Cardinology

{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2025}} {{Infobox album | name = Cardinology | type = Album | artist = Ryan Adams and the Cardinals | cover = Cardinology.jpg | alt = | released = October 28, 2008 | recorded = Electric Lady (New York City) | venue = | studio = | genre = Alternative country, rock | length = | label = Lost Highway Records | producer = Tom Schick | prev_title = Follow the Lights | prev_year = 2007 | next_title = Orion | next_year = 2010 | misc = {{Extra album cover | header = Alternate cover | type = studio | cover = Cardinology vinyl.jpg | border = | alt = | caption = vinyl cover art }} }} {{Music ratings | ADM = 7.1/10<ref name="ADM?">{{cite web|url=http://www.anydecentmusic.com/review/179/Ryan-Adams-And-The-Cardinals-Cardinology.aspx|title=Cardinology by Ryan Adams reviews|publisher=AnyDecentMusic?|access-date=October 8, 2025}}</ref> | MC = (72/100) <ref name=meta>[http://www.metacritic.com/music/cardinology/ryan-adams/critic-reviews Critic reviews at Metacritic]</ref> | rev1 = Allmusic | rev1Score = {{rating|4|5}} <ref name=Allmusic>[{{AllMusic|class=album|id=r1444166|pure_url=yes}} Allmusic review]</ref> | rev2 = ''Blender'' | rev2Score = {{rating|3.5|5}} <ref name=Blender>[http://www.blender.com/guide/reviews.aspx?id=5367 Blender review] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090211224314/http://www.blender.com/guide/reviews.aspx?id=5367 |date=February 11, 2009 }}</ref> | rev3 = ''Entertainment Weekly'' | rev3Score = A− <ref name=EW>{{Cite web |url=http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20235085,00.html |title=Entertainment Weekly review |access-date=2008-10-26 |archive-date=2012-10-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121003050524/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20235085,00.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> | rev4 = ''Los Angeles Times'' | rev4Score = {{rating|2.5|4}} <ref name=latimes>[http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/music_blog/2008/10/album-review-ry.html Los Angeles Times review]</ref> | rev5 = musicOMH | rev5Score = {{rating|4|5}} <ref name=musicOMH>{{cite web |url=http://www.musicomh.com/albums/ryan-adams-8_1008.htm |publisher=musicOMH |title=Ryan Adams & The Cardinals - Cardinology (Lost Highway) |url-status=dead |access-date=June 1, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120313152048/http://www.musicomh.com/albums/ryan-adams-8_1008.htm|archive-date=March 13, 2012}}</ref> | rev6 = ''Paste'' | rev6Score = (6.4/10) <ref name=paste>[http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2008/10/ryan-adams-the-cardinals-cardinology.html Paste review]</ref> | rev7 = Pitchfork Media | rev7Score = (4.7/10) <ref name=pitchfork>[http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/12374-cardinology/ Pitchfork Media review]</ref> | rev8 = PopMatters | rev8Score = {{rating|6|10}} <ref name=popmatters>[http://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/ryan-adams-and-the-cardinals-cardinology/ PopMatters review]</ref> | rev9 = Robert Christgau | rev9Score = {{rating-Christgau|dud}} <ref name=Christgau>[http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?name=Ryan+Adams+%26+the+Cardinals Robert Christgau Consumer Guide]</ref> | rev10 = ''Rolling Stone'' | rev10Score = {{rating|4|5}} <ref name=RS>[https://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/cardinology-20081030 Rolling Stone review]</ref> | rev11 = ''Spin'' | rev11Score = (7/10) <ref name=Spin>[http://www.spin.com/reviews/ryan-adams-cardinals-cardinology-lost-highway Spin review]</ref> | rev12 = ''USA Today'' | rev12Score = {{Rating|3|4}} <ref name=USAToday>[https://web.archive.org/web/20130624225412/http://content.usatoday.com/topics/post/Reviews/57967363.blog/1 USA Today review]</ref> }} '''''Cardinology''''' is the tenth studio album by Ryan Adams, and fourth album with his backing band The Cardinals, released on October 28, 2008. The album completed Adams' contract with Lost Highway Records,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/entertainmentNews/idUSTRE49O05H20081025|title=Ryan Adams finds groove with band the Cardinals|last=Cohen|first=Jonathan|date=2008-10-24|work=Reuters|access-date=2008-10-28}}</ref> 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'', in 2011.

