Ashes and Fire
Album | Ryan Adams
Arguably the prolific singer-songwriter's best album.
We hear a lot about how Ryan Adams is too prolific -- releasing an album a year on average -- and how he should edit himself. In 2011 alone, he's already released a triple album of b-sides and outtakes with his sometimes backing band The Cardinals. But who cares? It's true that some of his recent releases have been uneven, but even 2007's Easy Tiger, his last proper solo album, had at least five songs any singer-songwriter would kill for: check out "Two" and "Everybody Knows" for starters. But Ashes and Fire is a gem through and through. It's exactly what we've come to expect from Adams' music: acoustic rock with some country elements, topped with introspective lyrics that at times touch the sublime. Not since 2004's Love Is Hell EPs has Adams sounded so focused and honest. Delivering each song with such raw plaintive emotion, it's as though he's reached a new plateau in his songwriting. Maybe it's his marriage to actress and former teen pop star Mandy Moore (who sings backup vocals alongside Norah Jones on several tracks), maybe it's his his well-publicized sobriety, or maybe it's just great songwriting. Give a listen to "Come Home," Save Me" and "Lucky Now" and decide for yourself.
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Love Is Hell
Ryan Adams
| Ashes and Fire (acoustic) | |
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