Cardinology
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, 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.
| Cardinology | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio album by Ryan Adams and the Cardinals | ||||
| Released | October 28, 2008 | |||
| Recorded | Electric Lady Studios, New York | |||
| Genre | Alternative country, rock | |||
| Label | Lost Highway Records | |||
| Producer | Tom Schick | |||
| Ryan Adams and the Cardinals chronology | ||||
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| Alternate cover | ||||
vinyl cover art | ||||
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | (72/100) |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic | |
| Blender | |
| Entertainment Weekly | A− |
| Los Angeles Times | |
| musicOMH | |
| Paste | (6.4/10) |
| Pitchfork Media | (4.7/10) |
| PopMatters | |
| Robert Christgau | |
| Rolling Stone | |
| Spin | (7/10) |
| USA Today | |
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. The magazine also placed "Magick" at #13 on the 100 Best Singles of 2008 list. The album has sold over 250,000 copies worldwide. In April 2011, Adams released an EP, Class Mythology, featuring four unreleased tracks recorded for Cardinology.