is usually soul day here, but i read somewhere this week that Ryan Adams and the Cardinals were no more, for a while at least as he publishes his book of poetry Infinity Blues. Now while i might never have been the biggest fan of the Cardinals, they definitely had their moments (Cold Roses and Jacksonville City Nights in particular are great records), and so here's a really nice version of a stunning track off Easy Tiger.
Showing posts with label Ryan Adams and the Cardinals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ryan Adams and the Cardinals. Show all posts
Sunday, 25 January 2009
Wednesday, 10 December 2008
Peter Murphy on 'Go Easy' Ryan Adams & the Cardinals
Compassion is a tricky emotion to get across in a rock 'n' roll song. Full on pheremonal lust or cavalier Jack Nicholson couldn't-give-a-fuckery or total apocalyptic heartbreak, no problem. But any expression of empathy or caring runs the risk of sounding sappy.
Ryan Adams & the Cardinals pulled off the improbable this year with a song called 'Go Easy' off their Cardinology record. I'd never paid Mr Adams much attention before. I recall playing Gold a lifetime ago and thinking that if I wanted to hear a melange of Neil Young & Crazy Horse, the Band and the Rolling Stones, I'd play them all in quick succession. My loss.
'Go Easy' plays like a letter to an ex-lover embroiled in some awful fix which the singer can do little about. When Adams sings,"I will always love you/So go easy on yourself" he sounds at once strong and sure and terribly vulnerable – you can tell he's still cut up about this person, even though the romance has burned off. He sounds powerless to intervene, but unable to not care. 'Go Easy' leaves us feeling that little bit more human than we were before we heard it. Which is about all we can ask of a piece of music.
Peter Murphy/John the Revelator Myspace
Cardinology
Ryan Adams & the Cardinals pulled off the improbable this year with a song called 'Go Easy' off their Cardinology record. I'd never paid Mr Adams much attention before. I recall playing Gold a lifetime ago and thinking that if I wanted to hear a melange of Neil Young & Crazy Horse, the Band and the Rolling Stones, I'd play them all in quick succession. My loss.
'Go Easy' plays like a letter to an ex-lover embroiled in some awful fix which the singer can do little about. When Adams sings,"I will always love you/So go easy on yourself" he sounds at once strong and sure and terribly vulnerable – you can tell he's still cut up about this person, even though the romance has burned off. He sounds powerless to intervene, but unable to not care. 'Go Easy' leaves us feeling that little bit more human than we were before we heard it. Which is about all we can ask of a piece of music.
Peter Murphy/John the Revelator Myspace
Cardinology
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