lovely).
It's not a classic Ryan Adams album, but it IS a typical Ryan Adams album: some great tracks, some bland tracks and some frustrating tracks. The killer with Adams is he is capable of real brilliance, but an inability to stay focused dilutes his talent.
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