Your 5 Ryan Adams albums

Hmm, I'll have to think about this. I don't know if I'd describe it in quite the same way. I like a certain rough edge, a rawness. The "alt" in the alt-country genre. It used to be called cowpunk, which I like better (and I dislike "Americana" as I think it's too broad).

But still, interesting analysis.

 

Love Is Hell
Heartbreaker
Rock n Roll
Easy Tiger
Gold

In that order. The only true disaster is Orion.

 

I thought I'd tackle my "best of" playlist. Considering that I'd like to put 12 songs from Heartbreaker on the playlist (and it could easily have been all 14)...it appears this could end up as one massive collection of songs.

 

“Political Scientist” is his greatest song IMO (Jeff Buckley would probably agree).

 

I can see that. I definitely have not had as strong a connection to the last few that I did to his first several. I honestly think - and I hate to say this - that it might be his sobriety. Not that being sober means you can't be creative. But the twelve-step program is very big on teaching you not to trust yourself, because you make bad decisions. And as a result, a lot of recovering addicts tend to lose the spark they had when they were using, because they're so focused on walking the straight-and-narrow. I certainly don't want Ryan to fall off the wagon again. I just wish there was a way he could maintain his independent streak without destroying himself in the process. Anyway, that's my two cents.

 

I don't think I'd be too good of a record company executive. My first attempt at a playlist and it's 97 songs long! A 60% retention rate...and I still haven't considered Cardinology, III/IV, Ryan Adams or 1989 (though I did include 4 songs from an EP and two singles).

 

I'm scared to ask... but are you including "48 hours"? One of Ryan's finest songs... "Walls"... and that damn thing has never been officially released and never played live (as far as I can tell).

Why Ryan? Why never play that song? What an infuriating artist.

 

As good as anything in his catalogue...

 

Wow! Fantastic. Never heard it before. Thanks (and, no, it's not on my list...though it would be).

 

Ryan Adams was one of my favorite artists around the 2001-2002 era, and I kept up with him pretty religiously
up through the '05 trilogy. "Heartbreaker" and "Gold" are classics, and "Love is Hell" and "29" are personal favorites (I always felt like extended bouts of melancholia really brought out the man's melodic/harmonic side -- things like "My Blue Manhattan" and "Nightbirds" are his real sweet spot for me). Everything else from that era has its moments but is uneven, and I lost track of him completely around the time of "Easy Tiger." On the rare occasions that I've checked back in, the music has felt average and unremarkable in every way. I was surprised to look at that list and see how much stuff has accumulated since I tuned out.

 

I'll take 5 of his first 6. Everything after that has been some variation on what he's done before, but nothing groundbreaking. Even Demolition from this early era is better than what he's making now, but it's such a hodgepodge of demos and random tracks, that even though there are some great tunes, it's too diverse and unfocused and it was never originally intended as an album, so it doesn't make my Top 5.

1. Gold
2. Cold Roses
3. Heartbreaker
4. Love is Hell
5. Rock n Roll

 

Always loved this PAX AM digital single he release a few years back. Both remind me of his Love Is Hell/Rock N Roll era

 

Are there any plans to release the unreleased albums like '48 Hours', it really is fantastic, i hope he's not going to hoard it Neil young style.

 

Heartbreaker
Gold
Cold Roses
Jacksonville City Nights
Cardinology

 

I agree with your conclusion number one, the consensus seems to coalesce around Hearbreaker, Gold and Cold Roses (although for me personally I think the songs on Heartbreaker are better than the performances. It's an album full of some of Adams' greatest songs, but it's not an album I ever find myself caring to listen to).

But I think conclusion #2 is too superficial. I love Jacksonville City Nights and I like Ashes & Fire -- which fall into your folk spectrum -- and I like Cardinology and I like Rock n Roll -- which fall into your rock spectrum; but Love Is Hell and 29 are pretty much unlistenable to me -- I think they're tuneless mopery that are just a grind to try to get through, I literally can stand to listen to 'em -- and those fall in your folk spectrum. I think it's more a divide between Adams at his more Elliott Smith-y vs. at his more tuneful and outward looking, vs. a matter of musical style.

 

This, and Karina.

