|
|
|
|||||||||||||||
Music for
Grown-Ups Newsletter
|
05/02/2004 Ryan Adams for beginners
by Todd Sikorski
But the art of the singer/songwriter is far from dead. Some of the best songs over the past few years have been written by a musician half the age of the veterans of the genre: Ryan Adams. Right now is the perfect time to check out the 29-year old: in the past couple of months there have been three new releases by Ryan Adams, all receiving good reviews. The unusual scheduling is explained, we are told, by Adams and his record company, Lost Highway, disputing his release programme. According to the press stories, Lost Highway initially refused to release his first CD, Love is Hell, saying it was too bleak, so they required the artist record another one. A reportedly "reluctant" Adams recorded another CD, Rock n Roll. Rock n Roll, completely different to its predecessor, is exactly what it should be - a record that demands to be turned up loud. Many of its songs show the influence of '80s arena rockers U2 and the alternative cult band, the Replacements. Rock n Roll’s first single, So Alive, is a good primer for the CD: it's a catchy, guitar-driven song with vocals that invite the listener to scream along. Listenable as Rock n Roll is, the better song writing is to be heard on Love Is Hell, released as two separate EPs. Love is Hell, Part One is exceptional. The eight song collection is a somber, spare recording. While some may find the songs rather depressing, I find them astonishingly good, with Adams coming on like Jeff Buckley’s twin or Morrissey’s cousin. Songs like Afraid Not Scared and Avalanche speak of the trials and tribulations of love. Equally stunning is the heartbreaking cover of Oasis’ Wonderwall. Love is Hell, Part Two, is also very good. But, while it expands on Part One’s themes, it doesn't quite reach its peaks. I See Monsters, and English Girls Approximately, are especially strong tunes. While these three releases are all recommended, Ryan Adams’ previous solo recordings are even better. His first recording, Heartbreaker, released in 2000, is, like Love is Hell, a subtle, spare album about the highs and lows of romance. Oh My Sweet Carolina, a duet with Emmylou Harris, is a "must-listen". A year later, Adams released Gold, a near-masterpiece. It shocked those who were expecting another quiet, somber recording. Gold’s influences come from many '70s icons - The Stones, Elton John, Pete Townshend, Van Morrison…. As for the songs themselves, they are a diverse lot - featuring gorgeous ballads (La Cienga Just Smiled), bluesy jams (Touch, Feel, & Lose), and straight-ahead rockers (Gonna Make You Love Me). Adams's most underrated work is the 2002 release, Demolition. It's basically a collection of 13 songs from over 60-plus demos he wrote after Gold. The collection contains some outstanding songs, which sometimes reveal their power only after repeated listening. Not surprisingly, the strongest songs are the slower numbers like Cry on Demand, reportedly inspired by the death of a friend. Reviewing Ryan Adams’ body of work as a whole leads me to believe that his best work is probably yet to come. While his writing is especially moving, he's still a young artist, learning his craft. But unlike many singer/songwriters, he already has a first class, expressive voice, which fits his songs perfectly. Is era of the singer/songwriter dead? Certainly not. Not with Ryan Adams around. (c) Todd Sikorski 2004
[Next entry: "Talkie Walkie, by Air (New Release)"] Search entries:
Copyright © Music
for Grown-Ups Ltd. 2005
www.musicforgrownups.co.uk
|
Have you seen
[Archives]
[Next entry: "Talkie Walkie, by Air (New Release)"]
|
|||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||
Site design by watson press website design & authoring |
