Ryan Adams on Black Cab Sessions
Ryan Adams and his trusty Cardinal Neal Casal hopped in the back of a Black Cab in London to take part in the venerable but simply named Black Cab Sessions, (do yourself a favor and check out their archives, if you haven’t yet) playing a lovely acoustic version of the Cardinology track “Sink Ships.” Ryan gets carsick quite easily, so he requested the cabbie drive as straight as possible during the performance—he obliged the best he could, and Ryan and Neal proceed to absolutely nail an exquisite version of the song, complete with intricate guitar work and impassioned harmonies from them both. The more stripped down these new tracks from Ryan become, the better they sound, in my opinion (and the cabbie’s, as well, who’s quite a fan of Ryan’s, and absolutely loved the performance). If you can make great music in the back of a moving cab, you can make great music anywhere, I guess.
Black Cab Sessions Chapter 71: Ryan Adams (05/11/2008) [VIDEO]
I’ll be the first to say that I’m seated comfortably on the Ryan-Adams-is-overhyped train, but this video offers a beautiful quality of intimacy and talent that which I feel is lacking on Cardinology. Great performance.