 

Ah, that was just me being snarky. As little as I know about RA, I always figured he was closer to Neil Young than he was to, say, Magma or Hawkwind. Heartbreaker and Gold are now sitting on my desk at work. Will give them a spin tonight and report back.

 

Ryan Adams albums ranked from best to worst as per Rate Your Music aggregate scores:

• Cold Roses 3.81
• Love Is Hell pt 1 3.80
• Heartbreaker 3.77
• Love Is Hell pt 2 3.69
• Gold 3.65
• Jacksonville City Nights 3.57
• Ashes & Fire 3.44
• Easy Tiger 3.43
• 29 3.36
• Demolition 3.33
• Prisoner 3.29
• Cardinology 3.25
• III/IV 3.22
• Ryan Adams 3.11
• Rock n Roll 3.08
• Orion 2.26

Pretty much ties in with the poll results thus far.

Short documentary on the making of Jacksonville City Nights for any fans:

 

I'd rate Whiskeytown's Strangers Almanac above most of his solo career, except for maybe Heartbreaker or Cold Roses.

In my estimation, he's still capable of great things, just needs to stop thinking everything is great. See also Robert Pollard. Case in point, Jacksonville City Nights has some fantastic songs, but is too long and meandering overall.

 

I was asked to make a Ryan Adams mix for a friend who was a fan who lost her music collection. I had to make two cd's as one was too heavy on Heartbreaker tunes. I made these before 1989, Carnegie Hall and Prisoner came out. These might be a little too heavy on the "folk" side for some but might be a good playlist for those new to him that can be put together on spotify.

CD1 - Ryan Adams - The Sweet Illusion:

Magnolia Mountain - Cold Roses
Answering Bell - Gold
Come Pick Me Up - Heartbreaker
These Girls - Easy Tiger
Night Birds - 29
This House Is Not For Sale - Love Is Hell
Am I Safe - Ryan Adams
Hard Way To Fall - Jacksonville City Nights
My Winding Wheel - Heartbreaker
La Cinema Just Smiled - Gold
Lucky You - Ashes & Fire
Sweet Illusions - Cold Roses
Fix It - Cardinolgy
Desire - Demolition
If I Am A Stranger - Follow The Light
Please Do Not Let Me Go - Love Is Hell


CD2 - Ryan Adams - Loaded Like Freights And The Dirty Rain:

Magik - Cardinology
Enemy Fire - Gold
Call Me On Your Way Back Home - Heartbreaker
When Will You Come Back Home - Cold Roses
A Kiss Before I Go - Jacksonville City Nights
Dirty Rain - Ashes & Fire
Carolina Rain - 29
Pearls On A String - Easy Tiger
Let It Ride - The Loft Sessions (Cold Roses era)
To Be Young - Heartbreaker
New York, New York - Gold
English Girls Approximately - Love Is Hell
Invisible Riverside - Ashes & Fire
My Wrecking Ball - Ryan Adams
When Stars Go Blue - Gold
In My Time Of Need - Heartbreaker

 

Wow. Surprised to see Cold Roses rated so highly. Never really thought too much of that one; sort of the "odd duck" in his discography.

Love Is Hell is my favorite.

 

Nice mix... and I know this is a never-ending debate... but no Ryan mix without "Oh My Sweet Carolina" is complete.

 

Jacksonville City Nights is an album that has grown on me quite a lot over the years. I didn't love it when it first came out but there are so many great songs buried in there ("Trains", "Withering Heights", "Dear John").

 

Interesting. I'm both a rock and folk fan, so I like pretty much everything he's done. The only place I would disagree is that I don't rate Cold Roses very highly; to me, it seemed that he was jumping on a Grateful Dead bandwagon and, as a result, everything about that record seems ill-fitting, like an untailored suit. Ryan is a song guy, not a jam guy, and the less jamming he does, the better he is. There are a few great songs on Cold Roses, but as a whole, that album has always seemed off to me -- as if it's not the real Ryan. Thankfully in recent years he has moved back into a more concise, straightforward song mode -- and I think Prisoner is his best album since 29. Love Is Hell will probably always get my vote as his solo masterpiece, although Whiskeytown's Faithless Street and Strangers Almanac would have to rate just as highly.

 

Ryan's live performances between 2005-2006 suggest otherwise. The music the Cardinals produced live was transcendent in the best possible way.

Things have got more concise, and lyrically boring, IMHO.