Cardinology
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''Cardinology'' is the tenth studio album by
Ryan Adams David Ryan Adams (born November 5, 1974) is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, artist, and poet. He has released 23 albums, as well as three studio albums as a former member of alt-country band Whiskeytown. In 2000, Adams left ...
, and fourth album with his backing band
The Cardinals The Cardinals were an American R&B group of the 1950s. Sharing a legacy with the Orioles, The Cardinals are remembered as one of the best R&B ballad acts to come out of Baltimore. Origins The Cardinals’ career began in 1946 (one year before ...
, released on October 28, 2008. The album completed Adams' contract with
Lost Highway Records Universal Music Group Nashville is Universal Music Group's country music subsidiary. Some of the labels in this group include MCA Nashville Records, Mercury Nashville Records, Lost Highway Records, Capitol Records Nashville and EMI Records Nashv ...
, and marks his final recording session with The Cardinals. Following the album's release and subsequent tour, Adams disbanded the band and entered a self-imposed hiatus until the release of ''
Ashes & Fire ''Ashes & Fire'' is the 13th studio album by Ryan Adams, released on October 11, 2011, on PAX AM and Capitol. Recorded with producer Glyn Johns, ''Ashes & Fire'' marks Adams' return to recording following the disbandment of his band the Cardinals ...
'', in 2011. According to Adams, the album " sabout the moment when you recognise the difference between
ego Ego or EGO may refer to: Social sciences * Ego (Freudian), one of the three constructs in Sigmund Freud's structural model of the psyche * Egoism, an ethical theory that treats self-interest as the foundation of morality * Egotism, the drive to ...
and
pride Pride is defined by Merriam-Webster as "reasonable self-esteem" or "confidence and satisfaction in oneself". A healthy amount of pride is good, however, pride sometimes is used interchangeably with "conceit" or "arrogance" (among other words) wh ...
and your sense of service to your friends, family or yourself. Once you've had that epiphany, you can't really turn around and pretend that you haven't. It's about accountability." The album was placed at #14 on ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
s 50 Best Albums of 2008 list. The magazine also placed "Magick" at #13 on the 100 Best Singles of 2008 list. The album has sold over 250,000 copies worldwide. In April 2011, Adams released an EP, ''
Class Mythology ''Class Mythology'' is an EP by American alt-country band Ryan Adams and the Cardinals, released on April 16, 2011 on PAX AM. Limited to 2500 copies, the EP was released in celebration of Record Store Day, and consists of unreleased tracks recor ...
'', featuring four unreleased tracks recorded for ''Cardinology''.


Writing and composition

''Cardinology'' was written and recorded in the aftermath of Adams' break-up with girlfriend Jessica Joffe, with Adams stating, "There's a lot of disappointment on this record. There's the pain of lost love and the brutality of unrequited love. It was a dark place to go, but this time I managed to go there with a bit of balance. I tried to make sure there were at least one or two lines in every song that, should someone be listening who is having a bad time, there's something there telling them to keep the faith. I wanted to find that hope. I didn't fully find it, but I was trying."


Release

A vinyl version included a bonus 7", a comic book, and a digital download code. The album's first single, "Fix It", was released on vinyl and online on September 23, 2008. In 2014, Adams reflected upon the album, and the final line-up of
The Cardinals The Cardinals were an American R&B group of the 1950s. Sharing a legacy with the Orioles, The Cardinals are remembered as one of the best R&B ballad acts to come out of Baltimore. Origins The Cardinals’ career began in 1946 (one year before ...
, stating: "That wasn’t the creative band. The proof of that is, listen to ''Cardinology'', then go listen to ''
Cold Roses ''Cold Roses'' is the sixth studio album by alt-country singer-songwriter Ryan Adams, released on May 3, 2005 on Lost Highway. The album is his first with backing band The Cardinals, and the first of three albums released in 2005. ''Cold Roses' ...
''. You fucking tell me where the power is. It ain’t in the end. There was nothing there."


