ryan adams - rock n roll
i realise that this man has been wriiten about far too much in every corner of the music world so here's my two penneth. at first i gave his previous high profile album 'gold' a quick sping on a listening post and did not hear anything special at all. therefore i made my mind up.
i didn't like ryan adams.
i was comfortable with this stance. i could stand apart from the hyperbole and feel assured i was right and they were wrong for whatever reason i could muster from my 10 minutes of exposure to the mans work.
then out of the blue i heard recent single 'so alive' and became interested. the use of johnny marr guitars and full on classic indie rock cliches i could not help but feel a surge of postive vibes (must be my age). that one track really got under my skin, and so the album turned up.
as many others have indicated the album is a 'made to order' album for the rock music masses (and to please the record label). visiting all aspects of modern rock from the strokes, to the smiths, via bruce springsteen and tom petty, and even in parts old big 80's stadium styles of u2/echo/simple minds. i really wanted to hate it, but by the forth listen i was positively enjoying this album. the man has a way with a song. damn. some of the lyrics are cringesome, but i am sure ryan himself knows this. he probably saves his best words for the slow, country rock albums that no-one else buys.
so here goes : i was wrong.
ryan adams is a fine modern rock-n-roll talent.
can i still hate him though, or is that just mean of me ?