December 22, 2005
Ryan Adams – 29
Posted by Sean Moores at December 22, 2005 10:28 AM29
Ryan Adams
(Lost Highway)
Even though Ryan Adams has released three discs this year, we haven't learned much new about him. We knew about his life-long love affair with the Grateful Dead, and it's all over May's jammy, meandering and too-long "Cold Roses." We knew he liked to change direction from disc to disc, as he did when he put out the country-colored "Jacksonville City Nights" in September. Tuesday's release of "29" gave us an answer to one question: last in this case is definitely least.
The knock on Adams since about the time of his second solo release, 2001's "Gold," has been that he needs an editor, somebody who can convince him of the value of trimming the excess to reveal the masterpiece beneath. With the possible exception of 2000's "Heartbreaker," pretty much every Adams disc could be improved by excising a tune or two. It's a tired criticism, but still worth mentioning when it seems like prolific output is being confused with artistic achievement.
You have to give Adams an A for effort. Unfortunately, you have to give much lower marks for quality control. Few bands release multiple great albums in the same year. Led Zeppelin and Creedence Clearwater Revival pulled it off, but the list is pretty short after that. It's hard to not think that Adams is chasing the greats, so eager to pay off on his New Dylan potential that he's undercutting the talent that earned the tag. Even his re-teaming with "Gold" producer Ethan Johns can't disguise the shortcomings of "29." The nine songs are largely non-essential, mostly serving as reminders that he's capable of much better and that his wanderings have taken him further away from where he started.
The disc starts out on an upbeat if familiar note with "Twenty Nine," which borrows from the Dead's "Truckin'" and tacks on a John Lee Hooker beat for good measure. It's mostly downcast from there, though. The majority of the disc plays out in somber, confessional territory mined to much greater effect on the "Love Is Hell" EPs.
Not only are many of the songs mouthed in a little more than a murmur, but it feels a little like Adams is making up the words as he goes along, trying to fit too many syllables into some of the measures. The manually-typed lyrics in the liner notes, complete with x'd-out words, suggest that prose or poetry could have been more effective formats for this work. Maybe Adams will follow literary aspirations next, but probably not without a attaching a double CD to the book jacket.
Adams adds yet another style experiment to his resume with the spaghetti-western-soundtrack/surf guitar-inspired "The Sadness," but the song adds little to "29."
The best of the lot is "Carolina Rain," a pretty waltz that could have fit nicely on "Heartbreaker."
Adams set out to release three albums this year, and he did it. His stylistic wanderlust is probably here to stay, and that's certainly OK, but here's hoping that among his resolutions for 2006 is slowing down and looking homeward a little more often.
Glad I didn't rush out and get this one. I still haven't digested "Love Is Hell" to a point where I can listen to it. If this is anywhere near that... I doubt I'll pick it up at all.
Too much, too fast, too sloppy, too shallow. Ryan can do better.
Posted by: Jim Pipkin at December 22, 2005 2:27 PMI'd put $50 on that.
In fact, I'll offer that action to all takers -- by Merlefest, Larry will own a copy of "29" or will have otherwise, through legal or illegal means, gained access to an electronic version thereof.
The only thing that drives Larry more crazy than having a hole in an otherwise complete CD collection is somebody bringing a harmonica to a bluegrass jam.
Any takers?
Posted by: Shane O. at December 22, 2005 2:28 PMHaving seen Adams at our city's folk festival this summer, I'm fairly sure he's battling a serious drug addiction.
He meandered on about morphine and crack, was barely legible throughout much of the performance, and made some strange joke about a Honda Civic.
A few days later, it was announced the Cardinals were ending their tour early.
I had heard he used some pretty strong painkillers after he broke his wrist; could it be he got hooked?
29 seems to confirm that. It's disjointed. Adams sounds like he's straining in many of the songs.
I loved Jacksonville, but 29 was hardly worth picking up.
Posted by: Dusty Bear at December 22, 2005 3:47 PMRyan better be calling up Steve Earle for advice, and hope there is a Marty Stuart in his life to get him some work after he hits the skids.
