One of my favorite aspects of changing seasons is that it gives me an excuse to become obsessed (or in this case, re-obsessed) with certain musicians. This fall, Ryan Adams has claimed that spot and rightfully so, with his latest album "Ashes and Fire" being released this week. It has been a while since we last heard from Adams and I don't think anyone really thought he was going to "retire" forever. Instead, he found his lovely wife (Mandy Moore), wrote a couple books of poems, and sobered up. Needless to say, it was a recipe for success because he seems happier than ever and some would argue that "Ashes and Fire" is Adams at his finest. To me, "Heartbreaker" is near impossible to top but that doesn't mean this album doesn't rank up there. From start to finish, there's not a song I feel the need to skip over. Sure, they're mostly acoustic tracks that don't necessarily showcase his full repertoire of sound but acoustic Ryan Adams is the best Ryan Adams, in my opinion. Here's a live performance of the final track "I Love You But I Don't Know What to Say". He's currently on tour, performing solo acoustic, and I am super fortunate to be seeing him next week at Benaroya Hall in Seattle (review to follow....hold me to it). Here's the title track performed in-studio--Ashes and Fire, and several other favorites of his: Hallelujah, Call Me on Your Way Back Home, Dear Chicago, My Winding Wheel.
(Oh, and the title of this post has absolutely nothing to do with Ryan Adams. It's an M. Ward lyric from Carolina. M. Ward is another fall obsession on the horizon...)
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