Ryan Adams and The Cardinals, 'DARKBREAKER' [imagined LP]***UPDATED***

 

1. Saturday Night
2. Two*
3. Everything Dies
4. When the Wild Wind Blows
5. Cemetery Hill
6. Dreams of the Working Class
7. Movie Stars Hurt+  (f.k.a. "Movie Star Girl")
8. Star Maps+  (f.k.a. "Maps")
9. Who Were We?
10. Elizabeth*
11. Lighthouses*
12. Words
13. Destroy Yourself   (f.k.a. "Jessica")
14. Don't Get Sentimental on Me*

   ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2025 432 Hz. Master (from the best possible sources available with additional production and mastering where needed).

This compilation started with the twenty-three songs that were believed to be recorded initially with Cameron Crowe's film soundtrack in mind---as well as the Cardinals' follow-up to Jacksonville City Nights. Some were unfinished sounding and Ryan probably would have done more to them like "Clementine" and "Elizabethtown" (though that song in particular he reportedly hated). 

Some songs were late re-done with The Cardinals during the sessions for what became Easy Tiger (and III/IV)---like "Two", "Two Hearts", "Everybody Knows" and "The Sewers at the Bottom of the Wishing Well". "Saturday Night" ,"Dreams of the Working Class" and "Clementine" are re-worked songs originally written during the 2000-01 era (albeit, with new lyrics).

Ryan, with producer (and subsequent Cardinals keyboardist) Jamie Candiloro, first redid "Lighthouses" (with some added 'optimistic' lyrics) in a sort of similar arrangement to "Two"---though it doesn't have the same vibe as the original. Ryan sort of 'disavowed' the depressing lyrics in the post 2006 articles RE: Darkbreaker. He initially said 'War and Peace' would be about "cleaning up his act". After scrapping the Elizabethtown soundtrack idea (one song was used, "Words")---and around the time RA also began work on his (later rejected) War and Peace solo double album---the band (now with Neal Casal added to the mix), would record more collections of songs (i.e. reference discs...CANDY a.k.a. Cardinals III / Ratt Classics I and II / Color Bars; etc.) to be rejected by Lost Highway until he tried doing a 'back to basics' album---as well as various combinations of solo acoustic cuts with more songs accompanied by the band---narrowed down to those with the most commercially viable songs-- give it that 'unrepentant but I'm also in recovery' vibe (PR schemes)...and voila, Easy Tiger.

CLICK ON IMAGE FOR 2005-07 SESSIONS TIMELINE

Ryan also overdubbed more and re-did vocals for "Cemetery Hill", "Who Were We?" and "Maps"---as well as reworking "Lions of Broadway" into "Steve Miller & Weed" during the Dec. 2005 and early 2006 sessions for his rejected 'War & Peace' double album---which in itself was joined by The Cardinals into making their next double album (III/IV)---which would be rejected and eventually become other (mostly rejected) projects. 

"Two", "Everybody Knows", "Who Were We?" and "Jessica" (now known as "Destroy Yourself"---yes, he changed the lyrics again for the 2008 demo of the same name on his blog) were part of the proposed track list for CANDY (Cardinals III) in 2006. Ryan mentioned in a 2006 article from around this time that the band had 16 songs ('half are good---half aren't good enough'---to paraphrase). He also mentioned Blackhole and War & Peace, as well. 

As we know, the former album would be revised and teased for a release in 2010----only to go through more revisions before being released in an inferior version (mix, mastering, songs, etc.) in late 2024. These projects would also overlap with the Sad DRAcula digital albums (Dec. 2005 sessions with Tom Schick at ELS; the Mercy Sound sessions with Johnny T. ) and Ryan's ORION side-project with producer Jamie Candiloro. Ryan also recorded with the Grateful Dead's Phil Lesh, as well, during the 2006 year. The Cardinals would lose guitarist J.P. Bowersock (he chose to not tour for JCN in 2005) and bassist Catherine Popper---replacing them with the late singer-guitarist Neal Casal and Santigold's Chris Feinstein, respectively---before finally finishing Ryan's Easy Tiger album in early 2007. You know the rest...and it's all history, I guess.  

