Gold
Ryan Adams
2001
Album Summary
Gold is the second studio album by Ryan Adams, released September 25, 2001 on Lost Highway Records. The album remains Adams' best-selling album, certifying Gold in the UK and going on to sell 364,000 copies in the U.S. and 812,000 worldwide. Adams noted that "with Gold, I was trying to prove something to myself. I wanted to invent a modern classic."Adams intended for the album to be a double album, but his record label, Lost Highway, condensed the album into a single disc. According to Adams, the label "took the last five songs, made it a bonus disc and put it on the first hundred and fifty thousand copies. Fucking my fans over and making them pay extra for a record I wanted to be a double album. They counted that as one record." This bonus disc is known as Side Four; the disc's title reflects the fact that the bonus material makes up the fourth side of the double LP edition of the album. The album includes "When the Stars Go Blue", which has been covered by artists such as The Corrs and Bono, Tyler Hilton, Bethany Joy Galeotti, Tim McGraw and as a duo by Kurt Nilsen featuring Venke Knutson. "New York, New York" became a notable MTV and VH1 favorite following the September 11 attacks. "The Rescue Blues" was featured in the end credits of the 2001 film Behind Enemy Lines. Adams' friend and former roommate Adam Duritz (lead singer of Counting Crows) lends background vocals to several tracks. Adams received three Grammy Award nominations in 2002: Best Rock Album, Best Male Rock Vocal Performance for "New York, New York", and Best Male Country Vocal Performance for "Lovesick Blues", a song recorded for the Hank Williams tribute album, "Timeless". Stephen King's 2006 book Lisey's Story includes part of the lyrics to "When the Stars Go Blue". Also, the song "The Rescue Blues" was featured in an episode of Scrubs. In 2011, "Answering Bell" was featured in the film and on the soundtrack to Bridesmaids.
WikipediaAt a concert in October 2002, at Nashville's Ryman Auditorium, someone in the audience yelled out a request for "Summer of '69", a hit by the similarly named Bryan Adams. Adams reacted with a stream of expletives, and ordered the house lights turned on, The Tennessean newspaper reported. He eventually found the fan who made the joke request, paid him $30 cash as a refund for the show, ordered him to leave, and said he would not play another note until he had left. He's also a pedophile (alledgedly)
Had to stop in the middle of the 3rd song, because my balls were shrinking. It's like a cocktail of estrogen with radioactive waste
I could see this playing at a suburban white Christian Americans family barbecue XD
Can't really go wrong with Ryan Adams. He reminds me a lot of the singer/songwriters from the 90s but more contemporary.
I liked this! Bluesy rocky Americana stuff. This is all upbeat (except Sylvia Plath). Would go great on a roadtrip playlist or something. This album is the kind of album that makes me glad this list exists. I never would have even given that cover a second glance! Never would have heard it. Is it 5 stars? No. Is it 4? Probably not, but considering how much I've been liberal with my 3 stars this year, I'll have to give it a 4. Really enjoyed "When the Stars Go Blue", "Nobody Girl", "Sylvia Plath", "Tina Toledo's Street Walkin' Blues", and "Rosalie Come and Go"
this was surprisingly good - I'm a little bit bummed it has a low global rating
“Gold” by Ryan Adams (2001) If you’re in the mood for country/pop/rock that’s smoother than Bruce Springsteen but not as intelligent as Neil Young, this album is worth a try. Ryan Adam’s’ poetry is better than that found in most pop music, but it has its flaws. There’s a nice enough cadence and sound, but he seems to write with limited vocabulary, conceptual depth, and synthesis. Several images are used repetitively (personified ‘night’, ‘breaking glass’), indicating a truncated imagination. Musically, the album is reminiscent of Bob Dylan and Van Morrison, with country flavorings, arranged and performed with adequate professionalism, and assisted by a large assembly of session musicians. Adams’ voice lacks control and resonance, but is well matched to the instrumental arrangements, as if producer/instrumentalist Ethan Johns was well aware of the limitations he was working with. And is there any instrument Johns doesn’t play? The album is well enough constructed, building in intensity and variety as it proceeds, stepping out of its initial country mode into the territory of classic and experimental rock. “Nobody Girl”, at over nine minutes, is about five minutes too short. Seriously. This review only covers the album as originally released. I’ll leave the sad and silly dispute over the five tracks of “Side Four” to Adams and Lost Highway Records. Sheesh. It’s not a classic, but it’s easy on the ears, and will help you get through your working day. 3/5
Today I learned there is a Ryan Adams and a Bryan Adams. It's not bad, just a tad too generic for my taste
Good album! Another artist I wasn't familiar with by name, but I know I've heard Rescue Blues before. I feel like this album is a great representation of singer-songwriter rock in the early 00s. I can hear sounds that remind me of other artists I'm more familiar with from the era. I also hear some strong elements of 70s era singer-songwriting. I can certainly hear the the influence of Dylan, Young, and Springsteen throughout the album. Favorite Songs: The Rescue Blues
I love Ryan Adams' music. I'm not sure why I don't listen to it more, but it's great. I'm not even really sure why I like it so much - it just seems kinda timeless to me. There is definitely a Neil Young, Bob Dylan vibe, but also like the Stones and a bit of the Beatles. It's blues, but it's folk, but it's also country. He could have performed at Woodstock or at a contemporary music festival and people would dig it. It's somehow genius in its simplicity. I don't know. But - 5.
