Ryan Adams - Wednesdays (Dec 11th 2020)

I will be getting this one.

 

These guys deserve some praise for reviewing the album.

'Wednesdays,' Ryan Adams' New Album Reviewed - rock nyc

 

I think that sums up the album and situation pretty accurately.

 

Just got around to listening to this, and I have to say, it met my expectations. It had a few duds (Mamma, Poison & Pain), but mostly a good to great album overall. Birmingham might be my favorite track, that's how you do a diss track. I give it a 7/10, looking forward to the rest of the trilogy.

 

As someone who didn't think I'd be able to give Ryan Adams another real chance, after no official charges were made and his pending inquiry from the FBI seems to have disappeared... I can once again separate the art from the artist...
I happen to love this album. It's of course not his best work, but I think it's better than Prisoner and S/T.. It's not a cohesive work of art, but it is a great collection of songs with a typical Ryan Adams theme... It was obviously written before 2019... So unless much of it has been altered drastically, it's hard to say it's about what he's going through now.. (Again, typical of Ryan Adams. He moves through so much heartbreak and self induced drama that by the time we're listening to something, he's already on to the next one and it has nothing to do with what we think it might)

My favorites are Wednesdays - almost a Warren Zevon like heartbreaker, it puts the listener in the wedding in the Coronado hotel... Drunk at the pool. Trashed at the bar... Love it.

Poison and Pain- Seems to be addressing his current demons.. This song seems relatively current as he wouldn't write about alcohol and drugs for quite a long time when he first sobered up.. Even jokingingly removing them from live shows and replacing them with diet cokes...

Dreaming in Reverse- Possibly the best Ryan Adams song since Lucky Now... minus the allegations, it would be the soundtrack to every movie/tv show for the next 2 years... And that solo at the end is something I haven't heard since Love is Hell days.. Just perfect. And a perfect ending to the album.

I don't like Mamma, don't understand what the **** is going on here.. just whiny.. I didn't initially like the first 2 tracks but they've grown on me and think they fit the album well...

I don't think this is a return to Heartbreaker... There's only 1 song that really sounds like that due to the harmonica... but it is a good old Ryan Adams album.. Nothing on it trying to "sound different" than Ryan Adams... Prisoner was such a heavy album I can barely enjoy it. Self titled was good, but hasn't stood the test of time.. It was fun live and fun to revisit the 80's rock sound in modern form...

From my perspective it seemed like the heartbreak songs were about Mandy, but I found out he had been engaged to someone before the allegations or before the relapse.. His brother's loss and broken off engagement seemed to possibly trigger the relapse, but who knows... So many self induced other rough things like the divorce and break ups of multiple bands/friendsh

 

I'd have to say the same 7/10... But the 3-4 songs I really love are up there with his best... Birmingham is fantastic.. but I fear it will lose it's appeal after a few listens..

 

I blame the NYtimes.. It was reckless journalism trying to be a hero introducing #metoo into the "misogynistic" music community.. It's obviously a problem, but was Ryan Adams the one to bring down for it? Most people don't even know the guy.. I think it was more just karma on his part.. He did this **** to himself and is obviously a creep and an ******* to women and just about everyone he meets, but unlikely an illegal one... or illegal enough to get charged for anything major...

Some journalist just wanted in on the cancel culture and found and in with a very hurt and angry Mandy Moore who no doubt reeled in these other women she knew about in Ryan's circle... She was wanting some $ out of the divorce and it seemed like he was putting up a fight. I will not defend someone I know nothing about, but divorce just ****s everyone up... And he was already ****ed..
I am happy to have new music from him to end the year and thankful he released it for free... It atleast appears it's not a total money grab or anything... We have the option to buy it should we choose.

 

I'm sorry and I love You was going to be on Big Colors. I wonder if anything in it changed lyrically.. or if the lyrics just fit the times... I think I would have hated it before everything we know now... But it's almost like he's singing it to the fans.

 

TBH it wasn't just "something" it was what Nytimes considered underage regular contact with a minor for sexual reasons, and possibly more than one.. I don't trust big media much, but they'd have to have some evidence on this to publish the story... It definitely left a rotten taste in my mouth after so much suspicion of him being more than just an *******.. or why he could never keep a band together longer than a tour etc... I hope NYtimes will apologize eventually if nothing comes of this, or at least give the man a follow up... 2 years and no investigation, no charges, nothing at all, and no word from NYtimes..