Posted by: Jim Pipkin at December 22, 2005 4:45 PMSo, I'll play the Devil's advocate here. Ryan and the fine folks at Lost Highway have got themselves a pretty sweet gig going on. First, unlike most artists who are lucky to have a solid base of fans, RA has at three and possibly more bases. First, the alt.country fans who sob quietly at the thought that Whiskeytown will never release another album. Then there's the singer-songwriter fans who place him in the pantheon of Dylan, Westerberg and more recently Adam Duritz. They analyze his lyrics for deeper meaning and agonize alongside his every tortured melody. This group popped up around the release of Heartbreaker and hasn't yet left his side. And finally, the pop fans who fell in love with him at the success of New York, New York. They're not necessarily as rabid as group #2 but they continue to stick with him in hopes of his return to radio. With each new release all three groups (with the exception of Larry - who fits squarely in group #1) run out to buy the new album. Then they crowd the online forums to either bash it as a waste of talent, complain about his lack of an editor or praise him for his insightful genius...every album has people falling into one of these camps.
The beauty of this whole plan is that any record with his name on the cover is going to move about 100,000 units...give or take. Nowhere near gold or platinum territory, but not a bad haul for a boutique shop like Lost Highway...especially when they can keep their costs so low with this artist. Its fairly evident that Lost Highway spends very little on production work. Add to that the fact that RA can usually hammer out a double CD worth of recordings in 48 hrs or so - so studio time isn't costing them what it would cost most artists. Hell, they probably talked him into bringing on the Cardinals because a band is cheaper than having to hire studio musicians in addition to a road band. Furthermore, I see no evidence that LH spends any more than my lunch budget on marketing his new material.
In summation, his work isn't consistent but his sales apparently are. And while he's no rival to Maria Carey (who is??), he's a pretty bankable artist who can record and release any damn thing he wants to. LH gets their money, he gets his creative outlet and a little money, and we all get to enjoy / debate / bemoan his music to are heart's content.
Thanks Ryan!
Posted by: James at December 22, 2005 5:48 PMRyan Adams is living proof that there's no such thing as bad publicity.
Posted by: Sean at December 22, 2005 6:15 PMWhere does croaking from an OD figure into Ryan's career path?
Posted by: Jim Pipkin at December 22, 2005 6:17 PMI'm not sure where it fits in, but we all know what an excellent career move it can be.
Posted by: Sean at December 22, 2005 6:55 PMCould be a good move for him really. I mean he'd rival TuPac in the sheer volume of unreleased material. Maybe he could fake.
All complaints aside (and weeping for the lack of Whiskeytown) I find it funny that he releases so much and yet he still has some stellar songs that never make an album. WTF?
Posted by: Patrick Hayes at December 22, 2005 10:23 PMI hate myself for knowing I'm not going to like this CD, but also knowing I'll buy it anyway. Maybe Ryan spills a little of his blow on each CD and I'm unwittingly hooked on that, because I've been burned enough to where I oughtta know better than to buy his CDs sight-unseen by now.
Posted by: Stacy at December 23, 2005 12:26 AMOh no, James, I don't think you're playing devil's advocate at all. I think you're close, if not spot on.
I'm an unabashed Whiskeytown fan (though I haven't kept up with Caitlin Cary's release). But I also know he won't be going back there anytime soon.
Still, even his worst albums have had some of the most beautiful songs. I guess that's why I keep buying them.
Gotta admit, he's a provocative artist.
Posted by: Dusty Bear at December 23, 2005 12:07 PMI bought 29 expecting to be disappointed - but I'm really enjoying it. There's a positive review at Music Cherry that makes a better argument for the album than I could:
http://www.musiccherry.com/archives/2005/11/ryan_adams29sch_1.htm
Admittedly though, my tastes are more similar to the Music Cherry writers than the Hickory Wind audience.
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I've just been letting everything wash over me. I've pretty much been doing nothing. I've just been sitting around not getting anything done.
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