Love, love, love this album. More rocking than his first solo LP, Heartbreaker, but perhaps not as pretty. Great Americana.
Un artista poco sonado en su momento pero que es una máquina de hacer grandes rolas. Este disco se deja ir solito, sin un momento que me aburra o que me invite a cambiarle. Incluso la rola más depre (Sylvia Plath) es una chulada si le pones atención. Me encanta ese punto que encuentra entre Rock, Pop y Country en el que un montón de las rolas del disco sirven en muchos momentos.
The fact that this appeals to me so much either says a ton about me or Ryan Adams lol. Kinda in that Wallflowers mold. PROTO TAYLOR SWIFT. Just some light, easy going alt rock, some good story telling, really nice melody lines and guitar riffs. Didn’t really care for Sylvia Plath. His different voices throughout the record throw me off a little too – like what the hell is that voice on Gonna Make You Love Me?
Hat mir gut gefallen. Überhaupt nicht so schnulzig, wie ich erwartet hab. Vielleicht verwechsle ich ihn auch... tatsächlich! Bryan Adams... dafuq? Werd ich wohl nochmal hören.
Me ha gustado mucho, conocía pocas canciones, pero el rollito está toh guapo
Hoewel hij inmiddels gecancelled is :), vind ik Ryan Adams een goede artiest. Op dit album wel veel kabbelends, maar vooruit: een 4. Dan devalueert dan wel de 4 voor Nick Cave van gisteren een beetje. Tsja.
Al is Ryan tegenwoordig een sujet met een wat twijfelachtige reputatie, blijft het een geweldige muziekant. Heel mooie en diverse plaat.
First Ryan Adams album for me. Pretty groovy/rocky for what I'd been led to believe was a folk influenced artist.
This is a really nice album for Ryan Adams. Not sure why he isn't a bigger star. Very in the mold of singer/songwriter style of the 70s. He has lost some of his alt-country sound on this one and gone for a more straight ahead rock/pop sound. It does lack some of the soul of Heartbreaker, but still a strong set of songs...4 stars
This is a really enjoyable alt-country / rock album with plenty of head nodding, toe tapping tracks (Tina Toledo's Street Walkin' Blues, Firecracker) alongside more thoughtful, lyrical numbers (Sylvia Plath, When the Stars go Blue). And whilst the man is clearly a bit of a wretch, he’s clearly very talented.
Way too long but besides that an entertaining combination out of folk, rock and roll and country
I really love this album. It feels like a love letter to a fading world. (A world wherein a man can innocently abuse many many women perhaps?!) The last light of a dying moon perhaps. The steady movement of La Cienga Just Smiled always produces a wistful tear. I’m not too au fait with his whole back catalogue but this record has it all for me. He’s a real wrongun and by all accounts is desperately scrabbling around for his marbles of late. I do love Phoebe dearly and don’t want to give the boy more airtime than he deserves though I trust the vacuum of cabbage ears shall allow this tree to fall in utter silence.
