Recorded during the 2007 sessions that produced
Easy Tiger but shelved until 2010 for no particular reason, the double-album
III/IV shares much of the relaxed, unhurried vibe of that tight 2007 LP but there is a key difference: this is a straight-up rock & roll album, the first
Ryan Adams has released with
the Cardinals. No country touches
III/IV, not even of the
Deadhead variety:
Adams is in his alt-rocker mode, so much so that he even dabbles in textures borrowed from
the Killers, who were at the height of their prominence back in 2007. Despite these lingering new wave affectations, the roots of this record lie in the left-of-the-dial sounds of the late ‘80s.
Adams touches upon rainy-day English rock and atmospheric anthems custom-made for arenas, but his touchstone remains American rock, specifically
the Replacements. He’s never as reckless as
the Mats at their peak -- hell, he’s never as reckless as he was on
Rock n Roll, but he’s not as desperate to prove his greatness as he was on that 2003 mess either. And that’s the charm of
III/IV and of
Adams in general since he’s gotten sober: he’s not trying so hard. Songs still spill out of him as if he can’t control it, but he no longer sounds as if he ranks his merit by sheer numbers -- he’s just enjoying the process, and who could blame him when he’s back with a band as sympathetic to his needs as
the Cardinals? As adept with this set of alt-rock as they were with country-rock, they play into
Adams’ newfound relaxed assurance, which is in some ways better heard on
III/IV than it was on
Easy Tiger simply because he sustains interests over two discs, never peaking yet never lagging either.