Whereas Cold Roses, Jacksonville City Nights and 29 gave glimpses of Adams the more mature (and no less prolific) songwriter, there was enough shit production, duff songs and meandering noodles to make none of them essential. Easy Tiger recalls the days of his near-flawless albums.
Neatly balanced between Heartbreaker’s starkness and Cold Roses’ full band (but with a decent mix), Adams now seems so comfortable between the two that you barely notice the variety of styles he runs through. Halloweenhead entertains his bombastic rock bent; Oh My God, Whatever, Etc is beautiful in its simplicity of sound (two guitars, banjo and a piano) and imagery (“If I could I’d fold myself away like a card table”); The Sun Also Sets bobs and weaves between a cappella vocal wrenches and a glorious full band country-soul.
I Taught Myself To Grow Old comes as a perfect closing reflection, and perhaps the most self-critical Adams has been. Having lived a couple of lives, Easy Tiger is a corner turned. While there’s enough sensitive singersongwriter mush out there, this generation’s pack leader is back proving himself. His best since the Love Is Hell EPs, in a just world this should make Adams as big as he was when New York, New York came out.