This is a really nice album for Ryan Adams. Not sure why he isn't a bigger star. Very in the mold of singer/songwriter style of the 70s. He has lost some of his alt-country sound on this one and gone for a more straight ahead rock/pop sound. It does lack some of the soul of Heartbreaker, but still a strong set of songs...4 stars
Really solid album with lots of fun upbeat tracks. A lot of it sounded uncomfortably familiar though. I’m not sure how Prince never sued him for “Touch Feel & Loose” as it’s about as Purple Rain-y as you can get. That’s not a bad thing to sound like one of the sexiest songs of all time. Fave tracks: “Touch, Feel & Lose” “Gonna Make You Love Me”
starts poppy and slowly gets folksier and folksier. country 90s bar with some genuinely heartfelt lyrics.
I've never listened to a complete album from Ryan Adams before. "New York, New York" was the track I liked the most from this album, and a track that I've heard before. "Gonna Make You Love Me" was another favorite. Overall, this album was easy to listen to. I like Ryan Adams enough that I'm happy to listen when his music comes on, but I haven't been at the point where I specifically seek out his music on it's own. This album was good and there's room for it to grow on me. (I listened to the extended verison of the album and "Cannonball Days" is an additional favorite).
Very enjoyable soft rock. Favorites were When the Stars Go Blue and Firecracker
Listened to on 8/22/22 4/5 Favorite song: when the stars go blue, answering bell This album was very pop-country and upbeat which I really enjoyed. It didn’t need to be 1.5 hours but would be killer on a 00s road trip playlist
Takes the idea of wearing your influences on your sleeve to a ridiculous level, but a great album
Liked this album, hints of Counting Crows, Turnpike Troubadours, Rob Thomas, Black Crows. Standouts are "Firecracker" "The Rescue Blues", "Gonna Make You Love Me",
J'ai lu quelques reviews sur le site. Je m'attendais à quelque chose de très générique.. En plus, je vois que l'Artiste n'est pas très aimé. Cependant, je crois que l'on doit séparer L'oeuvre de l'artiste. Je ne réécouterai probablement pas l'album, car ce n'Est pas un genre qui s'écoute bien dans la vie de tout les jours dans le système de son mais en travaillant avec mes écouteurs. Ce fût une très plaisante écoute. C'est très bien fait comme album. Pour reprendre la critique de quelqu'un sur cette liste. Ce n,est pas un 5 ni un 4, mais j'ai mit des 4 a des albums moins fort que celui-ci. 4.
I'll be honest. From what I read before listening, I wasn't expecting much from this album. so please don't tell my mates I liked it.
Love this album longtime. Shame about his recent-ish shenanigans as he is/was one of the great songwriters of recent years/decades.
Je me suis surpris à apprécier ces grossières américaineries. Profitez-bien, ça n'arrive pas si souvent.
This was a nice surprise. Never heard of the guy, but this was some easy listening rock.
A really good collection of songs, with a lot of variety and some genuine gems. Kind of like a more poppy version of Springsteen. Could be a few songs shorter. Lots of people in the other reviews raging at him being a nasty piece of work, but honestly we need to be able to separate the man from the art. Saying 'this is a decent album' is not endorsing his behaviour. I wonder if these people are giving 1s to Bowie/The Stones/Zeppelin/Beatles/etc too?
3/5. Didn't think I'd like the rock/country album at first, but it's pretty good!
This didn't really grab me. It all sounded competent enough but nothing really lit up. Maybe you needed to hear it just after 9/11 to have it in context? The cover invites comparisons to Springsteen's "Born in the USA", but the music doesn't seem to. Fave track - "Enemy Fire" I guess...
