Ryan Adams: Ashes & Fire – review

The Ryan Adams of 2000's exquisitely sad Heartbreaker and its chart-friendly successor, Gold, has long been missing, presumed dead, so – after years of career sabotage and patchy revivals – it's a surprise to find him retreading old territory so confidently. Recorded with veteran producer Glyn Johns, this feels like a return to instinctive Adams songwriting: gentle, dewy-eyed country ("Kindness") and lush, soulful pop ("Chains of Love"), MORish but with emotional depths. It hasn't the shiver factor of his debut but there's pleasure in such smooth, elegantly crafted songs after his recent strainings.