The Gorgeous "Night Birds"

Ryan Adams is a rare talent- a generation X Neil Young- and a singer/songwriter who can rattle off a melody effortlessly. Like Uncle Neil, Adams has built a strong back catalog full of hard rockers, folkly tunes, country waltzes, and delicate piano songs. "Night Birds", from his 2005 album 29 is of the soft piano variety, but it packs as much of an emotional punch as anything a power chord is capable of. The piano steps along the timeline of life, here, zooming in on a reflection of a particular point in Adams' life (29 was a loose concept album with a song about each year of his 20's) with poignancy. "Night Birds" invites you in Adam's head, where sad scenes play out, where the desire for something better is transparent as the clear waves of the ocean on a moonlit night.