Ryan Adams Cardinology Review

Ryan Adams and The Cardinals at the Murat Theater, 2007.

Ryan Adams is one talented son of a bitch. He's got to be the most prolific musician of this decade given he's released 11 CD's in 8 years. Hell, he released three in 2005 alone, one of them, Cold Roses, was even a double CD. Anyone who has visited his web site knows he has a slew of songs written on the fly covering nearly every genre. I hear he has also wrote a novel about to be published. Where does this guy find the time to do all this?

Work, work, rehab, work again? Ok, when someone produces this much output, you sometimes wonder about quality and even burn out, but Ryan is pretty consistent over the years. I've had a chance to listen to his new one Cardinology, coming out on Oct. 28th and I would have to say it feels like a continuation of EasyTiger (maybe with two new tracks having "easy" in the title reinforces it). This is not bad a bad thing, not at all, Easy Tiger was one of my favorite CD's last year. Besides, that's a long time in Ryan-years.

The first half of Cardinology starts out with a number of uptempo songs highlighted by the easy grooving single "Fix It", and the excellent rocker "Magick". Ryan seems to be channeling vintage Neil Young on many songs, particularly "Natural Ghost". Midway through the CD, things down shift a bit to slower tunes ending with a beautiful piano ballad, probably addressing his personal struggles (and rehab), aptly named "Stop". I'd definitely recommend this CD for those times when you are in the "spirit" to kick back and listen to these "haunting" tunes. 

Rating (7 out of 10):

Oh, snap, I think I just gave it away. Well, in honor of next week's album release coinciding with Halloween, I've focused on song titles for the season:

Cardinology (2008)

Magick

Natural Ghost

Cobwebs

Easy Tiger (2007)

Halloween Head

Follow The Lights (2007 EP)

Down in a Hole

Love Is Hell (2004)

Love Is Hell

I See Monsters

Rock n' Roll (2003)

Note To Self: Don't Die

Enjoy, GB

Discography:

The Highway Stops By For Interview

The Highway (L-R: Jason Adams, Dominick Cole, Vince Brown, Jon Potter)

The Highway is one of my favorite local bands performing around the Indianapolis area. I had a chance to catch them during a short break before their next gig at Lizard's (Madison and Thompson Avenues) on October 25th. The band's lead guitarist, Vince Brown, sat down with me to talk about their music, live performances, and what they see in their future.

Q. First off, tell me about the guys in the band and how you got together.

A. There's Jason, who sings and plays guitar, Dominick, the bassist, and Jon is the drummer. Jason, Dominick and I have known each other since grade school. Dominick actually lived next door to me growing up in Whiteland. Jon, we've only know for a couple of years, but we've become great friends and now we share a house, which makes it a lot easier to write songs and practice together.

Q. Who are some of your influences?

A. Oh, god, I listen to everything from acoustic to rap. I'd probably say early influences would be The Beatles, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins, among others.

Q. What about favorite guitarists?

A.  Well, there's a lot of them, of course.  Lately, I've been listening to Minus The Bear's guitarist, Dave Knudson, who has an interesting neck tapping method which sounds cool. I also have been into Incubus for awhile and I think Michael Einzinger is very talented. I can listen to a lot of different styles and appreciate their talent.  Even with older guitarists like Brian May of Queen (he) uses some amazing harmonic effects when playing.

Q. So, what is the music of The Highway like?

A. Oh, we mix in a little of everything from acoustic to heavy rock. We have several songs that go from a softer acoustic sound to a rocker part and back and forth like that. We like to change it up and try different things. Our sound just keeps evolving.

Q. What are your favorite places to perform live?

A. We seem to get a great reception everywhere we go. We had some terrific concerts at Birdy's and U of I this year. We recently played Lizard's and Whit's Inn and had great crowds there. We try to have something for everyone in our setlists by including songs with different styles and tempos. We're always adding our new songs and trying them out live, plus we also play a lot of covers for people to dance to. 

Q. Besides the live shows, what else will you guys be up to this year?

A. Record another CD soon, maybe at Upper Room Studios. We have the one (self titled CD) out and we've been getting a lot of response to it. We're hoping to get some more equipment next year and add in some new sounds on the next one.

Q. Where do you see yourself and the band in five years?

A. Well, I would hope to be playing more places outside of Indy. Also, I expect we will be signed with a label by then and have a bigger distribution chain for our CD's. Musically, we will always be changing and experimenting with new ideas, as long as we keep our music accessible for everyone, but not in a totally crappy commerical way. You know what I mean?

Unfortunately, yes, I do. Thanks to Vince for the interview. Their self titled CD The Highway is available at Luna Music in Broad Ripple.

