To call Ryan Adams a prolific artist is to state the brutally obvious. But you can't argue the facts and the numbers speak for themselves. In the seven years since leaving Whiskeytown and embarking on a consistently creative and ambitious solo career, he's released eight studio albums (2004’s Cold Roses is a double album), a double EP, countless singles and promos, and a dozen bootlegs. This month’s release of album #9 breaks an eighteen-month hiatus since 2005’s 29. In Ryan Adams years, which are much like dog years, that’s an eternity.

Already being compared to his 2001 release, Gold, Easy Tiger (a direct quote taken from a girl Adams was dating in response to his coming on a little too strong) is a complete and fully-functioning addition to his catalogue, ready to enjoy either in pieces or from beginning to end. Call it alt-rock, alt-country, folk, or any combination you like, but there's no denying his ability to deliberately and effectively communicate raw emotions.

Though they're not mentioned on the album cover, Adams is once again backed by The Cardinals, and from the opening track, "Goodnight Rose," the claws are in. Accessible and instantly rewarding, the songs flow together effortlessly. "Two" - the first single, with background vocals provided by Sheryl Crow – takes its aching opening line, "If you take me back/back to your place/I'll try not to bother you, I promise," and has you forgiving Adams for all the questionable, bratty behavior he's ever exhibited onstage. But give him an inch and he’ll twist the knife in deeper. "I got a really good heart/I just can't catch a break," and suddenly you're angry with yourself for ever being angry with him. It's just over two and a half heartbreaking minutes. In fact, all songs are short and to the point with only one clocking it at over four minutes.

Once again his voice morphs from song to song, leaving you leafing through the CD sleeve to find the collaborating artists before realizing, oh, that's Ryan. He can croon, drawl, shout, hum, and moan - let's face it, the guy can sing.

Yet he remains as frustrating as ever, driving you to the edge of insanity before reminding you that you'll never jump off. With the token rocker "Halloweenhead" and its costume-and-candy-colored imagery, he dares you take him seriously. In the next breath, on "Oh My God, Whatever, etc." he dares you to leave him alone. "I'm open all night and the customers come to stay."

Contributions from David Rawlings and Gillian Welch are missed, but their memory is kept alive in the bluegrass gem "Pearls on a String" and the pedal steel-infused "Tears of Gold."

The runaway highlight of this album is without a doubt, "The Sun Also Sets," which showcases spine-tingling grit, unique vocal styling, and straightforward lyrical thought: "There it is/we are only one push from the nest/there it is/we are only one argument from deaf."

Classic harmonica slices through your gut on the last track, "I Taught Myself How To Grow Old." The line "Sometimes I feel like I'm going insane/Without the numbness, all the pain is so intense to feel," reeks of newfound sobriety.

The only dip in excitement is the boring, repetitive track "Off Broadway" (Adams was better off leaving it at "New York, New York") and "These Girls," which is way too much like, "Damn Sam (I Love a Woman That Rains)" except not as good.

But other than that, Easy Tiger doesn’t disappoint. Predictable? I don't think so. Second rate? Are you nuts? A revolutionary change in the direction of music? It's not that either. No pyro, no landmines, no synth, not overly produced or homogenized, not analogue or lo-fi for the sake of being different. It's just more from Ryan and Ryan does what he wants. He seems to have matured, but that's probably not it either. You never know with him and, to be honest, it's better that way.

Christine Wright
July 9, 2007