12. Ryan Adams Easy Tiger
I will now attempt to produce an original thought, a topic heretofore untouched upon in the vast virtual real estate of Blogdom:
Ryan Adams frustrates the hell out of me.
Not so much? Well, maybe next time. Not that I think he's in any danger of stumbling upon this particular undeveloped tract of Web and getting pissed, but I want to make clear that I think Mssr. Adams is a monster talent, and I even enjoy some records of his that others have taken behind the proverbial woodshed (lookin' at you, Rock N Roll). I also think that he is in dire, dire need of a top-shelf producer. I get the awesomes just thinking about a T-Bone Burnett-produced or a Rick Rubin-produced or even a Danny Lanois-produced Ryan Adams record. This, my friends, is what makes Easy Tiger such a pleasant surprise.
Coming in at just under 39 minutes -- see the last post -- Easy Tiger is the easiest Adams listen since Heartbreaker (unless you count Demolition, which, despite being billed as an odds-and-sods collection, hung together remarkably well as an album). The songs may not be as universally strong as Heartbreaker or the majority of Gold (I don't think I'll ever forgive him for putting that nine-minute stinkbomb dead in the middle of what could have been a certifiably classic album), but there isn't a misstep among them. From the sublime singalongs "Everybody Knows" and "Two" to the arresting, stark beauty of "Oh My God, Whatever, Etc." and rueful smile of "Rip Off," it just feels right. Welcome back, Ryan.
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