III/IV is the twelfth studio album by alt-country singer-songwriter Ryan Adams, released on December 14, 2010 through PAX AM. The album is his fifth with backing band The Cardinals, and was recorded in 2006 during the same sessions that yielded Easy Tiger. Cardinals III/IV was recorded prior to bassist Catherine Popper's departure, and also marks guitarist and backing vocalist Neal Casal's recording debut for the band.
According to producer and keyboardist Jamie Candiloro, the album's title stems from "the idea that Cold Roses [is] volumes one and two, and this was a logical step that the Cardinals had taken forward as a band effort. The tracks shared the democratic process of a band. It will always be an amazing look into the world of a great band during one of its most versatile line-ups."[5]
Orders from the PAX AM online store also received a download card for 11 bonus demos from the album.[6][7]
The album peaked at #59 on the Billboard 200 chart in January 2011.[8]
Background and recording
In mid-2006, following a disagreement with his label, Lost Highway, Ryan Adams contacted producer Jamie Candiloro asking for assistance in recording new material. The sessions would mark the first time that Adams had been sober since he was fifteen years-old.[5]
Prior to the album's release in late 2010, drummer Brad Pemberton stated: "Coming off Cold Roses and Jacksonville City Nights, I wasn’t expecting this. A flurry of rock songs written by a man who had made some big changes in his life and was owning up to some mistakes. There is a hopefulness and renewed lust for life in these lyrics, and that inspired what I think is some of the best songs we ever recorded. I don’t often listen to the records we made, but over the past four years, I’ve indulged myself with these songs, and I'm so happy they are finally going to be heard. The bulk of these tunes were done in just a few days at Electric Lady, where Ryan had been holed up for a while writing and recording. Of course, while there we also managed to record Easy Tiger."[5]
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