Having abandoned the distorted "clichés" of Rock'n'Roll and the poignant and beautiful wintery atmospheres of "Love Is Hell," Ryan Adams returns with a double album and a new group (The Cardinals) to offer us the music most congenial to him, that of alternative country, of which he himself was a prophet with his Whiskeytown.
Ryan is a great and prolific songwriter, but what is most surprising is the high quality he manages to maintain with his compositions, despite the stylistic changes he is naturally inclined to tackle. "Cold Roses" is an album without any drop in tone; it remains intense throughout the 18 songs (plus a bonus track), with a formidable band in terms of simplicity and atmosphere that perfectly supports Adams, who in this album has a more powerful and beautiful vocal presence than ever.

The album exudes a particular charm, due to Adams' love for 70s American music (especially that of Gram Parsons) and the ability of the songs to be highly believable, suspended between light and darkness, timeless, while painting scenarios of imposing mountains or soft and fertile plains, and still winds, breezes, sweet illusions, confusions and disappointments, paths framed by blossoming cherry trees, near strawberry fields of Beatles memories, unusual beauties threatened by misfortune-bringing and paranoia-inducing crows, the day, the night, friends, loves, and again roses, roses of all colors, red, yellow, white, black, blue... dried roses, plastic roses, all kinds of roses, but especially ice roses, cold and sad.

Tracklist Lyrics and Videos

01   Magnolia Mountain (05:52)

02   Sweet Illusions (05:02)

03   Meadowlake Street (04:28)

04   When Will You Come Back Home (04:52)

05   Beautiful Sorta (03:01)

06   Now That You're Gone (03:51)

07   Cherry Lane (04:31)

Every night I read this novel about you
Holding roses in the pouring rain
But the ending's tore up, trying to hail a cab
Think no one can read you, but I can



Well we move into a house down on Cherry Lane
And watch the world go by
Am I'm missing a page



I wanna be the one who walks you home
Who walks you home tonight
Staring into her eyes and then try and explain it
But it's written in a language that was meant to fuck you up
And I can never get close enough
But I lie
But I lie down on her pillow
And you feel like you was going away
Going away when you got no place to go
But back in her arms lying on her pillow
Curled up with a book down on Cherry Lane
The glass it hits the floor and you're walking away
But I wanna be the one who walks you home
Who walks you home anyway
Stare into her eyes and then try to explain it
Try to explain it away
I wanna be the one who walks you home
Who walks you home tonight
Stare into her eyes and then try to explain it
Try to explain it away
But that shit just fucks you up
And I can never get close enough
I can never get close
I can never get close enough
I can never get close enough to you

08   Mockingbird (04:47)

09   How Do You Keep Love Alive (03:12)

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