Extreme Listening Mode!

One of the founding tenets of ELM was that there is simply so much music about that it’s hard to know where to begin. That’s especially true when you are dealing with a prolific artist, and they don’t come much more productive than Ryan Adams. He’s been the golden boy of a modern dawn of alt.country, the brilliantly versatile curator of classic Americana and the formless, drug-addled waste-of-space of alternative rock. With an album out approximately every 20 minutes, he’s never been boring. In the first of a semi-regular series, we rate Adams back catalogue and have a look at his new effort ‘Cardinology’.

WHISKEYTOWN

Strangers Almanac – 1997 debut as a member of Whiskeytown was a perfectly executed statement of intent from the then 22 year old. Marrying dustbowl country and Replacements style rock, Adams songwriting was incredibly mature and focused. Probably the definitive alt.country statement along with Uncle Tupelo’s debut, it comprises 13 almost-perfect songs, incorporating country, blues, rock and even soul. Stand-out tracks are the quicksilver ‘Excuse Me While I Break My Own Heart’ and the mournful ‘Houses On The Hill’, an elegiac triumph full of poise, dignity and regret. Unspeakably good. *****

Faithless Street – The follow-up lacked the grandeur of its predecessor, but is certainly not a contender for second album syndrome status. Adams songwriting is more raucous but also more prosaic, and it lacks an absolute classic to elevate it above ‘decent’. ‘Midway Park’ and ‘Too Drunk To Dream’ are the highlights in an album which consolidated their reputation even if it failed to enhance it. ***

Pneumonia – A posthumous release, the end of the band is reflected upon more with stoic sadness than bitter regret. Adams songwriting is strong, and the band respond with a heartfelt album which has echoes of The Replacements swansong ‘All Shook Down’. ‘Don’t Wanna Know Why’ is one of the great anti-love songs and ‘Jacksonville Skyline’, like all his best lyrics, is as evocative and heartfelt as a Walt Whitman poem. A fitting end to one of America’s truly great bands. ****

SOLO

Heartbreaker – He may well have left Whiskeytown as a cocksure rock-star-in-waiting, but what a stunning message he delivered with this. Simply put, it gives ‘Almanac’ a run for its money. from the opening spoken word discussion about Morrissey segueing straight into ‘To Be Young’ – ‘Subterranean Homesick Blues’ for the 21st century – we are treated to songwriting that is the equal of anything produced this century. ‘Come Pick Me Up’ is a tremendously powerful whisky soaked plea, ‘Winding Wheel’ cuts through your heartstrings like a Stanley Knife and ‘A.M.Y.’ is a strange little thing which reveals itself in stages. Adams maintains he could write ‘another Heartbreaker again tomorrow’ if he wanted to. He couldn’t. *****

Gold – How to follow up a classic? By raiding the Great American Songbook for inspiration and becoming a jukebox of all that’s fantastic about American Music. Dylan, Springsteen, Byrds, Band…all referenced and all done so with love and care. from commercial opener ‘New York’ to the sublime ‘Answering Bell’ to the gritty ‘Rescue Blues’, it runs the gamut of styles and simply doesn’t have a bad track on it. Best of all is the emotional holocaust of ‘La Cienga Smiled’, a song lacking in histrionics but packing an almighty emotional punch regardless. *****

Demolition – An odds and sods compilation, it still contains three of his finest songs in the wondrous ‘Nuclear’ – possibly his best single – ‘Hallelujah’ (not the Cohen song) and ‘Starting To Hurt’. Special mention to the wonderfully titles ‘Tennessee Sucks In The Summer’. Like all round-up albums, not essential, but definitely worth checking out. ***

Rock N’ Roll – Ah, fuck. Where it all goes wrong, and really, really badly wrong. Ditching the warm Americana for a plodding imitation of Springsteen-playing-Suicide No York crap, the songwriting sounds half-arsed, the lyrics raggedy and it’s impossible to escape the notion that what you are listening to is a mind unspooling in the studio. ‘Burning Photographs’ is a great song, that apart, it’s slim pickings. In mitigation, this album was written and recorded in four weeks after his label bizarrely declined to release ‘Love Is Hell’. Sadly, it sounds like it. **

Love Is Hell – Why record companies are scum. Adams delivered this to Lost highway, they decided it wasn’t commercial enough and he went on to record the disaster chronicled above. In a true act of record company cuntery, they then DID release LIH (initially as two EP’s) after RNR’s dismal reviews and sales. And what do you know, it’s superb. Rocking out to songs such as the title track and the U2-but-good- rocker ‘The House Is Not For Sale’ before segueing effortlessly into folk-rock with ‘English Girls Approximately’ (about Beth Orton’ and then the desolate beauty of the haunting ‘Shadowlands’, it’s a triumph of stylistic songwriting. Also spawned an unlikely hit with a cover of Oasis’ ‘Wonderwall’ which breathes new life into a karaoke classic. Record companies are scum. ****

Cold Roses – Backed by band the Cardinals, Adams delivers a double set which, like all double sets, would have made a terrific single album. ‘Let It Ride’ is a modern ‘Ghost Riders In The Sky’,’ Friends’ is as delicate as a daisy chain in the hands of an errant child and ‘I Wanna See You Tonight’ a belting drinking song. Throw in the stomp of ‘Beautiful Sorta’ and you’ve got a strong set. ***1/2

Jacksonville City – A country album. Not an alt.country album, not an Americana Album, but a gutsy, howling country album. And it’s pretty decent. Perhaps slightly stylised – could do with less yelping – but a fine set of tunes and proof he was recovering his mojo. ***

29 – The third album he released in 2005, it’s a marmite album. Some really lovely songs abound – ‘Strawberry Wine’ being the pick of them – but the constant introspection and lack of light and shade make it a difficult album to actually enjoy. Still, a certain type of individual will find solace in the anguish, but the unremitting misery and musical similarities make it hard going for everyone else. ***

Easy Tiger – Two years later a new, sober and serious Adams appeared and delivered his strongest set since LIH. The album’s tone is wistful without being melancholy, like coming out of a bad spell of anxiety and focusing on the positive. ‘Two’ is him at his finest, while ‘Oh My God, Whatever, Etc.’ will make a statue cry. Goofy country romp ‘Pearls On A String’ gave us a glimpse of a long-buried sense of humour. ****

Cardinology – The new release is a very strong, very professional workout with The Cardinals, returning to the rockier sound of LIH’s more muscular moments. The two strongest tracks are ‘I’d Fix It’ and ‘Magick’, both foot-on-the-monitor rockers with heart. that said, the set does suffer from a uniformity and certainly, is more workmanlike than his truly finest work. Still, he’s clean and sober, so is it fair to scream for the incredible music he made while fucked up? ***

So hopefully some help for those curious about his work and some talking points for some old fans. What is clear, however, that in 11 years, he has put together one hell of a body of work. While he remains frustrating, inconsistent and simply awkward, the world would be a poorer place without him.

Filed under: Back Catalogue Report Tagged: | Whiskeytown, Ryan Adams, Strangers Almanac, rock n roll, 29, heartbreaker, Back catalogue, Faithless Street, Pneumonia, Gold, Demolition, Love is Hell, Cold Roses, Jacksonville City, Easy Tiger, Cardinology