It's major label Tuesday here at Stark I guess. Ryan Adams today announced the April 24th release date of an iTunes session to follow up his excellent Ashes and Fire which he released to great acclaim in 2011. There are 8 solo performances by Adams, "recorded at the historic Capitol Studios in Hollywood. The track listing features a mix of Adams classics from his 2000 solo debut Heartbreaker, the Whiskeytown era “Houses On The Hill,” and songs from his acclaimed new album Ashes & Fire. The session also includes a cover of Bob Mould’s “Black Sheets of Rain.”
In other fantastic news, Adams joined our good friends Haim last night on stage at The Echoplex in Los Angeles for a cover of Fleetwood Mac's "Oh Well." Haim will be in NY May 4 and 5 for two shows. Movin' on up.
For over a decade, critics and fans publicly waited for Ryan Adams to re-create the sweetly-sad melancholy country of his first post-Whiskeytown solo album Heartbreaker. Every album thereafter was compared to this career benchmark, justly or unjustly. With Adams’ latest release Ashes and Fire (10/4, PAX-AM/CAPITOL) it seems after three straight listens at NPR, everyone will have a new high water mark to compare future releases from this overly prolific songwriter.
It always seemed strange that the populace would want an artist to copy, or repeat themselves. But still they clamored for Heartbreaker Part II. Vocal opponents claimed to abandon Adams due to his indulgent side projects, and his lack of consistency across a plethora of good (some VERY good) but not great albums.
Which brings us almost full circle to Ashes and Fire. Stories from the Adams' camp and interviews point to a rigorous editing process with storied producer Glyn Johns. Ryan even claimed in a revealing Guardian interview to have thrown out 80% of his material after hearing new music from Laura Marling.
Ashes and Fire, delivered at a whisper, captures a somber, mature artist who seems at the peak of his craft. Gone are the cocky overt arrangements found on many of Adams’ electric albums, and frankly poor songwriting decisions contained on some acoustic affairs. While Ashes stays mostly in one gear for the entire record, the songs and production deliver in spades, and that’s what truly counts on this amazing album.
In this flash-in-the-pan age of blog buzz bands (often covered on this site) one’s forced to ask “who is even going to still be making music 10 or 20 years from now?” Bob Dylan’s catalog comes to mind, complete with artistic missteps, and outright failures. Yet, when viewed holistically it’s the track-record of a genius. Ryan Adams, while maybe not a Dylan-level genius has the potential to put up Dylan-like numbers, warts and all. Yet ultimately it’s downright comforting to know that Ryan will still be here in 30 years, and when we look back, we can almost guarantee his catalog will shine as brightly as any of his peers’ if not brighter – no matter what clunkers are hidden inside.
Ryan Adams just announced a string of US dates. See them after the jump.
Sorry for all the video posts of late... yet, videos such as the one above, are more often than not the number one way artists choose to share new music these days. Case in point, Ryan Adams. We could write a novel about this artist; his artistic indulgences, love for country music, Heartbreaker, Cold Roses, JP Bowersock, Whiskeytown, Gold, drugs, secret shows, and much more.
All that being left unsaid - what we WILL say, are that the tracks we've heard from Ryan Adams' forthcoming Glyn Johns produced Ashes and Fire (10/11) are some of the strongest we've heard from this (almost tragically) inconsistent songwriter in a long time. While there may be a few hidden throwaways on there, the word around the music industry water cooler is that this record is an almost instant classic. Looking forward to this like a 6th grade StarkNY looking forward to the new Metallica album. Let's hope this sounds nothing like Load.
Apparently Ryan Adams paints. Who knew? Now, being that we at Stark are not art buffs, we are going to skip passing judgement on his work. But it we had to, we should say it has a kind of a muddled Ludwig Bemelman (author/illustrator of the Madeline book series) on LSD feel to it -- Bemelman is not a painter, but that's the first reference that came to mind. If you enjoy Adams' work, there will be an opening on Sept. 23 marking the start of his residency at the Morrison Hotel Gallery; his work will be auctioned off with proceeds going toward the Housing Works Bookshop. Adams' will be the first artist in residency at the Morrison Gallery. Sure.
