Ryan Adams: Alt-Country God

After three albums with Whiskeytown, and seven albums (and counting) on his own, a retrospective of one of the great songwriters of this generation is in order. Here is a short look at the works or Mr. David Ryan Adams.

Ryan started his career like most youths in his day, in the punk rock genre. Bands like X, Black Flag and Sonic Youth were some of the musicians that would influence his sound to this day. And the punk-infused country music would come to be something that defined the Ryan Adams sound.

But ultimately, it was country music that would dominate his repertoire with his first real band Whiskeytown. This band featured Ryan, Catlain Cary and a few of Ryan's friends from North Carolina. Whiskeytown initially began as a college outfit, but it soon grew into recording its own albums and ultimately attention from the industry. Their three albums, Faithless Street, Pneumonia, and Stranger's Almanac all drew critcal praise, but the band never really took off on radio. More importantly, Ryan Adams felt that it was time to move into a new direction, enter solo career.

Heartbreaker

Ryan continued his roll of critical acclaim with this album. Not only did he get his name off the ground, he enlisted the help of a few famous friends, not excluding one Emmylou Harris. Good old Emmylou sings on the track "Sweet Carolina" adding the sweet harmony with her signature soprano. Ryan also enlists the help of his good friends Gillian Welch and David Rawlings. They play and sing on several tracks including "When you're Young (you get sad and high)." Other stand out tracks on this album include "Winding Wheel" and "Come Pick me Up". So far, this has been Ryan's best work to date.

Gold

This is the second effort by the North Carolinian. Produced by Glyn Johns, Gold was suppose to have been Ryan's break into commercial radio. The result was not as hoped, however, it did produce some minor singles such as "New York, New York" and "Answering Bell" (with backing vocals, courtesy of Adam Dershwitz). There are about seventeen songs on here, some better than others, but the entire album is really enjoyable, and there are moments of brilliance.

Demolition

Given Mr. Adams proclivity for writing as many songs as there are birds in the sky, Demolition seemed to be an inevitable event. This is really a collection of odds and ends. However, there are some very well written songs on here which have become a staple at his live shows as well. The standout tracks on this album include "Halelujah", "Nuclear", "Dear Chicago", and "Chin Up, Cheer Up". With all of the hits and misses, this is still an album that is worth the having.

Rock and Roll

This is Ryan's ode to the classic seventies and eighties glam sound. There is a lot of distortion, loud guitars and power chords. Though Ryan is a very good mimic, this style of music is not his forte. The better tracks on here are "1979" and "Anybody Wanna Take Me Home".

Cold Roses

With a new line up, and a renewed vigor, Ryan went back into the studio to record a kind of tribute to the Greatful dead, one of Ryan's favorite bands. The new line up of musicians and different approach to the music proved to be a success. The extended jams on tracks such as "Magnolia Mountain" and "Cold Roses" do enough to pay homage without stepping on rock-history toes. The album was good enough to impress long time Dead bassist, Phil Lesh to contact Ryan and begin a loose musical collaboration. This is a double album with enough diverse material on it to please most listeners. Even the die hard fan can relish the country- tinged influence on this album.

Ryan continues to record at a neck breaking pace. Even if there is legitimate complaining by his fans and critics that there is a lack of editing to his albums. Mr. Adam's rebuttal that more is better than less seems to be good enough for now. And we should consider ourselves lucky that someone like Ryan is out there, making some of the finest music to be heard in a long time.