Kolejna nowosc listowa, bo nazwisko bardzo imieniowe nic mi nie mowi, najwiekszy hicior wedlug lastfma jest coverem oasisowego wonderwalla, wiec tym bardziej nie kojarze, okladka sugerurowala, ze znowu hamerykanski punk, a tutaj takie zaskoczenie gdy uslyszalem cos co mozna zaklasyfikowac jako blend klasycznego rock&rolla z muzyka country w odmianie bardzo alternatywnej, bo plyta jest bardzo rozpieta, zarowno pod wzgledem gatunkowym na skali rokowania, to samo mozna powiedziec o performensie wokalnym Ryana, bo jak kameleon potrafi sie on dopasowac do tego co jest akurat grane i nadac trakowi unikalnego brzmienia, unikalnosc pochodzi takze z szerokiego wachlarza instrumentali ktorego mozna posluchac na krazku, bo sam Adams raz po raz wymienia akustyka na elektryka, przy czym znajdzie sie trak gdzie slychac jego banjo, czy tez pianinko, ladnie wyglada wiki tego albumiku, mozna dokladnie sie dowiedziec co gdzie kto gral, a dzieki temu trzeba pochylic czola przed kunsztem producenta tej plyty, bo wiki pejdz tak opisuje jego kontrybucje instrumentalna w ten material, Ethan Johns – Drums (D1: 1-15; S4: tracks 1, 4), electric guitar (D1: tracks 1, 2, 5, 6; S4: track 1), guitar (D1: track 3), chamberlain strings (D1: tracks 4, 7, 12, 13), lead guitar (D1: tracks 8, 13, 15), Hammond B-3 (D1: tracks 1, 6, 8; S4: track 5), background vocals (D1: tracks 6, 15; S4: track 3), acoustic guitar (D1: tracks 2, 6, 8; S4: track 5), 12-string guitar (D1: tracks 5, 7) mandocello (D1: tracks 6, 7; S4: track 2), vibes (D1: tracks 4, 12), string arrangement (D1: tracks 9, 16), slide guitar (D1: track 15), mandolin (D1: track 13; S4: track 2), bass (D1: track 5), electric piano (D1: track 7), celeste (D1: track 12), harmonium (D1: track 7; S4: track 2), congas (D1: track 1), banjo (S4: track 3), do tego dochodzi dodatkowych muzykow studyjnych, ktory robia robote w chorkowaniu i pozostalych instrumentalach, dobrze wymasterowane zasoby, pomimo kilku slabszych trakow, przekombinowanych instrumentalnie przez co podchodzacych pod popowe rokowanie, to jednak bardziej klasyczne rokowe baladki czy kountrowe brzmienia jak na otwierajacym new yorku sa swieze dla mych uszu, dlatego leci on na plejke, a razem z nim when the stars go blue, chociaz plyta ma 14 trakow i 70 minut, to i tak jeszcze brakuje 4 ktore wytwornia postanowila wyciac i sprzedac jako extra krazek, niestety nie moglem go dorwac na spotifaju, ale i tak chyba nie powinienem ich brac pod uwage oceniajac ten pik, ale jesli bedzie okazja to trzeba przesluchac jeszcze cos z dyskografii pana Aadamsa, zaczynajac od ostatniego albumiku z czornym kocurem na okladce, romanem grubej kosci
There was some good classic rock sound here, and maybe something to revisit. Upside-down American flags are never my jam.
Not bad, but very unexciting, standard American rock music. Pleasant background music during work.
Was alright, don’t really remember much but I do remember it being nice background chill music.
Nothing terribly groundbreaking here. Fairly enjoyable, but it seems like an over-earnest rehashing of heartland rock. It's also hard to come to this album as a new listener in the wake of the allegations of sexual abuse. I feel like I've been primed to dislike anything Ryan Adams has put out. I will say that he definitely can write a good song and has a unique voice.
My flat mate in the first year of uni LOVED Ryan Adams. Like Tom, Ryan Adams sounds old before his time on this album, which is very mature, pleasant and extremely inoffensive. These are great qualities in a random flat mate, but, although enjoyable enough, does not create a particularly engaging listening experience.
A wildly eclectic potpourri, Gold sounded almost like the collaboration between a number of different singer-songwriters. From Neil Young to Allman Brothers (6/10) Favourite Songs: When the Stars Go Blue, New York, New York
The Rescue Blues is a lovely track. And Nobody Girl is also good. I also hear Beatles influences in there. Sylvia Plath is gorgeous. Okay, I despise Country as a balloon genre but I have to say that this guy, with his voice that goes from Elton John to Leo Sayer to something more less-inspiring country-like, has made a great album I have really enjoyed, but don't tell anyone..
My respect for him continues to grow, but the music still doesn’t quite excite me.
