In many ways, Cold Roses (Lost Highway) is the album Ryan Adams fans have hoped for since his days in Whiskeytown. He has put aside the glam and rock poses and delivered an uncomplicated country-rock album that evokes the big boys of the genre: Gram Parsons, Neil Young and Bob Dylan. Those who complain that the two-disc set would be better trimmed to one are right, but audience-testing gestures are clearly part of Adams' aesthetic. Here he puts just enough hooks in the songs to make them work, but he doesn't waste too many on one song. There are no songwriting showpieces, but the album has a more relaxed, organic flow as a result. 'Magnolia Mountain' is one of the many travel or destination songs on the album, suggesting he's now looking for a safe haven. Then again, 'Beautiful Sorta' opens with a near-quote from the hard-living New York Dolls, creating the equally strong impression that his romance with self-destruction is intact. Tickets $25.

9 p.m. Monday, June 13
House of Blues, 225 Decatur St., 529-BLUE; www.hob.com