Gold

Was alright but not good enough to be that long

very easy listen - checked it out in the car. Definitely has more of that early 2000s singer/songwriter acoustic pop sort of sound with the backbeat drums and the acoustic guitar. Good listen.

I’ve never listened to a complete Ryan Adams album before, I knew the name but I didn’t know much about him. It’s pleasant enough, it has a similar feel to some Neil Young, Bob Dylan, Van Morrison songs, which is not a bad thing because I like all them.

The timing of the release along with the cover art and songs like New York, New York lead me to believe he was in on 9/11.

Probably my favorite RA album. Good choice!

Ryan Adams' suffers from a problem of actually putting out too much music... (just last December he put out FOUR ALBUMS....) which could be good, but feels like some of it end up lacking a filter. (the other problem is his name resembling to much of bRyan Adams...) This album has that feeling, some really cool songs like New York, New York and When The Starts Go Blue, and a lot of songs that feel a bit the same. I do like a bunch of his stuff, but sometimes the history around him annoys me (his relationship with Phoebe Bridgers and the fact that the Strokes hate him for turning their guitar player into a junkie) My funny story with him is that I actually saw him live just as I moved to SF Bay, at the Berkeley Greek Theater. I actually saw Steve Wozniak there, and thought about taking a picture, but I felt a bit embarrassed as I had a Samsung phone... (fwiw, I switched for an iPhone last month)

I suspect Ryan thinks he’s better than he is. 🙈 A gaggle of one-dimensional songs here.

Fuck Ryan Adams

God, this took way too long, especially given how boring it was.

Love it!! Nice Album! 4 stars!

Dude writes music for the opening titles of a 2000s rom-com. Specifically, the shot of the main character’s Toyota Corolla driving across the Brooklyn Bridge.

The first song came on and I was thinking damn this is some good ol Americana. Classic but not too classic and catchy but not cliche. To my surprise, it more or less continued consistently throughout the whole album. Some songs stood out more, but overall there were no misses. Altogether, since I enjoyed it, there were some great songs and really no duds, and the album flowed together the whole way through, and I'll definitely be coming back to it, I think this deserves a 5

The album cover makes me wanna KMS. Now that I got that out of the way this album is pretty damn good. I still think Heartbreaker by him is better but I can see myself tossing this album on again in the near future. Opening track was good, somehow someday, and the last 4 or so songs. I liked it!

Fantastic album, his best - every song a winner, no need to skip a single track

Hah, this is definitely white suburban people rock. It fucking sucks.

Tolerable as background music during the lunch rush at a bar & grill.

It's not super bad, but it's also just not interesting at all.

Really didn’t enjoy this one. I actually couldn’t make it through the whole thing, only 3/4s which is unusual as I would usually give an album a few listens through before making up my mind. Boring and derivative.

sonidos conocidos, recordando epocas de fiesta, convivencia y sobre todo buen sonido de rock alternativo

Good music. Maybe a bit repetitive

Grammy Nominierung für bestes Rock Album. Das ist also Rockmusik. Schon wieder etwas gelernt.

Beetje saai

Talented song writer, sounds like he has heavy influences from Bob Dylan, among others. Channels them well, though the album felt very long.

Weak 3

Decent but long

Same as previous album - pretty good, with some really good moments. I'm generally happy to listen to this any time. 'New folk' (or whatever 'singer/songwriter' is called these days) is my favourite genre, though I'm told he's not a nice person - something to do with a previous relationship with Phoebe Bridgers, my son tells me.

Instantly forgettable and unremarkable. Never heard of this guy before and I think I know why. Zzzzz Nothing particularly bad about this album, but nothing good either. All songs permanently exited my consciousness immediately after ending. Two stars, not because it was bad, but because… zzzzzzz … oh sorry; I fell asleep in the middle of writing this review.

This is a pretty chill album that doesn't have much new to offer. It is very early 2000's mom music. I did like it overall but there wasn't any standout songs. I think the singer has a great voice and this is exactly the type of music I'd enjoy hearing live at a restaurant but I wouldnt want to go to a concert for it.

according to "meet me in the bathroom" Ryan Adams knowingly got Albert Hammond Jr. (from the strokes) back on heroin. in fact everything I've ever heard about him is that he is a douche. but I've never met the guy. so i dunno. as far as music, he's got a nice voice, but the album isn't interesting. lyrics are pandering; music is predictable. If they had to change this from 1001 to 1000 albums to listen to, this should be the one that goes.