You can listen to their new CD and other songs on their web site. Here's a couple of songs to download:

Where Will You Run To?

Sunday Driving

Enjoy, GB

Margot & The Nuclear So and So's Deliver Extra Helpings

Margot & The Nuclear So and So's are a local Indianapolis band which has always tried to be a little different. The wierd band name combines a character from the Wes Anderson movie The Royal Tenenbaums with front man Richard Edward's joke on how George W. Bush says "nuclear". Their sound, described as "chamber pop", mixes various genres with a dash of The Arcade Fire, The Decemberists and Bright Eyes. Each track is a little different and should be evaluated on it's own merits. They made Spin magazine's list for breaking new artists of 2008.

Their fans should be delighted this week with the simultaneous release of their CD Not Animal and a slightly different version called Animal! on vinyl and mp3. Apparently, there were some major differences with what the band wanted (Animal!) and what the label wanted to release (Not Animal), which adds seven additional songs on the CD release not chosen by the band. Purists will say you should listen to the band's version, but I'm sure their fans don't mind the extra music. 

In fact, the CD release is the only version to include their Indy fan favorite "Broad Ripple Is Burning". I've posted that song and the single "As Tall As Cliffs" below.

Not Animal

Broad Ripple Is Burning

Not Animal and Animal!

As Tall As Cliffs

Enjoy, GB

Tour

October 17th  Murat Arabian Room in Indianapolis

October 18th  Buskirk Chumley in Bloomington

Discography

Best of Stereophonics CD/DVD Release

Stereophonics have a compilation coming out October 18th called Decade in the Sun: The Best of Stereophonics. It's a (UK) single laden retrospective of their six album releases, but it also includes two new songs "My Own Worst Enemy" and the new single "You're My Star". It comes with a DVD of 26 music videos.

The CD tracks are weighted more toward the first three releases, 1997's Word Gets Around, 1999's Performance and Cocktails, and 2001's Just Enough Education to Perform (JEEP), totalling 11 of the 18 previously released tracks. I was surprised 2003's You Gotta Go There To Come Back is represented with only one original track, "Maybe Tomorrow" (although later editions of the CD included the bonus single, "Moviestar").

Stereophonics music is somewhat a circular journey starting with a post-punk sound on their first two releases. That grittiness, balanced out with some folksy tunes, captured the hearts of rowdy pint-drinkin' soccer fans everywhere and made them a big draw on british festival circuits. Performance and Cocktails entered the UK charts as number 1 and went platinum within 3 weeks.

In the middle of this retrospective, their sound changed vastly on JEEP and You Gotta Go There To Come Back. The music of this period represents a richer, some would say more mature sound mixing acoustic, folk, blues, rock, and even gospel elements. The music and especially the lyrics expressed a period of transition for singer songwriter Kelly Jones as he ended a long relationship and later became a father. Artists sometimes produce their best work during adversity, and it was this period where Stereophonics crafted songs both beautiful and haunting. 

After the release of You Gotta Go There To Come Back drummer Stuart Cable, who named the band after his father's record player maker, stopped touring and then left the group. As alluded to by that CD title, the band came full circle back to their rocker roots on the next album, 2005's Language. Sex. Violence. Other?, and also on last year's Pull The Pin. 

Because of this turn around, Stereophonics may have missed the chance to achieve a bigger audience in the US.  "Maybe Tomorrow" was getting a fair amount of airplay here and on soundtracks of TV shows (Charmed, One Hill Tree) and movies (Crash, Wicker Park). Americans were just getting familiar with the "mature" Stereophonics, when they changed directions with Language. 

This collection is a good starting point for anyone who's a novice to Stereophonics. The DVD may be more of a lure for hardcore fans. Either way, it's a lot of music for the cost. Here is the CD track list:

1. "Dakota"
2. "The Bartender and the Thief"
3. "Have a Nice Day"
4. "Handbags and Gladrags"
5. "Local Boy in the Photograph"
6. "Maybe Tomorrow"
7. "Superman"
8. "A Thousand Trees"
9. "Just Looking"
10. "Moviestar"
11. "It Means Nothing"
12. "Pick a Part That's New"
13. "Hurry Up and Wait"
14. "Devil"
15. "Rewind"
16. "Mr. Writer"
17. "Step On My Old Size Nines"
18. "Traffic"
19. "My Own Worst Enemy"
20. "You're My Star"

 

I'd highly recommend picking up both JEEP and You Gotta Go There To Come Back, if you don't already have them. They are those rare CD's good from start to finish.  I've posted some of my favorites from those CD's below. 

Just Enough Education to Perform

Mr. Writer

Have A Nice Day

You Gotta Go There To Come Back

Maybe Tomorrow

Also, here's the video for the new single "You're My Star"

Enjoy, GB