According to Adams, the album "[is] about the moment when you recognise the difference between ego and pride 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'''s 50 Best Albums of 2008 list.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20081211155956/http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/24958695/albums_of_the_year/31 Rollingstone]</ref> The magazine also placed "Magick" at #13 on the 100 Best Singles of 2008 list.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20081213234707/http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/24947047/singles_of_the_year/4 Rollingstone]</ref> The album has sold over 250,000 copies worldwide.{{Citation needed|date=February 2009}} In April 2011, Adams released an EP, ''Class Mythology'', 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.<ref name="musicdirect">{{cite web|url=http://www.musicdirect.com/product/83811|title=RYAN ADAMS AND THE CARDINALS — CARDINOLOGY (LP)|publisher=musicdirect|access-date=2008-09-19|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080922181155/http://www.musicdirect.com/product/83811|archive-date=2008-09-22|url-status=dead}}</ref> 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, stating: "That wasn’t the creative band. The proof of that is, listen to ''Cardinology'', then go listen to ''Cold Roses''. You fucking tell me where the power is. It ain’t in the end. There was nothing there."<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.stereogum.com/1703017/qa-ryan-adams-on-his-new-self-titled-album-the-other-new-album-he-shelved-and-everything-else/franchises/interview/|title = Q&A: Ryan Adams on His New Self-Titled Album, the Other One He Shelved, and Everything else|date = 8 September 2014}}</ref>

==Reception== The album so far has a score of 72 out of 100 from Metacritic based on "generally favorable reviews".<ref name=meta/> 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."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.silentsoundwaves.com/album-reviews/ryan-adams-the-cardinals-cardinology-review/ |title=Silent Sound Waves review |access-date=2009-03-11 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111005221401/http://www.silentsoundwaves.com/album-reviews/ryan-adams-the-cardinals-cardinology-review/ |archive-date=2011-10-05 }}</ref> ''Hot Press'' gave it a favorable review and called it "an album worthy of high praises."<ref>[http://www.hotpress.com/music/reviews/albums/5031857.html Hot Press review]</ref> ''Billboard'' 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."<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/content_display/reviews/albums/e3ifcb24c059ef1f1a6fec604394a26c6cb |title=Billboard review |magazine=Billboard |access-date=2008-10-27 |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081025194454/http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/content_display/reviews/albums/e3ifcb24c059ef1f1a6fec604394a26c6cb |archive-date=2008-10-25 }}</ref> Similarly, ''The Boston Globe'' 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."<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20100110084613/http://www.boston.com/ae/music/cd_reviews/articles/2008/11/10/ryan_adams__the_cardinals/ The Boston Globe review]</ref> ''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."<ref>[http://www.prefixmag.com/reviews/ryan-adams/cardinology/22026/ Prefix Magazine review]</ref>

''The A.V. Club'' gave it a B and stated: "Even at his slightest--and Cardinology is pretty slight--Adams always turns out likeable ear candy."<ref name=avclub>[https://www.avclub.com/ryan-adams-the-cardinals-cardinology-1798205113 The A.V Club review]</ref> Tiny Mix Tapes 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."<ref>[http://www.tinymixtapes.com/music-review/ryan-adams-cardinals-cardinology Tiny Mix Tapes review]</ref>

Other reviews are average or mixed: ''Uncut'' 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."<ref name=Uncut>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.uncut.co.uk/ryan-adams/ryan-adams-the-cardinals-cardinology-review|title=Ryan Adams & The Cardinals - Cardinology|last=Mueller|first=Andrew|magazine=Uncut|access-date=2013-05-02|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111208124924/http://www.uncut.co.uk/music/ryan_adams/reviews/12415|archive-date=2011-12-08|url-status=live}}</ref> Yahoo! Music UK 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."<ref name=meta/> ''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."<ref name=meta/> ''Slant Magazine'' 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."<ref name=Slant>[http://www.slantmagazine.com/music/review/ryan-adams-and-the-cardinals-cardinology Slant Magazine review]</ref>

