III / IV [Double CD]

Can an artist record too much music? It is certainly an accusation thrown with monotonous regularity at Ryan Adams. Equally he divides opinion between those who see him as a precocious and prolific alt country genius who has recorded such masterpieces as "Heartbreaker" and "Gold" or alternatively a bratty, gabby, irritating rock star who sacrifices quality for quantity. (I'm in the first camp but understand the latter accusation!) Since his recent "retirement" from music it has been relatively quiet on the Ryan Adams front and despite a few singles on the Pax Am label and the oddball, sci-fi metal one-off "Orion" earlier this year there has been a complete absence of new material. It is therefore a very welcome development that we have this "taking stock" release in the form of a double album with his band the Cardinals entitled III/IV which Adams describes as a "concept rock opera about the 80's, ninjas, cigarettes, sex, and pizza". Ok its not that funny but it does accurately describe the key themes not least the fact that the album is made up a selection of the 60 tracks recorded from the 2006 "Easy Tiger" session archives and shows that if nothing else that Adams records songs for breakfast, dinner and supper and repeats the process the next day. Inevitably as an album of "out-takes" this record has a number real duds (watch out for "Icebreaker" which is horrible and "My favourite song" which is nearly matches it) but the great surprise is how good the vast bulk of it is and for this punter is actually far more enjoyable fare than the rather under-produced "Cardinology" released in 2008. Likewise the album is much less country and much more straight forward rock n' roll, but unlike the earlier horrible "Rock n Roll" album (with the exception of "So Alive") released by Adams the songs are far stronger and melodic.

Sorting out the wheat from the chaff is not difficult since most of Side 1 of the album is generally excellent. Opener "Breakdown to the resolve" has been around since 2006 and played by Adams regularly in concert. Its a great power pop rocker with heart-pumping pile-driving support from the great Cardinals (Neil Casal as usual is on top form throughout) and a excellent start. "Dear Candy" is in a similar vein and reminds you of the great American band The Cars. The mood takes a lovely turn with the stellar "Ultra violet light" one of the albums glorious singalong highlights which leads you to quiz why Adams left it off "Easy Tiger" in the first place since its better than many of the songs on there (a similar case could be made for "Happy birthday"). Tom Pety could perhaps claim copyright on "Stop playing with my heart" which is pure Heartbreakers material and starts with the lifted line "stop dragging my heart around", while "Lovely and Blue" highlights Adams well known Strokes obsession. This is even more pronounced on the utterly superb "Kisses start wars" in which Adams brilliantly mixes some Todd Rundgren influences for good measure. The "Crystal Skull" slows down the pace considerably with a lush melodic alt country ballad which sounds like it just might be dedicated to Scarlett Johansson and where Adams sings like a demon. "Gracie" picks up an old Smiths riff and rocks out effortlessly. "Sewers at the bottom of the well" is another old song from the abortive Elizabethtown sessions which does try to rock out a little to hard although will repay further listens. The song "Numbers" is a real curiosity starting as a bit of a Clash style thrash with Adams announcing loudly "we are f**ked" but interspersed with a wonderful gentle country ballad sung by bassist Catherine Popper, while "Star Wars" is plain daft but somehow works.

The album concludes with the glorious Roy Orbison like ballad "Death and Rats" which like "Ultra violet light" should be starting point for any downloads even though neither song really captures the predominant mood. The nearly eight minute rocker "Kill the lights" starts off as a hard rocker mutates into a Grateful Dead style solo which stops at six minutes and then following a silence rocks back up again. You certainly can fault Adams for trying but again some more radical editing would not have gone amiss. Amazon buyers also note there there is an additional extra track "Cemetery Hill" (again from the Elizabethtown movie sessions) on some downloads which again evokes the spirit of the American Beauty era Grateful Dead and is a regretful and reflective country ballad and a brilliant contribution to the Adams canon which could have happily sat on his moody masterpiece "29".

It is true that this album plucked from a vast amount of material sometimes generates that irritation with Adams where you wish he would get full grip of his creative urges and rein them in. Yet with some 22 songs you get at least half which are outright class while many of the others have their moments. All in all you emerge from listening to this double album surprisingly grateful that Adams and co decided to delve into their recording vault and you also hope that he will dig even deeper in the future and finally release the stunning "48 hours" and his neglected masterwork "The Suicide Handbook". Ultimately III/IV is therefore somewhat of a surprise package and a very nice way to end 2010.