Reception

The album so far has a score of 72 out of 100 from
Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
based on "generally favorable reviews". Silent Sound Waves gave it a score of five sound waves out of six and said it was " brave and successful in its flow and creativity. A must have for Ryan Adams fans and something worthwhile for curious listeners." ''
Hot Press ''Hot Press'' is a fortnightly music and politics magazine based in Dublin, Ireland, founded in June 1977. The magazine has been edited since its inception by Niall Stokes. History ''Hot Press'' was founded in June 1977 by Niall Stokes, who co ...
'' gave it a favorable review and called it "an album worthy of high praises." ''
Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
'' also gave it a favorable review and said, "Musically, the band works up a handsome country rock sound with shades of the Rolling Stones and Wilco throughout, making room for swagger ('Fix It,' 'Magick') and sentimentality ('Natural Ghost,' 'Evergreen') in equal measure." Similarly, ''
The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...
'' gave it a favorable review and said, "If only a few of the tracks rise to the greatest heights of which Adams is capable--like the poignant closing salute to sobriety, 'Stop'--the rest remain impressive pictures of craftsmanship." ''Prefix Magazine'' also gave it a favorable review and said it " jettisons the schizoid, freewheeling genre-hopping of previous records, giving the album--and, most important, the songs--an intensity of focus where there was once just intensity." ''
The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...
'' gave it a B and stated: "Even at his slightest--and Cardinology is pretty slight--Adams always turns out likeable ear candy."The A.V Club review
/ref>
Tiny Mix Tapes ''Tiny Mix Tapes'' (also ''TMT'' or ''tinymixtapes'') is an online music and film webzine that focuses primarily on new music and related news. In addition to its reviews, it is noted for its subversive, political, and sometimes surreal news, a ...
gave it three-and-a-half stars out of five and said: "The new attention to cleanly produced and perfectly played and arranged backdrops function as both a blessing and a curse." Other reviews are average or mixed: ''
Uncut Uncut may refer to: * ''Uncut'' (film), a 1997 Canadian docudrama film by John Greyson about censorship * ''Uncut'' (magazine), a monthly British magazine with a focus on music, which began publishing in May 1997 * '' BET: Uncut'', a Black Enter ...
'' gave it a score of three stars out of five and said it ultimately "serves as another minor indictment of Adams’ famously lackadaisical internal editor. Nevertheless, it is still, almost infuriatingly, a stretch better than most people at their best."
Yahoo! Music UK Yahoo! Music was a brand under which Yahoo! provided a variety of music services, including Internet radio, music videos, news, artist information, and original programming. Previously, users with Yahoo! accounts could gain access to hundreds ...
gave the album only five stars out of ten and said, "The first half of the album as a whole is easy to forget....Cardinology takes a turn for the best around the midway point." '' Under the Radar'' also gave it five stars out of ten and said that "if you’ve always wanted to hear U2’s frontman lead a hook-filled classic country/rock band, ''Cardinology'' is for you. If, however, you’re waiting for Adams to deliver the classic album his prodigious talents seem capable of, you’re stuck waiting until his multiple personality disorder wears off and he remembers who he is." ''
Slant Magazine ''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New York ...
'' gave the album two-and-a-half stars and stated that "too often ''Cardinology'' seems content to float along on an oily sea of good feelings and bad attitude."Slant Magazine review
/ref>


Track listing



Personnel


Ryan Adams & the Cardinals

*
Ryan Adams David Ryan Adams (born November 5, 1974) is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, artist, and poet. He has released 23 albums, as well as three studio albums as a former member of alt-country band Whiskeytown. In 2000, Adams left ...
- vocals, acoustic guitar (''1, 5, 8, 9'' and ''10''), electric guitar (''2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9'' and ''11''), piano (''2'' and ''12''), bass guitar (''7'' and ''8''), drums (''7''), synth (''7''), Fender Rhodes guitar (''8''), keyboards (''10'') *
Neal Casal Neal Graeme Casal (November 2, 1968 – August 26, 2019) ...
- acoustic guitar (''1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9'' and ''10''), electric guitar (''2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 9'' and ''11''), backing vocals (''1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 9, 10, 11'' and ''12''), piano (''1, 2, 7, 8, 9'' and ''10''),
Wurlitzer The Rudolph Wurlitzer Company, usually referred to as simply Wurlitzer, is an American company started in Cincinnati in 1853 by German immigrant (Franz) Rudolph Wurlitzer. The company initially imported stringed, woodwind and brass instruments ...
(''2, 3, 4, 6'' and ''8'') *
Chris Feinstein Christopher Todd Feinstein (May 26, 1967 – December 15, 2009) was an American bass guitarist, record producer, and songwriter from Nashville, Tennessee. Feinstein's career began at the age of 15, recording and touring in bands (Shadow 15, The Qu ...
– bass guitar, backing vocals (''1, 5, 6'' and ''11'') *
Jon Graboff Jon is a shortened form of the common given name Jonathan, derived from "YHWH has given", and an alternate spelling of John, derived from "YHWH has pardoned".Brad Pemberton Brad Pemberton (born August 8, 1969) is an American drummer, primarily known for his role in several bands backing Ryan Adams, including The Sweetheart Revolution, The Damn Band, The Pinkhearts and The Cardinals.'' dvertisement/nowiki>.'' ''CMJ N ...
– drums, percussion


Additional musicians

*Michael Panes – violin (''12'')


Recording personnel

*Tom Schick - producer, engineer *Noah Goldstein - assistant engineer, additional engineering, effects *
Bob Ludwig Robert C. Ludwig (born c. 1945) is an American mastering engineer. He has mastered recordings on all the major recording formats for all the major record labels, and on projects by more than 1,300 artists including Led Zeppelin, Lou Reed, Qu ...
– mastering


Artwork

*Leah Hayes - Cartoonist for vinyl release *Andy West - design *
Neal Casal Neal Graeme Casal (November 2, 1968 – August 26, 2019) ...
- photography


Chart positions


References


External links

* {{Authority control
Ryan Adams albums 2008 albums Lost Highway Records albums Albums recorded at Electric Lady Studios