Adams is a solid songwriter. These are just really good lyrics. Sadly, he's not a stellar performer. His singing leaves a lot to be desired. Which is a shame because the fellow can actually sing. Instead of doing so, however, he chooses to put on a Dylan-esque talk-signing style that's wholly uninspiring and out of step with his lyricism. Also, this whole album had a bit of Springsteen stink to it that I'm just not here for.

I don't need this in my life

Some great songs

It's a great album. His ear for a tune and a lyric are top tier. There is a arguement for the album to lose about 1/3 and I do prefer some of the versions included in the live at Carnegie hall, but I enjoyed every second of this.

Fully expected to hate this album. And then I didn’t.

Idk not good, folky singer songwriter type stuff, didn’t like

Boring ...

I missed out on so many years of being bullied by not discovering this back in school. Why's the cover upside-down?

just finished it and cant remember a single song, not even the one that ended 20 seconds ago

Never heard any of these songs before, but it's a pretty good listen. Straightforward Americana, sort of in the direction of Tom Petty or The Band.

Ihan kuin pikkasen liian märkä paska, mutta ei huonolla tavalla. Liukuu mukavasti peräsuolesta PÖNTTÖÖN!! hehehehehehhehehehehehhehehehhehe.. ...Mukava kokemus albumi siis tarkoitan..

Not bad, a few good songs. Marking 3/5 for now as I only had time for a single listen.

Got bored of the same old, slow, americana vibe after about 7 or 8 songs and then realized I had another 8 songs to go....ugh this one has been sitting on my list and I'd been dreading it.

Guy is a creep Album is decent Run of songs at the end is strong

I'm having a hard time putting what I don't like about this album into words, but nonetheless there's no doubt that I think this album is not very good. Ryan Adams feels like a cheap imitation of what earlier singer-songwriters were. I'm not a fan of his voice, the lyrics do nothing for me, and the music is nothing special. I'm struggling to see any real sense of why this could possibly stand out enough from anything else in the genre to be on this list.

That's the definition of boring.

30 minute album would be 3. 1h hour of not very dynamic and varied music is just too much

Sylvia Plath: lives a short, tragic, yet ultimately influential life Ryan Adams: would that I could fuck her

Solid 4

La Cienega Just Smiled. Bastantes canciones preciosas.

Too many albums like this on this list. I'm not a fan of soft rock to be fair

Based on the cover with the messy black hair and the upside down flag I was expecting more American Idiot than Country for Idiots. Cheesy lyrics and bad solos make up most of this album. I think this guy got lucky with timing and having a vaguely familiar name. Things improve a little toward the end with Tina Toledo, still a bit generic though.

Better than expected

Best Song: Answering Bell. The maximum permissible quantity of indie vocal warble. Worst Song: Wild Flowers. Horribly overwrought singing. I cannot believe you're this close to tears for the song's entire runtime. Overall: "Hey babe, pour yourself a lukewarm beer, crank that stereo to 5, and throw on that Ryan Adams records: we're about to have a real medium time."

Optimistic Americana that in retrospect feels like tarnished glory both nationally (9/11) and personally (#MeToo). Cannot deny the beauty to Ryan Adams’ voice when he loses the Johnny Cash-affected growl and sings purely. It’s strange to me to consider Ryan Adams alongside Elliott Smith - both had similar tortured misogynistic womanising facades. Interesting that one would die the year this album was released.

2.5 exactly in the middle. thought it was gonna be worse than it is actually, but it was overall just fine. towards the end i even considered 3 stars, but i don't think the length and the worse songs can justify that for me. not terrible but won't be listening again.

It all went downhill after Summer of 69

okey, neke cak fun

Dosadan

Boring American country-rock.

Really liked this album

Too long. Some decent songs though

4/5

He does handstands in grand fashion, but he's a genuine asshole.

Not sure what's so special about this mellow country rock. It's ok.

Country alternativo. Tostonazo. Un 2.

Problematic. Great record but has a not great record with female artists.

I hate this album. Its as phony and contrived as things can get. 1/5

I never heard of anything by this guy before today. I was very impressed. Is this another case of separating the artist from their art?

