Ryan Adams Ashes & Fire

3.5 stars out of 5 -- "[With] an A-list pickup team, with Tom Petty veteran Benmont Tench on keyboards and Norah Jones on piano and harmonies. The mood is quietly apocalyptic..."
"Lead single 'Lucky Now' literally revels in Adams' newfound reformation....He's purely elegant throughout."
"It's all so gentle that it's nearly sleepy, but in a nice way." -- Grade: B+
"There is a master-class precision to the writing and execution of these songs -- an exacting attention to subtlety and nuance, a perfectly calibrated modulation of mood and dynamics -- that simply cannot be faked."
3 stars out of 5 -- "Glyn Johns' production and the presence of Norah Jones and Benmont Tench deepen an atmosphere of country space and personal grace....ASHES & FIRE sounds like a new beginning."
4 star out of 5 -- "[T]here's a real focus to the writing; these sweet, sad songs sound like his most fully realised collection in years."