'Easy' does it - finally

CHOICE

Ryan Adams

For 10 years Ryan Adams has been too high, talking too much trash, and making too many scenes and too many records (three in 2005). He's also been dabbling -- sometimes masterfully and too often not -- in rude glam, druggy jam, atmospheric mope-rock, '70s revivalism, hardcore honky-tonk, and occasionally alt-country: the genre whose soul he was supposed to save.

Last year on his website, Adams posted enough ridiculous hip-hop and punk to fill a dozen CDs. By now, nothing would surprise a seasoned fan, except maybe a sturdy, cogent country-rock record, which is exactly what the former Whiskeytown frontman, 12 months sober, has delivered with "Easy Tiger."

Recorded with his backing band, the Cardinals, the album has a little bit of all things rootsy: twangy rockers ("Goodnight Rose,") mournful laments ("Tears of Gold" and "I Taught Myself How to Grow Old"), stomping garage-rock ("Halloweenhead"), and one fine back-porch sing-along ("String of Pearls"). "Off Broadway" and "These Girls" -- a pair of sweet, sideways ballads -- are just about perfect; they lift your spirit while breaking your heart.

Gone is the petulant enfant terrible, and with it a certain sparkle and swagger that made a record like "Gold" careen from the speakers. But reliability goes a long way at this point in Adams's career, and while you may yawn through "Two," a milquetoast midtempo song featuring wan harmonies from Sheryl Crow, you won't have to skip a single track on "Easy Tiger." [Joan Anderman]

Ryan Adams plays at Somerville Theatre Friday.