==Track listing== {{track listing | all_writing = Ryan Adams | title1 = Born into a Light | length1 = 2:16 | title2 = Go Easy | length2 = 2:56 | title3 = Fix it | length3 = 3:00 | title4 = Magick | length4 = 2:17 | title5 = Cobwebs | length5 = 3:57 | title6 = Let Us Down Easy | length6 = 4:21 | title7 = Crossed Out Name | length7 = 2:44 | title8 = Natural Ghost | length8 = 3:39 | title9 = Sink Ships | length9 = 3:38 | title10 = Evergreen | length10 = 3:36 | title11 = Like Yesterday | length11 = 2:32 | title12 = Stop | length12 = 5:34 | title13 = The Color of Pain | note13 = iTunes Bonus Track | length13 = 3:05 | title14 = Memory Lane | note14 = UK Bonus Track | length14 = 3:02

}} {{track listing | headline = Vinyl version bonus 7" | title1 = Heavy Orange | length1 = 2:42 | title2 = Asteroid | length2 = 3:18

}}

==Personnel==

===Ryan Adams & the Cardinals=== *Ryan Adams – 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 – 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 (''2, 3, 4, 6'' and ''8'') *Chris Feinstein – bass guitar, backing vocals (''1, 5, 6'' and ''11'') *Jon Graboff – pedal steel guitar, backing vocals (''1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 8'' and ''11''), electric guitar (''6'') *Brad Pemberton – drums, percussion

===Additional musicians=== *Michael Panes – violin (''12'')

===Recording personnel=== *Tom Schick – producer, engineer *Noah Goldstein – assistant engineer, additional engineering, effects *Bob Ludwig – mastering

===Artwork=== *Leah Hayes – cartoonist for vinyl release<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.leahhayes.com/ |title=Home |website=leahhayes.com}}</ref> *Andy West – design *Neal Casal – photography

==Charts== {| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center" |+ {{sro|Chart performance}} ! scope="col"| Chart (2008) ! scope="col"| Peak position |- {{album chart|Australia|70|M|url=https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20081121043445/http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/23790/20081120-0000/issue975.pdf|title=The ARIA Report, Issue 975|publisher=ARIA Top 100 Albums. National Library of Australia|rowheader=true|access-date=February 16, 2026}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} |- {{album chart|Flanders|54|artist=Ryan Adams & the Cardinals|album=Cardinology|rowheader=true|access-date=February 16, 2026}} |- ! scope="row"| Canadian Albums (Nielsen SoundScan)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://jam.canoe.com/Music/Artists/A/Acdc/2008/11/05/7313261-ca.html|title=AC/DC's sales slip, still No. 1|last=Williams|first=John|date=November 5, 2008|website=Jam!|access-date=February 16, 2026}}{{dead link|date=April 2026|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> | 31 |- {{album chart|Netherlands|72|artist=Ryan Adams & the Cardinals|album=Cardinology|rowheader=true|access-date=February 16, 2026|refname=Netherlands}} |- ! scope="row"| Dutch Alternative Albums (Alternative Top 30)<ref name="Netherlands"/> | 4 |- {{album chart|Germany|98|id=99636|artist=Ryan Adams & the Cardinals|album=Cardinology|rowheader=true|access-date=February 16, 2026}} |- {{album chart|Ireland|52|year=2008|week=44|rowheader=true|access-date=February 16, 2026}} |- {{album chart|Italy|92|artist=Ryan Adams & the Cardinals|album=Cardinology|rowheader=true|access-date=February 16, 2026}} |- {{album chart|New Zealand|31|artist=Ryan Adams & the Cardinals|album=Cardinology|rowheader=true|access-date=February 16, 2026}} |- {{album chart|Norway|22|artist=Ryan Adams & the Cardinals|album=Cardinology|rowheader=true|access-date=February 16, 2026}} |- {{album chart|Scotland|35|date=20081102|rowheader=true|access-date=February 16, 2026}} |- {{album chart|Sweden|41|artist=Ryan Adams & the Cardinals|album=Cardinology|rowheader=true|access-date=February 16, 2026}} |- {{album chart|UK2|41|date=20081102|rowheader=true|access-date=February 16, 2026}} |- {{album chart|Billboard200|11|artist=Ryan Adams|rowheader=true|access-date=February 16, 2026}} |- {{album chart|BillboardTastemaker|1|artist=Ryan Adams|rowheader=true|access-date=February 16, 2026}} |- {{album chart|BillboardRock|3|artist=Ryan Adams|rowheader=true|access-date=February 16, 2026}} |}

==References== {{reflist|35em}}

==External links== * {{Metacritic album}}

Category:Ryan Adams albums Category:2008 albums Category:Lost Highway Records albums Category:Albums recorded at Electric Lady Studios Category:Albums produced by Tom Schick