I really enjoyed the first few tracks - then it got very samey. Very radio 2
Clean guitar tones, nice vocals and interesting lyrics. Not entirely my type of music but enjoyable still.
Some great stuff on this album. I found it a bit slow at times for my taste, but when he's channeling Dylan via the Allman Brothers it's awesome.
Pretty basic 'pop' album, nothing great nothing too bad. I liked they tried to make it a bit more blues/americana but after a while most of the songs just blend into each other.
3. It's quite fine musically, like usual I didn't catch many of the lyrics but they seemed what you'd expect from Ryan Adams. Fine for a few songs but then just blends together since it's not really my jam.
Modern folk sound. Sounds good for what it is. I was digging it in the beginning but that faded after halfway through. I recognized Answering Bell from the Bridesmaid movie.
I'm gonna put aside the credible allegations against Ryan Adams by Mandy Moore and other women. Those allegations are credible because it wasn't long after learning of Ryan Adams's music that I learned of his self-aggrandizing ego. He's a real dick. But when I first heard Ryan Adams in 2001ish, this record had just come out. A drunken Brian Siers played and sang "New York" at my parents' 25th wedding anniversary party. That was a sight. He must've been drunk because he wasn't a singer and he knew it. I played guitar along with him just so I could have a front row seat to that train wreck. A lot of people don't like him (Ryan Adams) because he seems to hop genres a lot. He has made folk, Americana, country, rock, metal, etc. records. Not all of them are great (haven't listened to everything) but they are all convincing. I think he's a truly talented person who never really found an identity he wanted to settle on. I'm not sure the genre-hopping bothers me. At least until it got extreme in the early 2010s. Gold is a great record with a lot of diversity. I'll bet he had to really keep a lid on how opportune it was to release a record with a song paying tribute to New York just a couple weeks after 9/11. Other than that song (which is fine), the record has a few real gems (Answering Bell, When the Stars go Blue, Sylvia Plath, Harder Now that its Over). It's a great record and he should be proud of making something that immediately felt like a classic. My dad owns and loves this record, and that came at a time when I think he was pretty reluctant to listen to a new record by a non-legacy artist. So, there's that. Just want to give a shout out to Adams' best record (the double LP Cold Roses) in case it doesn't make this list. That record has a more defined sound throughout the entire track list and his band was top notch at that time. Ryan, why did you have to turn out to be an even bigger dick than we thought you were? That was no small feat!
Really liked this album. Some of the rock n roll songs are less good than the ballad types. But there’s a lot to like.
Pleasant at the beginning, then a bit sad and long winding (Nobody Girl) in the middleish. Most (but not all) of the second half of the album could've been left out IMHO.
A hard worker who earns his goddamn salary. Some real slow burner tracks, and I really like ‘Nobody Girl’ in particular. Other tracks a bit yawn. This one anagrams oddly
Like the music they play in Chili’s, not bad, but really not super good either. A Generic collection of sounds that I’ve heard before done better by other artists- nothing really worth noting here. Good performances and songwriting, just nothing special- sorry.
29th April 2022 Listened in the morning while working from home, chilled in the evening watched Time. Weird thing about Ryan Adams, he’s clearly super talented and very good but it feels like he’s trying too hard. I read that with this album he was trying to make a classic which detracts from it for me. Plus he assaults women. Some good tunes though.
Oh god, two shocking things happened today. The first was that I had to listen to this seventy-minute album by the disgraced Ryan Adams. The second... was that I kind of liked it. "Gold" was Adams' second solo album, his attempt to create a modern classic. It's far from that, but unfortunately it's far from irredeemable. Although it's long and the songs take us down well-trodden paths, they at least put us in comfortable shoes. These are three-chord songs on acoustic or electric guitar, sugary melodies and harmless lyrics and vocals. It's definitely not Dylan, but it's also hardly a challenge to listen to... or dare I say it, enjoy. The more upbeat, rocky tracks were a bit wearing for me- at the start of "New York New York" I was grimacing and preparing for the worst. But where Adams excels is in the slower, melancholy ballads. "Le Cienega Just Smiled", "When the Stars Go Blue", "Wild Flowers" and especially "Sylvia Plath" were all winners for me. As far as upbeat tracks go, I did enjoy "Firecracker" and the lilting swing of "Answering Bell". On a personal note, my girlfriend is angry with me for giving this album a full listen, and she's angry at the list for including Ryan Adams and not Phoebe Bridgers. Even though some of his songs here were good, that knobhead has made this a really awkward day for me, so I won't use up any more words writing about him.
