Ryan Adams and theCardinals - EverybodyKnows (EP)

Mon 24th Dec, 2007 in Music Reviews

The penultimate run around the mulberry bush before dropping his name and simply referring to himself and his band as The Cardinals (the last looks to be a boxset titled 20:20, finally officially releasing some of the classics in his vault), this EP is another striking reminder of just what sets Ryan Adams apart as both a songwriter and performer.

Opening with a single from his 2007 album Easy Tiger, the bulk of this EP is fresh material, be it in live-in-the-studio cuts, obtuse covers, or blissful new tunes. New cuts Follow the Lights and My Love For You Is Real mirror the easy-on-the-ear nature of his most recent album, but live-in-the-studio cuts of older tracks such as This Is It (from the rambunctious Rock n Roll), If I Am a Stranger and Dear John (both from Jacksonville City Nights) as well as the delightful interpretation of his own Blue Hotel, gifted to Willie Nelson’s Adams-produced album Songbird, are more akin to the live sound of The Cardinals with multi-part harmonies a distinct highlight.

The cover is a doozy – a stripped-back interpretation of Alice In Chains’ Down in a Hole that utilises the same American Beauty-era Grateful Dead vibe apparent in the other live-in-the-studio numbers. Follow the Lights is a striking reminder of just how varied Adams influences – and indeed his own sound – has been in the past, and how it has coalesced to the position that he is in now, where his sound has settled and developed its own distinct nuances.