Let's get you up to speed shall we? Senor Adams threatens to release not one but three albums this year and in doing so, try and gain some lost ground from his 'dry patch' of 2004. Though this reviewer is a hardened fan, I was unsure if such a thing could be pulled off without a slump occurring in the quality control department.

Backed with a bunch of hot musicians called The Cardinals, Adams' first release for the year Cold Roses (a double album, mind) was a nice throwback to his pre-solo days as singer for alt.country upstarts Whiskeytown. It also clearly took the points in the first round. Sceptics were on notice.

Now a few months later comes Jacksonville City Nights a more straight forward country album that sees Ryan finally finding his comfort zone after a few years of dabbling in other genres. Like a pair of garish old socks that you hold some sort of attachment to, JCN is Ryan at the top of his game.

Though there is some whingeing from this corner. We'll deal with that later.

After the all too brief opener of 'A Kiss Before I Go' (I could've gone another verse myself) the centrepiece of 'The End' is a fine tribute to Ryan's hometown of Jacksonville in North Carolina. The rest of the album is a nice blend of forlorn ballads and (surprisingly) up beat ditties.

For the former, the Snorah Jones duet on 'Dear John' is soothing without being breathtaking while 'Silver Bullets' is near Ryan's best work lyrically: "And I can't make you love me, and you can't make me stay." The album's working title 'September' treads the same ground as Love Is Hell's themes of death and it is pleasant (if such a word can be used in this instance) to see it's return.

On the flip side, Ryan & The Cardinals can still get the toes tapping like on 'The Hardest Part' and the vintage country stomp of 'Trains'. A treat for long time fans comes in the form of re-worked Whiskeytown rarity 'My Heart Is Broken'. How such sad words can be backed to some of the happiest music baffles me but it works and works well.

But for all this fantastic spoils there are a few tracks that for want of a better word are disappointing. The biggest example is 'Peaceful Valley' which could've been the album's highlight if it weren't for Ryan's out of key singing. As for 'Games' it is definitely hanging on to some other song's coat tails to get a start in this line up.

So there you have it. After two rounds Adams is clearly winning the fight. Regardless of the outcome with the scheduled 29 album, Ryan has proved his prolific nature is far more hit than miss.