Fine to have on in the background but never really rises to the level of anything all that special. Probably deserves a 2, but I'm giving it a 3 because I'll probably be listening to it in the background again soon.
Improves on second listen but too much filler. Really enjoyed the southern blues elements but the bland made for radio songs were dull
I was a little skeptical after looking at the cover, but was pleasantly surprised. Some good songwriting on here
Wherein everyone pretends the world didn't once try to anoint this dude as the next Bob Dylan. Those same critics used Ryan Adams' cancel culture moment as an excuse to realize they overrated him, that he wasn't ever going to fulfill all of the broken promises of Jeff Buckley, and that in truth he was just Jack Johnson with cooler fans. His best album is the track for track cover of Taylor Swift's 1989. His best song (When The Skies Go Blue) was covered better by a slew of different artists. Ryan Adams is fine - his music is fine, at least. He just wasn't what the music press (and people like Judd Apatow) wanted him to be.
This is not bad, there are some good songs here. But it still feels kind of generic.
Yeah.... I honestly love this, and I am consciously deciding not to keep listening to it, because I don't wanna be giving money to a sexual predator.
Ryan Adams est le cliché de l'américain moyen: son prénom est des plus banal pour un américain, il pose sur la couverture de l'album devant la bannière étoilée pour rappeler à quel point il est fier d'être américain, il nous propose un rock de qualité extrêmement médiocre comme les américains. En bref Ryan Adams et un connard et toi aussi Robert, je suis à bout de nerfs avec tous tes albums de castor de merde.
For some reason, I have never listened to this album before, or consciously listened to any song by Ryan Adams before - thought I've heard the Bryan Adams story. However a number of the tracks sounded familiar to me, and all in all, I thought this was pretty good
Only got halfway but I like this guy. Nice voice and great lyrics. Never heard of him but he seems just average comparing all else
A decent singer songwriter album. He’s not the most hardcore singer and is relatively pretty generic and lame but sometimes that music isn’t always bad. A few songs on this album I thought were decent and had styles of 60s folk songs. I could listen to a few songs again but this was a long album and by the end of it the album felt like a lot of repetitive styles. 6.6/10
'New York, New York' is a classic, but you have to wonder if the song and album in general would have the same status in pop culture if not for the timing of the release shortly after 9/11. With harmonica, organ and tight jeans the references to both Bob and Bruce are plentiful. And the music is pleasant enough. Original less so. I start to lose interest around 'Somehow, Someday' - track 6 out of 16. Whew. 'Nobody Girl' has absolutely no business being almost 10(!) minutes long. ‘Touch, Feel, and Lose' is a bright moment on the latter half of the record with Adams channeling his inner Prince, and 'Goodnight, Hollywood Blvd.' ends the album the way it started - on a classic. But man is it long.
Had some range to it. Not too out there. Didn’t excite me or anything, but I enjoyed listening. 3/5
... It's okay? Bit bland. Sounds older than 2001 Kind of into the harmonica use? Very lowkey, easy listening. Lot of slow songs, slower ones are a bit dull. Too long! Also the last few songs try too hard to be fun, would be better if they were shorter and vocals improved Faves - Firecracker, Answering Bell, Enemy Fire No songs saved or added to playlists Overall - okay! Not really for me. Some fun instrumentals but also pretty dull in parts Rating - 2/5
The music is fine, he has a nice voice, and I can definitely see how it might have influenced others like Phoebe Bridgers. There's probably good stuff to learn from a closer look. But it doesn't really wow me and he's a bad person, so the balance is against it.
finding a good and worthwhile song in this album was harder than it should be. cant even remember what I just listened to.
I've never listened to him or this record before. I mostly hated it, but... kinda liked it, by the end? Extremely E A S Y . L I S T E N I N G .
Never really listened and heard lots of good things but this album was very underwhelming. Meh
A slog. Some generic pop-rock and I was never really impressed with any of the music or songwriting. It’s background music and that’s about it.
