Follow The Lights

It had been a long time between releases for this man and his band. Time though, is a relative concept. One year may not seem like a long time, but in the context of Ryan Adams' discography, a year is a very, very long time. More than a year passed between the release of 29 and Easy Tiger. This was not like Ryan Adams at all. Isn't he usually Mr. Prolific? 2005 saw 3 full length albums emerge from his factory, and in 2006 none were released, breaking a rather lengthy streak. He may well have been trying making up lost time by releasing what at face value seems like a pointless dessert dish in Follow The Lights, so soon after the fantastic main course of Easy Tiger.


The end result in parts is certainly pointless. A live studio version of 'Dear John', a song he wrote with Norah Jones that featured on Jacksonville City Nights, appears on this EP and although good, without the wonderful intonations of Norah it is a mere shade of the original. An Alice in Chains cover 'Down in a Hole', a live studio version of 'If I Am A Stranger' from Cold Roses and a Cardinals version of 'This is It' seem to point to this EP being all filler no killer.

However there are still glimpses of this man and his band's undeniable talent. 'Blue Hotel' is a wonderfully measured track with the Cardinals plugging away beautifully in the foreground alongside Adams. The title track however is certainly the strongest. It is a silky smooth mid-tempo highway ballad peppered with some deft percussion. As the track's title suggests, this song makes a perfect soundtrack to a car ride to nowhere in particular. with the distant lights leading the way.

After hearing these two tracks, almost all is forgiven. For a $10 outlay, I was left reasonably satisfied with my dessert, however with a little more cream and sprinkles, even some chocolate topping it could have been much better.

MP3: Ryan Adams and the Cardinals - Follow The Lights