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Album Review: Ryan Adams & the Cardinals, "Jacksonville City Nights" (Lost Highway)
Ryan Adams revisits the musical roots of his Whiskeytown days with "Jacksonville City Nights," his most traditional country album to date. This new collection of songs reflects a chameleon-like musician who knows exactly what aspects of his craft to experiment with and exactly what not to change.
Emotive, provocative lyrics and a strong, distinctive voice carry Adams through an occasionally dodgy, but overall powerful album. The opening track, "A Kiss Before I Go," immediately and undeniably strikes a chord of similarity to the late Gram Parsons, a pioneer of the country-rock genre. Twangy pedal steel and wailing strings solidify the most country of tracks, including an ominous tune deemed "The End" and a sentimental song aptly titled "My Heart Is Broken."
But, just as he gets comfortable with the quick-tempoed, two-step-type music, Adams occasionally reverts back to a slower version of the indie-rock style that made previous solo albums bestsellers--and that's not such a bad thing. "Hard Way to Fall," a poignant post-relationship reminisce, dabbles in the country twang the album is centered around without going all in. And it's a similar story on "The Hardest Part" and "Silver Bullets," two leisurely tracks that exude a vague tinge of country while staying musically in line with past work. This inadvertent mix of styles turns out to be a wise move, pulling dedicated Adams fans into a legendary genre while simultaneously introducing traditional country fans to a prolific and inspiring Adams.