Uninspiring. Jason and The Scorchers for people who think Jason and The Scorchers are too raucous.
Just seems to belong the genre of MOR American singer songwriters that are pleasant enough but nothing more. The lyrics to "Nothing Girl" don't look so clever in the light of the sexual misconduct charges against him and his subsequent "cancellation".
Swerved this one unfairly because of length and fairly because of #abuser, then doubled back and gave it a shot because I wouldn't do that to other dix likely to show up here. Also because when Steve Winwood popped up as today's entry this quickly gained appeal. Verdict is that Adams has a defiant charm, but I can't tell whether it's carefully cultivated or just god-given snottiness. The way he lets so many of these drift without trying to grab your ear is certainly a form of defiance, but not one I understand. Why not turn those frills and fills, mannered vocals and guitar atmospherics to something more memorable or witty or challenging. Clue might be in the way he commits to his vocals but stays arm's-length from his lyrics: he doesn't care enough about them to try. A mystery, but not one I'm inclined to solve because the double negative of the genre 'deliberately not unpleasant' makes my brain hurt.
I am not much a fan of alternative country. It reminds me too much of being on the school bus after school - which I hated.
Uninteresting, unmemorable, middle-of-the-road soft indie rock. It wasn't actively bad or anything close to it, it was just entirely forgettable. The album is over an hour long and I don't think there was a single moment where I felt an emotion stronger than "okay, sure, I guess".
American country, but not like Nashville pop country at least. Still, doesn't do it for me
Silly me, I got confused and thought the American Ryan Adams was the same person as the Canadian Bryan Adams. In my defense, I think its understandable given the similarities in their names and the generic formulaic rock that they both produce. Someone on this site aptly described Ryan as a smoother Bruce Springsteen and a less intelligent Neil Young. I'm not much for alt-Country Rock but this was a bit better than expected and I liked his less mainstream songs like Sylvia Plath and La Cienega. The rest was mostly forgettable though.
How did Ryan Fucking Adams meet C.C. White ? I had never heard of C.C. White but her vocals on tracks 8 and 15 are so good I searched and found her album "This is Soul Kirtan." She continues to impress. I'd give C.C. White's album a higher rating than R. F. Adams' album. If you're interested in her album, listen to "Karuna Sagari Ma" and "The Maha Mantra" to start and if you like them, try "Om Namah Shivaya" but, fair warning, OMS gets going as quickly as a Nusrat Khan song does, LOL Oh yeah this is supposed to be a review of an album by R.F. Adams. The more popular songs, "New York New York" and "When the Stars Go Blue" lack impact and, overall, the lyrics on this album don't get me excited. The playing on some of the less popular songs is enjoyable. For example "Gonna Make You Love Me" and the bonus track "Rosalie Come and Go" are good little jams. "Nobody Knows" and "Tina Toledo's Street Walkin' Blues" are also good and are the two songs where C.C. White sings.
Eh. Dude is the fucking worst. Maybe that made this one harder to hear. Didn't care for it. Feels like lame ass summer music. Not for me.
I listened for 6 uneventful songs prior to writing this. I will go listen to Sumer of 69 instead.
Pretty bad. Not offensive enough to receive 1 star but not sure why this is on the list.
A fine enough blend of county and rock with a touch of folks, played in a way that kind of sounds like a bunch of songs that you've heard a million times on the radio. It's ok, but I wouldn't call it gold.
Not terrible, and almost good. Unfortunately all I heard was boring Tom Petty.
I dunno, I am sure the guy is popular with his fans but it just seemed like background noise to me. Not bad, not great, just music in the background.
Some pretty nice songs. Heard of this guy but never heard any of his music. Might take some more time to appreciate this one better. 2.5/5 for now.
Ryan Adams & me: a potted history. Stage 1: confusing him with Bryan Adams (this stage lasted quite a while). Stage 2: hearing his cover of Wonderwall and discovering he also had some good tunes of his own. Stage 3: finding out he'd been Me Too-ed and going off him quite a bit. Stage 2 didn't last long enough for me to deep dive into this album before, and Stage 3 has potentially tainted my opinion now, but I reckon I'm judging the music objectively. He's clearly influenced by Dylan & The Band and others, and the paths he treads are all well-trodden... which is fine, but then the songs have to be really strong to justify a high rating, and I don't think they are. There's some good stuff here, but it's mostly in the first third, and there's not enough variation, either within songs or across the album, to keep my interest. I listened to 21 tracks because apparently that's how the album was intended, but I think the label had the right idea in trying to condense it...