Ryan Adams' recent output has divided opinion, and I feel III/IV will do much the same. After a hiatus in which he has written several books and shied away from music, he has returned with a 21 track album, made up of songs recorded around the same time as Easy Tiger (it is guitarist Neal Casal's first Cards recording, Catherine Popper's last). Some are unreleased, while others have been played live - Breakdown Into The Resolve and Typecast - or released in various guises on his website. Even though they are 'discarded' tracks, there is nothing wrong with the vast majority of them and I think the only reason they haven't been released is that they simply didn't fit the sound of Easy Tiger or Cardinology. In many ways, it is similar to Demolition, collecting those songs that didn't quite make it first time round.

There is a sparkle of wit as Ryan sings 'Hi, hello, it's me again ... you probably heard I went away' and the first thing that strikes is how rock-orientated the album is. It is an album that will challenge listeners in the same way that Cold Roses or Jacksonville City Nights did, shifting between genres and tipping the hat to various bands along the way. It is similar sonically to the band's live sound of 2006 onwards, and those who have heard the alternate versions of Easy Tiger tracks will know what to expect. Gone are the piano ballads and character songs, though 'Typecast' and 'Crystal Skull' give a gentle nod to his quieter material. It is not his strongest work lyrically, but musically there are some brilliant - and occasionally surprising - moments. 'Numbers' is a great example of this, beginning as a Clash-like punk thrash then morphing into a gorgeous ditty sung by Catherine Popper. Other highlights include the brilliant 'Ultraviolet Light' and 'Users' with its incredibly catchy hook and breakdown. Lead single, 'No', is wonderful too as it slowly builds from stabbed guitar chords into a chorus that recalls 'So Alive' with its energy and pacing. The vocal performances too are, to my ears, some of his strongest on record.

III/IV is an incredibly fun album to listen to, catching Ryan in his 'geek-rock' phase as he sings about Star Wars and indulges his love of heavy guitar music (there are echoes of his metal album, Orion, particularly on 'Icebreaker'), throwing a few humorous songs like 'Happy Birthday' in for good measure. It is full of catchy choruses that will get stuck in your head, surprising musical shifts and some wonderful moments. Incredibly energetic, occasionally recalling his Whiskeytown days, and full of a verve that was perhaps missing from Easy Tiger and Cardinology, it is an album to turn up loud and let blast out of the speakers. As ever though, there is a case for an editor and perhaps the album is slightly too long with the occasional clunker hidden between the good stuff. It is a good album overall, but could be great if a few of these were taken away. Hopefully this release on Pax-Am will pave the way for others that have been held back and we will finally see the official release of 48 Hours and Suicide Handbook. Here's hoping!

Some people despise RA for his "Rock 'Roll" record. I actually like that record because of it's powerful rock
Some people despise RA for his "Jacksonville City Nights" record. I actually like that record because of it's pure countryrock.
Some people despise RA for not making a record like his debut. I like the fact that RA does what he wants to do.
Some people despise RA for his " Cardinology", I actually like that record because of it's strong harmonic melodies.

So RA gives us now III/IV. Because the songs of III/IV are recorded during the "Easy Tiger" sessions, I was expecting a connection in the songs to that sessions. Surprisingly, III/IV feels much more like a bridge from "Easy Tiger" to "Cardinology", with the record much closer to the latter. Opening song 'Into the resolve' immediately reminds me of 'Tonight' and sets the tone for the rest of the record, where IV sounds just a little bit heavier then III. It's like CSNY mixed with the Beach Boys and Heavy Metal influences, played with fun and enthusiasm. Strong guitarrifs and melodylines, III/IV is a powerfull melodious poprockrecord with heavy metal, without being Heavy Metal, and with a few slowersongs as kind of a restpoint. Songs with sudden changes of the speed, to return to the basic of the songs rhythm. RA works again well with his vocals and the backingvocals.

A lot of people tell RA to do this, to do that and to make this kind of record. I'm grateful RA makes the music he wants to make. Again he has delivered a very nice one. People who are waiting for a new Heartbreaker, Love is Hell, Cold Roses or JCN probabably will be again dissapointed. People who were waiting and having an open attitude to be again surprised by a next RA record will like III/IV.

III/IV brings a smile on my face.