Your 5 Ryan Adams albums

For me Ryan Adams has been something of a busted flush ever since disbanding the Cardinals. He went from being touted as the next Neil Young (even releasing his own "ditch" trilogy) in the early to mid noughties to MOR lite rock in more recent years.

What would be the 5 Ryan Adams albums you would select as being his best work?

 

My top 5 in order are:

1. Cold Roses
2. Heartbreaker
3. Love Is Hell
4. Self-titled
5. Gold

 

For me

Heatbreaker
Gold
Cold Roses
Jacksonville City Nights
Easy Tiger

 

You can’t discount Prisoner in that way. I voted for Heartbreaker, Gold, Love Is Hell, Cold Roses and Prisoner. It’s all good though. Only one Cardinals album in that lot. Soo much talent...

 

I think saying he was going to be the next Neil Young is as silly as the people who said he was the next Bob Dylan. No wonder why people end up being disappointed.
I thought Prisoner was solid, but it's been hit or miss for me since Easy Tiger.

Bring on Blackhole and all the other records collecting dust, please.

 

Cold Roses is my favourite. Also voted for Heartbreaker, Rock and Roll, Love is Hell and the self-titled one.

I don't have Prisoner.

With Ryan Adams, because he is so damn prolific and releases lots of additional EP's, b-sides etc., I tend to put my faves into yearly RA playlists. For example, 2005 is known as 29 Cold Roses in a Jacksonville Cuty Night!

 

I think he has four truly excellent records. My ranking:

1. Cold Roses
2. Gold
3. Heartbreaker
4. Love is Hell

I gave my fifth vote to Demolition, which has some very great highlights. Apart from a song here and there, I haven't been a fan of his work since 2007. I gave the last two a real effort and just don't care for either of them.

 

Orion is pretty awesome if you like heavy metal space opera

 

For me Heartbreaker and Gold are the two stand-outs, though I also have Love Is Hell, Easy Tiger, and Ashes and Fire. It's great he is so prolific, but sometimes less is more.

 

Heartbreaker is the masterpiece imo.
Also love most of,
Faithless Street
Love Is Hell
Gold
Ashes and Fire

 

I love 1989 which is not listed, even if it is a cover album. But already the idea to cover the whole album and to change it in something different is pretty cool (I know others did that too). However, 1989 is very strong and my favorite album along with Gold.

 

Love the DRA. My faves change with the weather but right here right now...

Love Is Hell
Prisoner
29
Ryan Adams
Gold

The Whiskeytown records are well worth checking out too.

 

I really liked the Cardinals albums and that era of show, but I also think Prisoner is a really great album. RA gets some flack for being too prolific, and at one point he likely was, but IMO he hits more than misses.

 

Love is Hell
Gold
Demolition
Easy Tiger
S/T

 

Ryan Adams
Cold Roses
Cardiology
Gold
Prisoner

His self titled release and Cold Roses are my two favorite. Saw him once (opening for Oasis) in 2008 and thought he was excellent live.

 

I'll use the thread as an excuse (not that I need one) to revisit these albums. Listening to Rescue Blues off of Gold right now. I first heard this song on an Uncut magazine freebie CD. Fantastic song...fantastic album.

Now "Somehow, Someday", "there ain't no way I'll ever stop from loving you now."

So far I've got:
Cold Roses
Gold
Heartbreaker
Easy Tiger

 

you are exactly right. i completely lost interest after Cardinology (maybe even at Easy Tiger)

 

My top five are

Heartbreaker
Gold
Love is Hell
Cold Roses
29

Those top four are so close to each other in quality stakes, yet so different from each other also. He was phenomenal at that stage of his career. Breathtaking live also at that time, though you never knew if he would be coherent enough to finish a show. But when he was on, he was ON.

Like others have alluded to, from Easy Tiger onwards there's a significant change in quality. Happy for anyone who is into those records, but they just don't do anything for me. I'm usually not somebody to dismiss en masse like that but I've tried time and again and just can't get into them.

 

I don't get why a lot of Ryan Adams fans don't love Ashes & Fire. It's a bit sappy, but wow, the melodies are amazing on that record. I think there is a real sheep mentality amongst some "fans" that if it isn't immediate or what they expected, it's crap. It's been very vogue to bash Ryan Adams for a long time. And, to be honest, often times he deserves it based on things he's said. But, a lot of his music is better than the herd mentality dismiss so quickly. I think he had a run of crap. I think Cardinology and II/IV are dreadful records. At best, a few keepers. 29 was awful. Orion, well, it's not my thing at all. I thought Rock-N-Roll was awful.

It seems Ryan always wants to be this "rocker" and that's just not him. Not his strength at all.

But when he stays within himself, he can really write some amazing stuff. He and Neil Young are the only two people who can keep my attention with just their voice and an acoustic guitar for a night. That's a very powerful thing if you can do that, and hardly anyone can pull it off.

I think the last three records are good records. Best three he's released together in quite awhile. I think they're a bit lazy in that Ryan probably could've polished them up and made them better, but he's going to do what he's going to do.

I was going through my vast, vast Ryan Adams collection recently as I am a HUGE fan, and I came across a very sad reality. I've been a musician and songwriter for longer than he has, and I realized that he has more great songs that he hasn't even released, than I have great songs......wow....humbling.

I sure wish he wouldn't dismiss his Whiskeytown days, and I'd pay big money to see a reunion. He was at his peak as a writer during the Whiskeytown days, in my opinion. That, and right after with his early solo records and the many, many great songs he didn't release during all that time.

 

I’m an Easy Tiger fan. Good stuff.

 

No option for 1989? I'd have put that in my top 5.

 

I added Demolition to my list. Just listening to it again and it's superb! "Nuclear", "Hallelujah" and "You Will Always Be the Same"...and that's just the first three tracks.

Edit: "Desire" and "Cry on Demand"! Five for five. A home run. I think I've been confusing this one with Rock n Roll. Or just am old.

 

1. Heartbreaker
2. Cold Roses
3. Jacksonville City Nights...(big gap)...
4. Ryan Adams
5. Easy Tiger

 

Heartbreaker
Gold
Cold Roses
Jacksonville City Nights
Ryan Adams

 

Last 3 (not counting Prisoner B Sides as I haven’t heard it, but I felt Prisoner, the Taylor’s Swift cover 29–which ain’t got nothing on Taylor actually, and Ryan Adams were just kinda boring)... he lost the spark for me...but I’ll probably still buy...

Top 5 in order:
1. Heartbreaker
2. Love is Hell
3. Easy Tiger
4. 29
5. Cold Roses