Easy Tiger

Ever since his 2001 breakout, Ryan Adams has been a critical lightning rod and a PR disaster. From infamous onstage fits and a barrage of albums simultaneously prolific and scatterbrained, Adams's relationship with fame was bristly at best. Even the I-was-this-close-to-dying drug confessions that immediately pre-dated the release of this record seemed like a clumsy bid for Keith Richards-style rockitude. Critics and even frustrated fans all seemed to agree: the kid has talent, but he's very annoying. In this milieu, Adams drops EASY TIGER--his ninth record of the decade--with a title that suggests that he and everyone else should take a step back and reassess.
Fans will rejoice: EASY TIGER--recorded with his backing band, the Cardinals--is the closest Adams has sounded to the style on his excellent debut, HEARTBREAKER. His ADD genre approach is on display here--from the lazy, AMERICAN BEAUTY-style bluegrass of "Pearls on a String" to the full-roar power pop of "Halloweenhead" to the blue-eyed-soul duet with Sheryl Crow, "Two." The songs are tight and to the point; almost all are uniformly great; and all serve to bolster his case for "importance" as a songwriter that years of overt trying have failed to yield. Seems like "easy, tiger" is that successful approach Adams has been looking so hard for.