This Week’s Noteworthy Releases: Ryan Adams

Music

Ryan Adams – Cardinology

Ryan Adams & the Cardinals – Fix It (removed 2/13/09)

I absolutely love this guy.  I think that he is one of the greatest songwriters of our time.  And he is doing it at such a record pace.  He has had at least, one full-length release a year since 2000. And there isn’t a one that I don’t like.  And that includes my first listen of Cardinology.  If you were a fan of Easy Tiger I think that you will find this one easy to enjoy.  But don’t take that to mean that this one is “a lot of the same.”  It’s a solid album from an artist who continues to mature and surround himself with great musicians as the years go by.

Jon Foreman – Limbs & Branches

Jon Foreman – The Cure For Pain (removed 2/13/09)

Our good buddy Jon Foreman, frontman of the Christian rock outfit Switchfoot, has been a busy guy the past several years.  Switchfoot released two albums back to back, Nothing Is Sound in ’05 and Oh! Gravity in ’06, both of which I was greatly disappointed in. Then as Jon Foreman he released four seasonal EPs in ’07 and ’08- Fall, Winter, Spring and Summer.  And then tomorrow he gives us a sort of best of collection taken from those EPs.  And in case you never listened to them and since we regrettably have not mentioned them on here, they are fantastic.  His writing is back up to par, comparable to some of the writing he did with Legend of Chin or Learning to Breathe, both of which are must haves for any one who has ever even thought about liking Switchfoot.

Film

Quantum of Solace

Since there wasn’t much worth talking about with movie releases this week I thought I would take an early start at getting you excited about the new Bond movie.  Quantum of Solace is coming out this weekend in the UK and then in two weeks here in the U.S.    I was a huge fan of Casino Royale, I think that the series definitely is on an upswing.  Let’s see if they can pull it off again.  This preview definitely makes me believe they will.

I hope you head for the hills.

ACL Preview – A.A. Bondy

He’s just another name on the never-ending list of acoustic folk singer-songwriters.  Or is he?  Scott Bondy, like my last ACL highlight, has totally reinvented himself for his newest release.  The former frontman of the 90′s grunge-rock outfit Verbena, who now performs under the moniker A.A. Bondy, has just released his first solo effort, American Hearts.  And I am here to tell you that this musical transformation is worth your attention, especially if you are planning on attending the Austin City Limits music festival.  I am having a hard time putting into words why this guy stands out among the ever-growing mass of aspiring musicians armed with nothing but an acoustic guitar.  How about this. His music sort of exudes a similar sense of honesty and sincerity you get from guys like Ray Lamontagne, Ryan Adams, and Bob Dylan.  Not really sure what that means, except for that I think that he deserves some of the respect that these guys are getting.

In all seriousness I think one of the easiest ways for me to describe him would be an American version of Fionn Regan.  I can’t believe that it took me this long to hear one of the best alt-country albums of the past decade.  Had I heard it just a couple months earlier, it would have had a real good shot of making my top ten list.  So please check it out. I have here for your listening pleasure, the title track from American Hearts and then a traditional track he recorded for Daytrotter that he heard from a guy named Blind Willie McTell.  I have no doubt that after hearing these songs that A.A. Bondy will end up on your must-see list for ACL.

A.A. Bondy – American Hearts (removed 2/13/09)

A.A. Bondy – You Got To Die (Daytrotter Session) (removed 2/13/09)

“When you hear this song, I hope your ears bleed.”