III/IV

The fruit of Ryan Adams & The Cardinals’ recording sessions of 2007

In 2007 Ryan Adams and his band The Cardinals did not only record a great album called Easy Tiger. In fact, the six months of sessions resulted into about sixty tracks of which several albums could be made up. This year the musicians release some part of the material recorded at that time, a double album III/IV, which stands for the third and the fourth parts of the epic musical story. The rest of the material is probably yet to be released. As for any new works from Rayan Adams & The Cardinals, we are not about to hear any of them in the nearest future. The thing is that the band The Cardinals and Ryan Adams announced their split in 2009 for Adams had decided to take some time out. He explained the decision with the Mйniиre's disease, a disorder of the inner ear, and the necessity to have a rest and collect his thoughts. This step is quite easy to understand taking into account the fact that the artist has been recording albums both solo and with the band constantly and touring extensively during the last decade.

Very bright rock-compositions with a rich sounding on III/IV

The double album III/IV is twenty-one tracks each of which is filled with special emotions, often humor or on the contrary, a deep sadness. These are classic Rayan Adams & The Cardinals’ pieces telling about everything from pizza and booze to romantic relationship and travelling – lyrics have always been the strong side of the musicians’ works. Musically these are very bright rock-compositions with a rich sounding perfect for live performances and choruses created for singing along. Listen to the dynamic opener Breakdown Into The Resolve, the melodious song Dear Candy built on a powerful bass line, the deeply thought Wasteland – they are only preparing you for further, even heavier and more impressive tracks. the memorable composition Ultraviolet Light sounds a bit lighter, and the matched guitarist and drummer’s playing on Lovely And Blue will conquer you from the very first sounds. A successful riff and a beautiful tune make the optimistically ironic number Happy Birthday one of the album’s highlights. The stunningly energetic track No and almost danceable Numbers prove that rock’n’roll is in Ryan Adams’ blood, while calmer songs with melodious guitars, Gracie and Typecast, combine the classic rock and country’s elements in them. Ryan Adams’ vocals on My Favorite Song sound a bit lower than usually making the song stand out against the others, and the heavy distorted guitars at the end of the song add to the effect. The album closes with a great rock’n’roll Kill The Lights with the front man and backing vocalists’ contagious singing and a complicated guitar parts’ interlacement.

Another unique recording

One can hardly deny the fact that Rayan Adams & The Cardinals and Adams by himself have released a great number of excellent songs, and their level of performance has been improving with each new release. Yet, though the songs included on the album III/IV were recorded three years ago, it does not at all mean that they are worse than the later material. Most probably they are not that polished and it is the rawness of this sounding that makes it especially good. Adams’ vocals sound soulful, sincere, his voice sings each note faultlessly, and you will not find a single failure tracks among these. As for the style, the album was recorded at the very time when Ryan Adams had already tried his hand in country-rock but was unwilling to say good-bye to his favorite rock’n’roll – most of III/IV consists of vigorous eclectic songs, the kind of music that drew attention to Rayan Adams & The Cardinals at the dawn of their working together. Thus, the album III/IV serves the best way to remind us that Ryan Adams’ creative work has been always based upon so diverse interests, and gives the fans a chance to enjoy another unique recording.