While You Weren't Looking

Speaking of unexpected career turns, Ryan Adams' new album, "Ashes & Fire," is surprisingly quite good. His voice sounds very full and polished, in a way that it hasn't in a long time, and the production is excellent, with each instrument sounding crisp and placed perfectly in the mix. The producer, Glyn Johns (who, strangely enough, is the father of Ethan Johns, who produced many of Adams' early solo albums), deserves lots of credit. There aren't even many embarrassing lyrics, which is encouraging for someone with a history of writing them on pizza boxes and debuting them in concert later that day. In fact, the opening lyric -- "Last time I was here it was raining / It isn't raining anymore" -- serves as an appropriate metaphor, clearing the air of his intertwined personal and professional problems (drug addiction and subpar albums) the past several years.

That "Ashes & Fire" is so good fits well within Adams' career arc. He's always at his best when no one is paying much attention. First, it was with his old band Whiskeytown's debut, when he just entered his 20s and was unknown; then it was with "Heartbreaker," his solo debut after Whiskeytown imploded and no one thought much would come next; and now, it's after a string of soft albums that left many thinking he didn't have it in him anymore. Expectations are always a good motivator in life.

Above is a video of Adams performing the title track on a European radio show. Thanks to Caitlin Cary, Adams' bandmate in Whiskeytown, for this post's title. Now a reunited Whiskeytown is a concert ticket I'd happily buy.

Update: Pitchfork's review of "Ashes & Fire" is also great; it's witty and insightful like their old ones used to be. The record seems to inspire on several levels.