Intelligent Life On Planet Rock
Ryan Adams - A good or bad thing?
I remember an Daevid Allen interview where he said that in the sixties his favourite guitarist was always Jeff Beck because he was so inconsistent. Sometimes, he just wasn't up for it and was barely mediocre, but on the days the stars were right he was godlike. This is something Beck pretty much admits to in this months issue of Word. Allan wasn't so keen on Jimi Hendrix because there was never any mystery - he was always brilliant.
Personally, I feel a bit like this with Ryan Adams. A lot of his work - but not as much as many reviews would lead you to believe - seems like grade B garage band stuff and quite often one can play spot the influence...and yet, when something like Two Heart pops up on my shuffle (as it did a few minutes ago) I was blown away:
Am I the only person to have a soft spot for him BECAUSE of his inconsistencies? Or are most people of the opinion that after Gold he was a busted flush?
- More from Jim Thomas.
- Login or register to post comments
-
I personally think he is
I personally think he is mostly excellent. Even his outtakes album Demolition is better than most artists official releases. I am not sure his quality dropped substantially as is alleged - more a case of him being too prolific for the attention span of the public at large.
I think he is like Prince
in the sense of being of over-prolific.
And like Prince - he is capable of coming across as a twerp.
But like Prince, I think - he is a stone cold genius.
Easy Tiger is the best album of the decade aside from Midlake's Trials of Van Occupanther
"I Taught Myself to Grow Old" from that album never fails to get the tear duct itching.
Heartbreaker, Jacksonville City Nights, Love is Hell Parts I&2, Cold Roses are all wonderful albums too.
Able to write pure pop songs so good - "When the Stars Go Blue" - that not even the combined efforts of Bono and Andrea Corr can spoil them.
Able to deliver rock-out rifferama, pedal steel trad.country and fucked-up folk as in the twisted beauty of "Come Pick Me Up"
Repeat - he is a stone cold genius
Brief Sampler here
http://bit.ly/4eQ6XZ
It's collaborative - so feel free to add. Although - Spotify is a bit incomplete on Ryan - be warned.
A great comparison and I completely agree
One of my top 3 all time gigs was seeing Ryan Adams at the Festival Hall in the early 2000's.
His output can be patchy but when he is good no one can compare.
Thirded
I've never thought of the Prince comparison before, but it is damned valid. Although, I would perhaps say Adams still produces stuff of worth these days - the last Prince production has one (count it) worthwhile song.
I don;t think Adams has made a bad album - heck, even the much-maligned Rock N Roll has a couple of moments of gonzo genius. (So Alive and Luminol, if anyone is keeping score.) Still, the runt of the litter mind.
I've never seen him live per se, although Adams was pretty damn great when he appeared with the Cowboy Junkies at the Royal Albert Hall in 2007 (subs, please check.....)
I like Ryan Adams
but can't help feeling Gold was his pinnacle will give Easy Tiger another listen though
Love Is Hell
one of the most underrated albums (after 2 EPs were combined) of the noughties
Some superb Americana, filled with longing and loss:
Yep,
Gold is a cracker.... Rock'n'Roll had it's moments, but Demolition was a lazy album which could have been a cracker... maybees he should go back and do it properly.
As for being too prolific, I would buy a new RT album every month should he choose to release same. If you listen to Life And Times Of Richard Thompson, it shows that The Man can interpetate loads of his songs in many different ways, making them fresher and different.
Waiting for the New York Disco Mix of Vincent Black Lighting.....
Whiskeytown/ Heartbreaker
Ryan Adams is worthy of massive props even just for the last Whiskeytown album 'Pneumonia' and his first solo album 'Heartbreaker' which are as good as anything recorded in recent years. There are some tremendous songs on both.
Both genius albums
particularly like Don't Be Sad off the Whiskeytown LP and this one off Heartbreaker has some fantastic vocals:
Stagediving
I saw him at Liverpol Royal Court a couple of years ago. He was totally pissed/stoned and brought an end to a woeful 45 minutes by falling 15 foot into the orchestra pit and breaking his arm.
Hasn't stopped me from loving Gold but didnt tempt me to buy anything else
He is very talented but
He is very talented but there is just too much of him.
The Cardinals
Check out his albums with the Cardinals, "Cold Roses" and "Cardinology" are both very good indeed. I met him when he was doing the rounds with "Heartbreaker" and he was a lovely chap but a few years later, after he'd been courted by everyone from Elton to Bono, I ran into him again and he was a total arse which is a shame as he really has been responsible for some great music.
The Total Arse Thing
he had a drink issue - which I believe he no longer has - probably was the root of the "total arse" issue.
I'd
had a few chardonnays myself..
Easy Tiger
by Ryan and the Cardinals, which came out between Cold Roses and Cardinology, is an excellent album as well. The song Two is one of my favourite of his songs.
By coincidence my day started with a Ryan moment. First track up on the MP3 player as I headed to the station was the brilliant Whiskeytown song Dancing With The Women At The Bar.
Even Rock and Roll has some genius moments......
Songs that Adams wrote as throwaway numbers to appease "The Man" when they refused to release Love is Hell. So Alive for starters, oh and English Girls, Approximately is one of the top 10 songs of the decade.
Saw him live unannounced with Jesse Malin's band about 5 years ago and was mesmerising
I must have missed the bits in Jeff Beck's career...
where he wasn't brilliant. He puts 99.9% of other guitar players to shame.
Less than brilliant Beck
Unfortunately I bought into the hype that Beck, Bogert & Appice were the new Cream, only better; the band that would show Led Zep how to bring it on home.
I bought the album and aside from one track, the title of which escapes me, it was pure stodge.