Follow the Lights
EP by
ReleasedOctober 23, 2007
RecordedThe Village, Sunset Sound, Glenwood Place Studios
GenreAlternative country
Length31:10
LabelLost Highway
ProducerJamie Candiloro
Ryan Adams chronology
Easy Tiger
(2007)
Follow the Lights
(2007)
Cardinology
(2008)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
411Mania(7/10) link
Allmusic link
antiMusic link
IGN(9.1/10) link
The Music Box link
Pitchfork Media(6.5/10) link
PopMatters link
Robert Christgau(dud) link
Tiny Mix Tapes link

Follow the Lights (released in the UK as Everybody Knows) is an EP by Ryan Adams and The Cardinals released on October 23, 2007. The EP contains three new songs and four live studio recordings, including a cover of the Alice in Chains' song, "Down in a Hole".[1] It was produced by then-Cardinals member James Candiloro.

The EP includes a re-recorded version of the song "Blue Hotel", which originally appeared on Willie Nelson's Songbird album. "This Is It" was previously recorded for Rock n Roll, "If I Am a Stranger" for Cold Roses and "Dear John" – which was co-written by Ryan Adams and Norah Jones – for Jacksonville City Nights.

In its first week, Follow the Lights sold about 19,000 copies and entered the US Billboard 200 chart at number 40.[2]

In the UK, Follow the Lights was released as Everybody Knows, with the titular "Everybody Knows" from Easy Tiger included as an extra track. In Germany, the EP is not available individually, but was added as a bonus disc to a limited edition reissue of Easy Tiger.

The album cover is a photograph taken by the guitarist Neal Casal.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Ryan Adams, unless otherwise noted

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Follow the Lights" 3:03
2."My Love for You Is Real" 4:52
3."Blue Hotel" 5:11
4."Down in a Hole"Jerry Cantrell4:37
5."This Is It" (Cardinals version)Ryan Adams and Johnny T3:32
6."If I Am a Stranger" (New version) 4:44
7."Dear John" (New version)Ryan Adams and Norah Jones5:12

Personnel

  • Ryan Adams — guitars, piano, banjo, vocals
  • Brad Pemberton — drums, percussion
  • Chris Feinstein — bass guitar
  • Jon Graboff — pedal steel, vocals
  • Neal Casal — guitars, vocals, cover photograph
  • James Candiloro — piano, keyboards, producer, recording ("Follow the Lights" and "My Love for You is Real"), mixing
  • Jason Wormer — recording
  • Clifton Aleen — recording assistant
  • Brendan Dekora — mixing assistant
  • Bob Ludwig — mastering
  • Philip Andelman — live photograph
  • Andy West — design

References

  1. ^ "Ryan Adams reveals details of new EP". NME/IPC Media. 2007-09-18. Retrieved 2007-09-21.
  2. ^ Katie Hasty, "Underwood Leads Three Country Debuts Onto Chart", Billboard.com, October 31, 2007.