 

after a few listens I think I figured out what bothered me at first.

The first track - "I'm Sorry and I Love You" is so repetitively corny and needy it put me off for the rest of my first listen.
The second time, I started with track 2 and just listened to what came after and it started to sound more genuine.
The third time, all the way thru, I could separate that first track from the rest and found myself liking it in a way I was used to with his stuff.

There is a lot to like and admire in this thing - still bothered by how his vocals are recorded on some of the tracks - and I look forward to the other two releases.

 

Very good album. Not groundbreaking for RA because it often recalls older releases like Ashes & Fire, 29, or Love is Hell as noted earlier in the thread, but there’s definitely a newfound maturity here. Glad to see it’s already finding its audience.
Actually I’m not sure why Wednesdays is being ignored by the music press. Not a very efficient way to "cancel" if that’s the intention. Nearly 2 years of outrage, tabloid news, Twitter gossip and now they can’t actually review the new record? Why not?

 

Adams newbie here again. It’s been a day now, and I can’t stop playing Prisoner and the b-sides collection. I’m hooked.

I’m getting the impression that Prisoner is somewhat polarizing for fans... a lot of people don’t dig that and the s/t. Sort of like how a lot of Waterboys fans didn’t like Dream Harder. But for someone like me, who grew up listening to Marshall Crenshaw, I couldn’t imagine turning my back on “Anything I Say To You Now”, “Halo”, “It Will Never Be The Same”, and any number of the others. It’s top shelf guitar pop, it doesn’t miss... win win win.

Meanwhile, Wednesdays is brilliant also, but in a completely different way, obviously. I like that he can work in very different sonic and musical modes and make quality music. I’m just scratching the surface but it all looks promising.

 

This is a very good album, but the amount of posts I’m seeing on fan pages saying it is a better album than Blood on the Tracks is laughable

 

Another good blog review.

ALEX REVIEWS MUSIC (ARM): RYAN ADAMS – WEDNESDAYS | 2020-12-12

 

Six pages and no DR comments or graphics, wow.

 

This is honestly exactly what I did... And now that he's made a video for sorry and I love you, I really hate it.. It's a garbage song. Taylor Swift 10 years ago song..

And yes what is with the vocal recordings on a couple songs. Birmingham in particular is a bad vocal track... Like what intonation is he using. It's like a nasaly head voice that he rarely sings with if at all... I think with it being a "diss" track it's making fun of the Dawes sound. It's eerliy similar to a couple of their tunes, while taking a punch at Jason Isbell, Mandy Moore, and the lead singer guy from Dawes...

 

I don't keep up on the tabloids, but I'm curious as to why he would be dissing Dawes?

 

Halfway through the album and surprised how much I felt indifferent towards it especially as a big fan. Just feels like we've been here before....many, many times. Maybe other factors are painting my thoughts and I'll feel differently after some time or after another listen. But as of now I'm in no rush.

 

Played half the album and made a judgement, you’ve really taken your time and absorbed it.

 

Near to insane with jealousy with what you are about to experience. Take a belt of something strong, grab a pack of smokes and a box of tissues and jump down the wormhole.

 

My problem is that "cancel culture"--like a lot of laws and rules recently--are selectively applied.
If someone is a media darling, or is viewed as coming from an underprivileged background or is too big, rich and influential to get on the wrong side of, or holds the correct political or social views, they will get a pass.

If you don't, you are nailed to the social media cross.

 

I haven’t heard an album that I was prepared to call my album of the year for 2020 but...this might be the one. It just keeps getting better and better (and I’m not over-listening to it, either).

 

His ex wife is married to their lead singer now... Birmingham sounds really similar to something they would put out... Even Ryans strange vocal take is like trying to imitate the lead singers voice... Really really weird...

 

Sheesh

I hear the the somewhat unusual delivery from Ryan but this is such a huge stretch to say he's taking a diss track so far as to imitate Dawes

 

Does not sound like Dawes at all neither the music nor the singing style. It’s a clearly about Isbell, I do not see any reference to anything else. And I don’t think the vocals are “bad” as you stated. I think they fit the song very well, to me it seems more like a Dylan reference somehow (musically and singing wise). It reminds me of Idiot Wind, it has an equal amount of hurt and anger.