It's been said that several tracks were recorded by Ryan with the box set still in mind (to replace the Gold tracks and superfluous versions like "Off Broadway", "Two", "Elizabeth", and "Hard Way to Fall", for example). Thus, the songs we haven't heard (before 2007--anyway) being on the 'official' versions of 48 Hours ("24/7", "Listen to the Radio", "Black Myrtle"); Commercial Suicide ("Lonely is As Lonely Does"); Darkbreaker and the infamous Saturday Night Feverblister tracks ("Game Over", "On Fire", "Free Dreams", "Actors on Actors", "Sweet Dreams", "A Wish") with the Pinkhearts album (basically the same thing---Litt tried to produce a new improved version of that album but at least we got "Suspicion"). 

 

I added "Movie Stars Hurt" and "Destroy Yourself" cos I felt they fit the vibe. The electric 12-string overdub on the latter (probably Graboff---like elsewhere on III/IV) leads me to believe it was done with (part of) the band and Jamie C after the Elizabethtown Sessions in Dec. 2005.

The former (recorded in early 2006 for Ryan's War and Peace double album) was originally called "Movie Star Girl" with slightly different lyrics---it was another song from the 2001 live era like "Saturday Night", "Dreams of the Working Class" and "Clementine". I left off "Destroyers" , "Steve Miller & Weed", and "Sewers at the Bottom of the Wishing Well" since they've been officially released.

The original "Lions of Broadway" and "Maps" sounded too raw for repeated listens with the existing mixes to work with. The 2006 version of "Lighthouses" doesn't have the same vibe as the original 2005 version---however, he improved "Maps" (which was retitled "Take 'Em to the Stars and Back" ---then later "Star Maps" for the as-of-yet unheard version from the 2018 sessions at ELS). "Everyone Knows" is interesting---but you can tell it's not done. I'd love to hear the version they did for III/IV, but it's not circulating. I'd imagine it's probably like this version of "Two" in being better than its Easy Tiger counterpart.

--------------------------------RECORDING SESSIONS INFO:

Songs 1-14 reportedly recorded solo at Sunset Sound (same room as GOLD) with Tom Schick, fall 2005 / 2nd session at ELS with Jamie Candiloro and The Cardinals + string section / Additional recording in Dec. 2005 for Star Wars demos ("Destroy Yourself") / early 2006 for War and Peace sessions ("Who Were We") / Unreleased except "Words" (soundtrack album in 2006); tracks 5, 11, 13-14 (posted as part of the Sad DRAcula digital albums released in late 2006) and "Dreams of the Working Class" (2023 digital single).

1. Cemetery Hill  (remixed and overdubbed for War and Peace and III/IV)
2. The Sewers at the Bottom of the Wishing Well*  (re-recorded for Fasterpiece; re-recorded with The Cardinals for III/IV)
3. Everyone Knows*   (re-recorded with The Cardinals as "Everybody Knows")
4. When the Wild Wind Blows  (previously recorded with The Cardinals for JCN)
5. Actors on Actors+   (previously recorded as "Tears" for Scott LItt sessions)
6. Clementine  (f.k.a. "Madeline")   (previously recorded for The Stockholm Sessions)
7. Dreams of the Working Class+   (f.k.a. "Dreams of a Working Class Clown")  [2023 digital single]
8. Lions of Broadway*  (n.k.a  "Steve Miller and Weed" / re-recorded for Let It B-Minus)
9. Who Were We?   (remixed and overdubbed for War and Peace)
10. Words+   [Elizabethtown, vol. 2: Songs For the Ride Home digital E.P.]
11. Destroy Yourself+   (a.k.a. "Jessica")
12. Maps* (n.k.a. "Take 'Em to the Stars and Back" / remixed and overdubbed for W & P)
13. 4th of July+   (re-recorded as "Sweet Dreams" for War and Peace)
14. Until Then+   (previously recorded  for Sear Sound demos)
15. Lighthouses*   (re-recorded for War and Peace)
16. Everything Dies+   [2025 IG post]
17. Don't Get Sentimental on Me   (re-recorded for War and Peace)
18. Two   (re-recorded for Blackhole demos and Easy Tiger)*
19. Saturday Night+  (different lyrics than Pinkhearts 2001 demo)    [2023 IG post]
20. Elizabeth, You Were Born to Play That Part*   (previously recorded for 29)
21. Elizabethtown*  (previously recorded as "On My Way to Jacksonville" for JCN demos)
22. Willows*   (re-recorded as "Temporary Vampires" for Let It B-Minus)
23. Two Hearts (acoustic)*