RYAN ADAMS AND THE CARDINALS- Cold Roses I thought Ryan Adams would be like Bryan Adams. Yes, groan. But he's not. He's much sweeter and does not have pockmarked skin. What's more, I don't know anything about the bloke but I would gladly marry him and his band after hearing this (at least, the first CD of this new double album; I don't really think it needed the second). Because he sounds like a character, perhaps someone you would happily share a bottle of red or two with and rely on to sing your troubles away; in fact, you might call this the gay boyfriend of records to end all records, with a sigh and a touch of sensitivity in all the appropriate places, for those as soppy and lost as myself, alongside the smouldering sparkle which puts the world to rights (except without the cheesy disco beat and arseless pants and more of a Bruce Springsteen type growl in places).
TOM McRAE- All Maps Welcome My Mum nearly died the other day. And it's events like that that really
make you think about life, the people around you and just how and if
you relate to them. Now, I had listened to this CD a few times nonchalantly
before but then I have been very busy of late. However, it is now crystal
clear why music like this exists. Because, from opening track "For
the restless", I was extremely touched. Which takes a lot these
days. Full of humanity and incredibly comforting, after pinching some
of Beck's band members and carrying out the recording process in poncy
LA, and in a haunted stable block no less, you could be forgiven for
thinking this is all getting rather pretentious, but the relief is that
this is definitely still very much Tom McRae; I'm sure you are all familiar
with his take on acoustic heaven- sweet and soothing and fairly sad.
That would be the cello then. Hailed as his most personal album to date,
this collection of oddball love songs, featuring the beautiful "The
girl who fell downstairs" and "Packing for the crash"
to name a few, has tones of James Iha and early Tori Amos (who he's
just been on tour with). And nothing more has to be said but that this
record is melodic, uplifting and totally life affirming. Apart from,
if it was a saying, it would be "softly, softly, catchy monkey".
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