Obviously you remember Afroman. The lovable flash-in-the-pan rapper with duh, the afro, was all over the airwaves and Napster in 2001 with GRAMMY-NOMINATED hit "Because I Got High,"and all over every frat party you've ever been to with the follow-up "Colt 45." This guy was basically a better version of certified assclown Asher Roth. I guess somewhere along the line, Afroman was dropped from his record label, probably because he couldn't figure out how to parlay his penchant for smoking marijuana into a third hit. And that's too bad.
But we should have never doubted Afroman, because Afroman has been busy quietly making the same songseveral times over and self-releasing brand new Afroman albums at an alarming rate rivaling the output of Ryan Adams. Last week, the MC released his twelfth (!) studio album, called Frobama: Head Of State. We haven't heard the joint yet, but if it's anything like the tremendous cover above, we don't need to. Afroman's still got it. (Fist bump to Idolator for dropping this nugget.)
If you aren't reading Kanye West's blog religiously, what the hell are you doing that's better? Containing more unneccessary diatribes and enthusiastic, caffeine-induced ramblings than our other favorite melodramatic icon whose blog is a goldmine, Yeezy knows how to keep us on our heels. In one of my favorite recent rants, the rapper laments the image that VIBE Magazine used on the cover of its newest issue. Kanye has very obvious patches of grey in his facial hair, leading some to speculate that (gasp!) he's getting older.
But NOT SO FAST, says Kanye in all-caps. (Using Caps Lock, he proclaims, is like using AutoTune on his latest album: "IT'S FUN!")
"I DON'T HAVE GREY IN MY BEARD IN REAL LIFE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'M ALL DOWN WITH BEING IN MY 30's, BUT DAAAAAAAAMN!!!!!! THIS IS SOME BENJAMIN BUTTON'S SHIT!"
Kanye doesn't care about grammar, and he'll elongate his syllables as much as he wants to, thank you very much. Those restrictions would only hinder his posting, which he does very, very frequently. In fact, there are already four this morning. Gotta love artistic output. Anyway, what other artist blogs should we know about? And are they nearly as entertaining as those from Mr. West or Mr. Adams? LET US KNOOOOOOW IN THE REPLIIIIIIIIIIIIES!!!!!!!!!
"me- 34-a non smoker and happy, for the first time in my life.. i am excited to finish this wonderful time i have had with the cardinals and whatever new adventures may come after march. atlanta will be my last venture with the band and i am grateful for the time we have had and maybe someday we will have more stories to tell together. i am however ready for quieter times as i think it is very evident i am struggling with some balance and hearing issues."
Oh shit, Ryan Adams is going deaf and is suffering from vertigo. This is him planting the seed. He is going into remission and as our own Andrew Daniels said, "Bah! I give it like two months before he announces his new record is coming out." Don't we all agree. His blog post is long. Too long, and we didn't care to read the whole thing. It's like Kanye, post-Bonnaroo-tirade long. Well, he is quitting music, blogging, smoking and whatever else he does.
Pitchfork offered some nice bullet points summarizing the post. Read those after the jump.
"-- He's not blogging anymore.
-- Though he will always be "viewed as an 'asshole'," he is actually not an asshole.
-- He is not feeling great about his legacy: "i am a punch-line and a footnote in what is worse to yell at someone besides 'free-bird'. i mean, i lost."
-- He is still kind of a hippie: "never listen to those loud dissatisfied bystanders who only want to see you fail because that will be entertaining for that moment. hold fast to your dreams, hold faster to your heart and never step out of the light of that love that made you whole."
-- He has three new books coming out and he "LOVES writing....yay!" The first tome is a collection of "soul poetry" called Infinity Blues that will hit bookshelves in April.
-- He's not smoking anymore.
-- He has about as much love for the music media as Kanye: "it is kind of ridiculous to blog as i am a musician and anything i say here just gets reprinted at some point out of context. i say NOT FAIR but it doesn't matter what i say anymore or what is fair anymore really does it- the 21st century media has it's own rules about what is true and what is not." "
Sick of Best-Of-lists yet? Well...here's another one. Ryan Adams, via BV, dropped his top nine albums of 2008. You thought Stephen King was off the map. Look at these Adams-approved gems after the jump. Wow.
Testament, The Formation of Damnation (Nuclear Blast Americ)
Krallice, Krallice (Profound Lore)
The Killers, Day and Age (Island Records)
The Smiths, The Very Best of The Smiths (Rhino)
Metallica, Death Magnetic (Warner Bros.)
