Ryan Adams is feeling good these days and that’s not a bad thing. God knows
he earned Cold Roses’ “Easy Plateau” after crawling through
Love Is Hell Pt. 1 and Love Is Hell Pt. 2 on the heels of his swaggering 2003
rave-up Rock N Roll. Was I hoping Cold Roses would be a sly nod to the country
honk of the Stones’ “Dead Flowers”? You bet. But the bloom
Adams had in mind was the Dead’s American Beauty and the mellow vibe he
creates with the Cardinals—his first real band since the late, great Whiskeytown—is
so genuinely heartfelt and musical you can almost forgive him padding a single
album into a double CD.

Not everything’s coming up, well, roses, mind you. Adams still falls for “Sweet
Illusions” that leave him with “lonely nights multiplied by the blues
I can’t resolve.” But Cindy Cashdollar’s shimmering pedal steel,
bone-close harmonies with the Cardinals, and Adams’ own soaring Orbison-style
falsettos make laments like “Now That You’re Gone” less bitter
than sweet. Mostly, though, he’s content to “Let It Ride,” one
of many tunes that invoke his Carolina roots on an album meant to be played outdoors,
in the grass, despite (or because) “daylight comes and exposes bruises
and cold roses.”

Though the band serves him well throughout, it’s probably no coincidence
that the track that sounds most like The Band is the sparkling “Life Is
Beautiful,” on which Adams plays all the instruments. It’s a love
song to himself, in the best sense of the word, that also celebrates the power
of song: “Remember, you’re the one who sings/and it’s a gift/and
life’s a beautiful thing/oh, don’t waste it, doll.” Deal, Ryan.
Can’t wait to see what lies beyond the easy plateau when the stylistically
promiscuous Adams releases two (!) more albums later this year.