Ryan Adams & The Cardinals - Cold Roses (2005)

A lot of people have said this is the return to alt-country that people have been waiting for since "Pneumonia" or "Heartbreaker." I agree in some respects; if you liked "Rock 'N' Roll" solely, I think you'd find it hard to enjoy this one. But I also hear a conscious Grateful Dead influence and I think the corresponding artwork inside the album backs up that theory. Ryan has been no stranger to showing his GD influences as of late and I think he really wanted to make an album that evoked 1970s AM, GD's country leanings and some of his own Whiskeytown background. It's definitely not a WT album, however. It's a Ryan Adams album.

I haven't rated all the RA albums yet, but if I had to guess, it might look like something like this: Gold, Demolition, RNR, Heartbreaker, LIH1, CR, LIH2. That's just a total guess though.

Disc 1:
1. Magnolia Mountain (4)
2. Sweet Illusions (3)
3. Meadowlake Street (3)
4. When Will You Come Back Home (3)
5. Beautiful Sorta (4)
6. Now That You're Gone (3)
7. Cherry Lane (2)
8. Mockingbird (3)
9. How Do You Keep Love Alive (2)

Overall: 3.0

Disc 2:
1. Easy Plateau (3)
2. Let it Ride (4)
3. Rosebud (2)
4. Cold Roses (3)
5. If I Am A Stranger (3)
6. Dance All Night (3)
7. Blossom (3)
8. Life is Beautiful (3)
9. Friends (3)

Overall: 3.0
Two-disc overall: 3.0