Ryan Adams
Easy Tiger

THE REVIEW

Ryan Adams is one of the most prolific artists of the current musical era.

A singer-songwriter with a strong personality (he got so angry at his record label's lack of appreciation for his album "Love Is Hell" that he locked himself in the studio for two weeks and came out with a semi-masterpiece like "Rock ‘n Roll" to satisfy his producers' commercial ambitions), he is also noted for a disarming ease of writing that allowed him to release three albums in a single year (2005, the year of "Cold Roses," "Jacksonville City Nights," and "29"), but this does not come at the expense of the quality of individual tracks, which are, at worst, at least enjoyable.

Few missteps in this "Easy Tiger," the new effort by the American singer-songwriter.

To be honest, the album doesn't revolutionize Adams' offering, indeed remaining in the wake of the usual alternative country, this time perhaps more infused with a pleasant pop-rock vein that is more prominently featured in the beautiful lead single "Halloweenhead," released in 7'' format paired with the other track "Two" (which boasts the presence of a rejuvenated Sheryl Crow on backing vocals).

Beautiful too is the opening entrusted to the evocative "Goodnight Rose," as are the aforementioned highly present country diversions, as per Adams' tradition, throughout the album (in this sense, beautiful are "Oh My God, Whatever, Etc.", "Pearls On A String" and the subsequent "Tears Of Gold", even more traditionalist if possible). Notable also is the Beatles-oriented pop of "Everybody Knows" and "Off Broadway", the latter truth be told perhaps a bit forced. "Rip Off," on the other hand, has the task of highlighting the clear pop talent of the American artist, reiterated in the decent "Two Hearts". Slow and sad from the title onward is the closing given to "I Taught Myself How To Grow Old," where a melancholic harmonica makes an appearance.

"Easy Tiger" therefore does nothing but remind us of the overflowing compositional talent of Ryan Adams, in the wake of masters like Neil Young who are currently unreachable, but tomorrow, who knows...

It certainly isn't one of his masterpieces, but this "Easy Tiger" remains a good effort and proof of a clearly innate talent and class.