The Finest Records of Ryan Adams

Ryan Adams is an American musician, singer, songwriter, artist, weirdo, etc. He had an incredibly prolific career before the age of 35 (He's 36 now). Just like with every artist who's ever existed, not all of Adams' work is on the same level. That said, here are Ryan Adams' three finest albums from his solo career and work with The Cardinals.

Heartbreaker

Released before the final album of his alt-country band, Whiskeytown , Adams' debut solo album remains a favorite among his fans because of it's honesty. There is no special treatment for these songs. No glossy production or studio trickery to keep audiences interested. They don't need it. If a listener finds themselves unable to get into Heartbreaker, they've likely never felt the pain of growing up, the ache of love gone sour, or the roller coaster of emotions that comes with being human and having relationships with other humans (See what I said there? If you can't get into it, you're not a human. Only joking, mostly.)

Anyway, the songs that make up this record have the power to become a part of your life. They'll keep you company, they'll raise questions, answer questions, and remind you of your best and worst times. If you haven't before, I dare you to get to know this album. It already knows what you've been through.

Cold Roses

Guitar. This double-record from Ryan Adams and The Cardinals is loaded with it. Acoustic, electric, slide, pedal steel. Hard, pretty, fast, slow. It's all over these 18 songs. Oh, sure. The songs are awesome too. The production is incredibly hands-off, which gives the record a really live sound and natural texture. But man, that guitar work It's something special.

Putting out a double album takes major courage too. If it's no good, you've failed to please your listeners double the amount you normally would. I can't really say "Luckily for Adams" because it's not luck. The dude doesn't come across great songs that connect with people by accident. It's a refined talent that he and the Cardinals demonstrate twice over with Cold Roses. Key tracks? All of them, but "Cherry Lane" and the title track always seem to do it for me.

Jacksonville City Nights

I wasn't present during the recording of this album, WHICH, by the way, was the the second of three albums Ryan Adams released in 2005 (Cold Roses, this, and 29 ). Anyway, back to what I was saying. I wasn't present with Adams and The Cardinals while they were recording this album. But when listening to the album, I have a hard time believing that's true. I imagine most, if not all, of this record was done live in the studio because there are little mistakes and mic-clips that would have been over-dubbed if the music wasn't done live.

It's the most "Country" album Adams put out with The Cardinals, but it's also a punk record because of the way it was made, and most of all, it's a timeless piece of art. If you can keep you've never cried whilst listening to "September" or danced with someone to "My Heart is Broken," you haven't lived a full life.

So what about Gold? Love is Hell? Cardinology or Easy Tiger? Don't think I'm a grouch who hates those records. I don't. I do, however, believe that production got in the way of Ryan Adams' songs at times. He's also took risks, which is admirable, but as with any risks: some pay off better than others.