As an avid Ryan Adams fan, I eagerly anticipated his new album and when I listened to it for the first time, I cried. I can assure that many listeners will, too. Not a sob or hysterics, but light tears will for sure roll down your faces. Adams is more than a recording artist; he is a poet, and even if the message in his lyrics are unclear, his music will evoke enough emotion to open up your hearts and have your mind wander into old memories.
Adams has been releasing albums with The Cardinals for the past few years, so it is kind of nice to see him on his own — though Norah Jones collaborates for a few tracks, but come on, who doesn’t enjoy Norah Jones? — and of course prove that Adams himself still has it. The “it” being a stellar sound, similar to that of Bob Dylan, with impressive vocals that could make an out of tune piano sound beautiful.
The single “Lucky Now” was released in September and hands-down garnered the right attention for the album. “Lucky Now” pushes us to remember our childhoods and question the people we have become with lyrics like, “I don’t remember were we wild and free, all that’s faded into a memory, I feel like somebody I don’t know.” This evaluation that Adams proposes is done in such a way that doesn’t overwhelm us but eases us into deep thought.
That is the uniqueness that is Ryan Adams; even sans Cardinals, he manages to be subtly powerful in every which way he performs.