Ryan Adams and the Cardinals – III/IV

Ryan Adams sobered up and settled down around the time he hit the studio to record 2007′s focused and forthright Easy Tiger. Out of the ashes of those fruitful sessions comes III/IV, a double album full of unreleased songs from that period (recorded with the final configuration of the Cardinals to feature Catherine Popper on bass) which Adams has finally put out via his own record label, PAX-AM. And, as is the case with any odds & ends offering from Adams, this collection has both its glorious highs and lamentable lows, starting out quite spiritedly before dissolving into some late night musical foolishness that perhaps shouldn’t have ever seen the light of day.

Once again, Adams is plagued by his inability to self-edit, because as it is, III/IV would be a solid single record, but by stretching it out into a double-album there are some tracks that make the cut here, especially on the inferior second half, that are truly cringe-worthy simply because you know that Ryan is often capable of so much better.

Even though these songs come from the Easy Tiger sessions, they unmistakably have more of a Rock ‘n Roll sound to them throughout, especially on the boisterous lead-off track, ‘Breakdown Into The Resolve,’ which has obvious (but welcome) hints of ‘So Alive’ layered within the rowdy hook. ‘Dear Candy’ continues the strong start, and perfectly showcases Adams’ newfound (at the time) brevity while still allowing for his typically massive choruses, as does ‘Wasteland, ‘ which simply rips as well. The band is in real fighting form on these opening numbers, with the songs driven dynamically by the crisp electric guitars and Ryan’s soaring vocals.

The band slows things down a bit with the moody, mercurial grove of ‘Ultraviolet Light,’ which would have fit seamlessly alongside the relaxed songs and mellow vibes of Easy Tiger. ‘Stop Playing With My Heart’ has elements of the boozy kiss-offs that made Whiskeytown so endearing, but the simple, repetitive lyrics give you the sense that the song is a bit unfinished, which is sadly the case on a good chunk of these tracks. But that is clearly not the case on ‘Lovely And Blue’ (previously known as ‘France’), a song that Adams has had floating around in a few different formats since early in ’06. It is great to hear the track in such a bright, polished state, and it easily stands out as one of the true gems on the record.

But after this clear highlight, the album starts to go off the rails a bit, alternating between lazy, recycled melodies and borderline juvenile lyrics. When listening to songs like ‘Happy Birthday,’ ‘Kisses Start Wars,’ and ‘Users,’ you start to realize why these songs have been concealed for all these years. They aren’t terrible, mind you, they just sound fragmentary and rather mundane, and could either use some additional work put in from Adams and the Cardinals, or more restraint shown from Adams himself, by keeping some of these songs unheard until they’ve been developed further.

‘No’ and ‘Numbers’ both find Adams fully indulging in the metal sound he loves so much, to decidedly mixed results, as the simmering melody of ‘No’ gives way to a crunchy finish that holds together well, while the repetitive (and shocking) chorus of “We’re fucked” on ‘Numbers’ is humorous but ultimately isn’t all that memorable. And things unfortunately get worse from there, as ‘Icebreaker,’ ‘Typecast’ and ‘Star Wars’ all sound like the band is having a laugh and little else, perhaps never expecting that these frivolous songs would ever be released.

Ryan didn’t even bother giving ‘P.S.’ a proper title, just an addendum, while the name ‘Death And Rats’ is unfortunately the only interesting thing about the song. And by the time they get to the ‘My Sharona’-aping, jam band wankery that finishes off ‘Kill The Lights,’ you start wishing the band would’ve taken their own advice and shut things down long before starting in on the second half of the record. As with any release from Ryan Adams, there is brilliance to be found here, but there is also a considerable amount of proof as to why some of these songs went unheard all these years. I’ll keep listening, of course, since it is Ryan Adams after all. I just wish I consistently liked more of what I heard from him, and that it sounded like Ryan was trying a little harder to keep me interested.