From the ACL Taping Program on October 20, 2005:
After the end of the now legendary Whiskeytown, Ryan Adams embarked on a critically-acclaimed solo career. Since releasing his first solo CD,
Heartbreaker, in 2000, Adams has released one CD per year. In 2005, the notoriously prolific songwriter is attempting to do something few other artist have — release three very different and completely original CDs in one year.
In May, Adams and his current band The Cardinals released
Cold Roses, which many consider to be his best work since his solo debut. The Philadelphia Inquirer wrote that
Cold Roses is “a return to the relaxed rootsiness of his best work” and the New York Daily News said “Nothing rivals this for vividness in composition or excellence in performance.”
Many of the songs on
Cold Roses were inspired by The Grateful Dead and Neil Young, while the songs on his second release of 2005,
Jacksonville City Nights, lean more toward the traditional country side of Adams’ repertoire.
Jacksonville City Nights also features the Cardinals for a CD that Rolling Stone said finds Adams “digging deeper than ever into the genre to suckle on its
dirt-clotted roots.”
The final CD in Adams’ 2005 trifecta is scheduled for release in December 2005.
From the ACL Taping Program on October 20, 2005:
With a voice that “is a magical combination of cool reserve and effortless warmth” (Entertainment Weekly), Tift Merritt pulls together country, blues and soul to pen tunes that “sound as if they came right out of the Stax Records catalog” (NY Daily News).
The North Carolina songwriter has been a fan and critic favorite since her debut release,
Bramble Rose, in 2002. The New Yorker named the CD one of the best of the year and the Associated Press said, “There isn’t going to be a better debut album this year ... in any genre.”
Her follow up, Tambourine, is no sophomore slump. It has been nominated for a Grammy in the Best Country Album category and the critics are raving. People wrote “With her clear, controlled voice and zestful, sensual delivery, Tift Merritt deserves to move from the fringes of stardom onto the A list of country-rockers thanks to this joy of an album.”
When working on
Tambourine, Merritt wanted to create a kind of rock-soul throw down with honest songs and intense music. So for this CD, her songs combine a therapeutic honesty with energetic roots rock and soul.
“I think music is about the pursuit of joy, even the sad songs,” Merritt said. “It feels really great to get those feelings out, and I wanted this record to reflect that celebration.”
