Ryan Adams & The Cardinals - Cold Roses (2005)

It is no secret that I am quite fond of Ryan Adams. In fact, if I had a dollar for every time I had drunkenly threatened someone with violence unless they promised to purchase Heartbreaker (Adams' brilliant 2000 solo debut, which will be covered in a later issue - though, if you don't already own a copy, your lucky I'm not drunk right now), I would be a wealthy man. There is a fine line between passion and belligerence - a line that is often blurred in my mind's eye. The last couple of years have seen some releases that, while still of a good quality, have not been up to the (ridiculously) high standard Adams set for himself with his earlier solo albums and the music he made with the now legendary, Whiskeytown. As such it brings a big, stupid looking grin to my face to say that Ryan is well and truly back. Cold Roses is a brilliant double album that echoes the sound of Whiskeytown and Adams' rootsier beginnings. The music is great and the songwriting sees Ryan back to his best. It has a nice, country-flavoured tinge, though not in a lame Garth Brookes way (sorry Garth). It is a very accessible album with great songs, and would be a great place to start if you are yet to add Ryan to your collection. There a number of very fine songs on both discs. The final track on the first disc is titled How Do You Keep Love Alive - well, releasing more albums like this is a bloody good start. Welcome back.

Check out: www.ryan-adams.com