This was not great. I feel like there are some good concepts here, but often executed poorly.
Meh, it was fine. A little too much country vibe for my enjoyment and I didn't really find it that interesting.
I'm a bit torn on this one. There were definitely parts of this album that were good, but I think more that were just okay. While I normally enjoy variety in an album, in this case I feel like it was too many things put together that created an album that was too long and not as strong as it could have been if he'd concentrated on one thing. While I didn't dislike any of it, I really couldn't find anything that made it special or worthy of appearing on a list of albums I needed to listen to
I'm probably not being super generous to the guy here, but it feels like he has a checklist for what he thinks a good song is, which includes singing in a really breathy voice that will get all the girls on the quad to pay attention to you, but also somehow he's really smarmy about it? It's not objectively bad, but it's also not something I'm interested in at all. Part of it might be that this is the album with the 9/11 song on it, and I'm just over it. Best track: Nobody Girl
Semi-talentless Springsteen impression that goes for FAR too long. He clearly WANTED to be doing a "poignant stories of middle America"-type thing, but much as he can clearly play and sing and whatnot he just isn't that INTERESTING. Was he the winner of a TV singing show? Or is he the son of a record producer or something? This has the feel of something that a record company would never have given the green light, let alone such an expensive production job, without an executive giving some kind of override order. And then, after boring me for over an hour with middling soft rock, there was some laughable "end of a rock opera" bookend tune. Boooooooring. 2/5.
I thought to myself that this is equivalent to a Mandy Moore album, unremarkable and inoffensive. Color me surprised when I found out he used to be married to her.
Was never into Ryan Adams. Gold has quite a few songs on it, with various styles including folk, rock, and county. None of the songs were memorable enough to want me to listen again.
Fine. Long, a bit boring in places. I think his influences are too obvious - usually people like Dylan. Laura Marling liked him when she was young but changed her mind when she got older and various allegations about him emerged. Apparently he also did a full cover of a Taylor swift album which is lame. I dunno, I think maybe he's just lame? I thought about giving a 3 but downgraded to a 2. #me2
No hate to Ryan Adams but this album has no business on this list. This is so generic and boring that it is hard to imagine why anyone would need to listen to this. I can only imagine this became culturally significant given it's release around 9/11.
I guess this is a case of separating the art from the artist... and both kinda stink.
favourite song: enemy fire least favourite song: sylvia plath awful album. astounds me that guitar music this boring and uninspired was coming out of the us around the same time as the strokes released is this it.
Am I somehow not white enough for this album? Rarely during the 70 minute playtime does Ryan Adams display any true emotions while at the same time trying his hardest to sound like he’s playing and singing with only half an interest in the songs. There are highlights in the delightful “La Cienega Just Smiled” and “When the Stars Go Blue”, but songs that were obviously considered centerpieces, by length alone, like “Nobody Girl” falls flat through. If this is Adams’ Gold I’m not looking forward to his coming silver and bronze albums that are to appear on this list.
Yeah I find it washes over me leaving very little. There's nothing intrinsically awful about it ..... I'm just surprised he's 23 albums into his career. Stephen King reckon he's the best songwriter since Neil Young. I think Stephen King should just write novels. Massive Meh. 2.
Not listened to any Ryan Adams before, not likely to happen again intentionally, too radio safe for me. Some of the songs had a stones sound to them, these were better, but the album on the whole, not for me
Hmm made two-thirds of the way through this. Basic indie singer-songwriter from the noughties. Clearly a very nasty man as well. Let's hope this is his one and only entry.
Whitebread, middle-class honky-tonk-ish music for those who don't want to be offended.
I may not have been in the mood to listen to this ( I was looking at buying the new Royal Blood album ) but it was "ok"
This album feels like a big bland wet blanket. Couldn't wait for it to end.
Really bad. The blandest thing I've ever heard, not an original note on the album