Mariah Carey, E=MC 2 (Island)
Coldplay, Viva La Vida (Capitol) Fleet Foxes, Sun Giant EP (Sub Pop) Ihsahn, Angl (Candlelight)
We wouldn't expect anything less from Ryan Adams: even though Cardinology is barely a month old, the always-at-work troubadour is apparently in the studio tracking demos for more than a dozen new songs under the working album title Dear Impossible, via Billboard. Fanboys rejoice: the album's most kindred spirit from his catalog appears to be 2004's classic Love is Hell, and he's also compared the sound to Sonic Youth's Sister and The Smith's Hatful of Hollow. Alas, Adams is quick to tame his own hyperbole; "but man, these tunes, they're tiny little things compared to those records."
He's already recorded songs with producer Noah Goldstein tentatively called "Firefly," "So Quiet, It's Loud," "Goodbye Sunshine," "Universe Size Arms," the title cut, "Please, Hold On," "Souls Full of Holes," "OK, I Surrender," "Wild & Hopeless," "Kaleidoscope Eyes," "Your Name Here," "Mirror-Gold," "The Lights" and "Lost in Space."
We like what we're hearing, and it's always assuring to know that even when our favorite artists take a break, Adams is probably creating something new, but we really hope that quality isn't getting lost in the mix of all this output. Oh, and b-t-dubs... you should be following his blog like it's your religion.
We, the Stark writers, intrupt your regular coverage to encourage all of our US readers to vote. For Barack Obama -- especially our Pennsylvania readers. We need all of you Bethlehem, PA folks on our side here.
For our UK friends, we know you're all on our team as well.
When we return, look out for coverage from our recent trip to Levon Helm's Midnight Ramble, the amazing new record from Dent May, and an intimate show with McCarthy Trenching. We also weigh in on some larger records including the new Ryan Adams and Lucinda Williams releases. We'll also take a second look at Ponytail via their most recent Halloween show in Brooklyn. Until then...
Just wanted to take a quick second to post on some nice under-the-radar releases this week. Most notably, the newest posthumous release from noted downtown NY artist Arthur Russell. While relatively unknown during his time, Russell produced several groundbreaking records in the worlds of electronica and disco. Russell's newest release, Love is Overtaking Me, draws from his acoustic/folk background and showcases his wonderful songwriting. The songs echo the feel of his home state, Iowa, as he sings lonesomely of lost love and cornfields.
Also released is the striking and highly autumnal new record from Larkin Grimm. While we may have just gotten into her, Grimm's record, Parplar, has quickly found it's way into regular rotation. It's much more eclectic than your traditional folk/singer songwriter record, yet it doesn't stray too far into the "freaky" world that people seem to have grown quickly tired of. Grimm's voice is fantastic, but still has enough of that backwoods grit to make it believable and interesting. Definitely recommended.
Other records released today are the aforementioned debut Exposion from White Denim as well as Ryan Adams' follow up to Easy Tiger, Cadinology. Further records we recommend are the new Hank Williams collection, Deerhunter's excellent Microcastle and the new Bloc Party record Intimacy.
From somewhere out in centerfield, as this news was not a complete shock but certainly unexpected, Ryan Adamsand The Cardinals are releasing a brand new record at the end of next month, appropriately titled Cardinology. It's scheduled for release on October 28 via Lost Highway. According to a press release sent out mere minutes ago, the album's final tracklisting is sequenced as follows:
Born Into A Light
Go Easy Fix It Magick Cobwebs Let Us Down Easy Crossed Out Name Natural Ghost Sink Ships Evergreen Like Yesterday Stop
First single "Fix It" will be digitally released to radio Tuesday, September 23, while "Stop" will receive a sneak premiere in the Tuesday, September 30 episode of THE CLEANER on the A&E network (check local listings). If you can't wait until then, you can scour the Internet for live videos of some of the new songs, including "Fix It", which we've included via YouTube after the jump. You can also get instant updates on all things Cardinology by going to the album's official Web site and create a customized mailbox to receive important news. Who has two thumbs and is incredibly excited? This guy.
Ryan Adams and The Cardinals, "Fix It", Live from Boston 9.7.08 via YouTube:
