Kindness

Album: Ashes & Fire (2011)
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Songfacts®:

  • In early 2009 Ryan Adams announced that he was quitting his band the Cardinals and taking a break from music. The major reason for Adams' temporary retirement was his struggles with Ménière's disease, a disorder of the inner ear that wrecks havoc on hearing and balance. Adams resumed performing in October 2010, and released his thirteenth studio album, Ashes & Fire, which was produced by Glyn Johns, on October 11, 2011.
  • Adams explores what it is to be kind on this gently strummed soft rock tune. Longtime friend and collaborator Norah Jones was certainly kind to Adams, lending her vocal, piano and songwriting talents to three of the 11 tracks on Ashes & Fire, including this one. She described the recording process to Billboard: "It had been a long time since Ryan was in the studio," she said, "which is a big deal for him, because he's made so many records. This was the first period where he has really not done that for a few years. I could tell he was really excited. Especially working with Glyn, who's like our uncle, [saying things] like, 'Come on, kids, get to work,' in his stern voice [while at the same time] telling a dirty joke."

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