Ryan Adams - Ashes and Fire

Ryan Adams - After a two year recording hiatus, Ryan Adams returns rested, clean, married, relaxed and refocused -- and with what just might be his most personal and enjoyable albums of his long and prolific career, as founder frontman of alt-country pioneers Whiskeytown and over a decade of solo releases...After working with Ethan Johns on Heartbreaker and Gold, Adams turned to Johns' father Glyn, the man behind the boards on legendary albums by The Who, The Clash and Bob Dylan...friend Norah Jones contributes piano, vocals and co-writing to seven of the tracks // Release: Ashes and Fire (October 11, PAX-AM/Capitol) // Sounds like: the word "classic" gets tossed around a lot, but A&F simply breathes quality and meticulous songcraft...Adams says he tossed out 80% of what he'd been working on after Ethan Johns sent him Laura Marling's "I Speak Because I Can" album: "I felt competitive again to write great songs"...

Quote: "I feel like I could do anything now. I'm mentally free and physically well, and I love what I do. I'm not the guy I was. If I was, I couldn't be alive." // What we like: there's a painful array of artists who cleaned up their act, got happy and then released dreck -- this, happily, is not one of those times. Never dull, Ashes and Fire is inspired, sharp and aware -- the spare mellow mood seems to pull away any sonic trappings or distractions letting the listener edge closer to pick up every nuanced note and word...Highlights are many but the sublime "Invisible Riverside" and stunning "Do I Wait" certainly sit near the top of our long list of favorites...brilliant, invigorating and simply a joy to listen to, Ashes and Fire will be firmly ensconced in our year-end rankings of the 2011's best albums...

Ryan Adams - "Invisible Riverside" (from Ashes and Fire)

Ryan Adams - "Do I Wait" (from Ashes and Fire)

Stream the full album at NPR...