Much better than expected

Great album, but fuck Ryan Adams

generiskt skit

Genuinely baffled as to why this is on here. It’s not terrible but it’s just bland and unmemorable., The voice, the lyrics, the music. It’s not groundbreaking, era defining, different. I don’t get it. And I know he’s a terrible person but if we followed that criteria many on this list would have to go. Isn’t it notable though that they always start by denying everything, no matter how many women come forward. Too many men…

Yawn. Boring middle of the road folk-rock.

Trash human writes boring, generic pop.

The 90 minutes of Gold by Ryan Adams would benefit from silence. Ideally 90 minutes of it. Even the ostensibly quiet songs on this record have this overproduced busyness, never allowing a drop of silence to accentuate the space between two beats, never giving elements room to be whole. There’s always an organ, a muffled rhythm guitar, or a semi-distant string quartet fussing in the background. This is apart from the beginning of that terrible Sylvia Plath song, which would benefit from bringing in Kevin Shields and his fifty guitars for an upfront wall-of-sound treatment to push the song deep, deep into the bayou. Of course, after a minute, the bare piano backing has to be joined by some strings. It was sounding lonely there! For this self-avowedly American record, a splendidly American word fits best: phony. Original ideas are sparse, just this slapped-on faux-Americana, tiresome mopey songs to a nameless girl, or a parade of nameless girls, and eyes-closed busker’s vocal affectations that magnify the triteness of the lines. It’s a box-ticking exercise in homage - here’s a fast-spoken song about New York, here’s a song with “Blues” in the title, look, a song about a street, a song about a bar, oh! 20 songs about a girl or girls. He can write a tune, but it will always look like Boris Karloff, and no make-up will hide the stitches, and he’s still waiting for that lightning bolt to bring that fucking thing to life. (Unlike the otherwise comparable Primal Scream, whose lightning bolt was Andy Weatherall.) Confession: I enjoyed Nobody Girl’s modicum of Coors lite rock until I realised it was longer than Fool’s Gold. From Wikipedia“”New York, New York" became a notable MTV and VH1 favorite following the September 11 attacks.” The chicken and the egg argument went dark. I dislike this record and can only stave off resentment for my 90 minutes with it by being mean, as I hate bearing a grudge. One star! What a dickwash of a cover fronts this album.

I can't be bothered to compose a full review, so here are my notes: familiar and anonymous jack and diane on repeat for an hour cannot sing, awful voice would be a relief to hear summer of 69 [flips coin disinterestedly]: 1

Not a fan of the guy. Pretty dated, but a good album. Mix of pop and country.

Bland. I'm assuming it's more popular with the flag snagging community (American or Confederate).

A little bit of "separating art from artist", but the music is excellent.

Wanted to hate this but....the guy is a damn good song writer and producer

Toivoisin Ryanille hieman nöyryyttä, levy on liian pitkä. Yhdentekevää musiikkia, ihan kivaa välillä mutta vain tv-sarjan kohtauksen tausta -mielessä. When the stars go blue on hyvä.

Poppari toteuttaa roots-unelmansa, mutta tyytyy pitkälti geneeriseen soitteluun. Lopputulos kuulostaa perustasolla mukiinmenevältä, ja LP:llä on yksi kova biisi, joten kaksi pistettä on mielestäni perusteltua. Koomisen pituuden takia voisi tulla toisiinkin ajatuksiin.

Nope

I'll bring honest, didn't get past the 3rd song. Boring af

Can you separate the artist from the art?

Well, way better the later Dylan albums on this list, like his voice but well, too "americana" for me. Let's give him the benefit of the doubt and give 3 stars

If Steve Earle had a better childhood, he would’ve been Ryan Adams. That is intended as high praise. This record kept getting better and better; at first I dismissed it as same old alt country bs, but the songwriting managed to break through my cynicism. Excellent, will definitely listen to more

Pop com verniz country ou country com pretensões pop?

It started out as easy listening road trip music, but I got pretty sick of it halfway through and didn't make it all the way to the end. Too country ish.

Tuneful and easy to listen to, but completely unmemorable, and far too long - I didn't need an hour plus of this. Answering Bell sounds like The Weight crossed with Van Morrison. Oh, and add another to the count of creeps encountered here. Judging on musical merit only, though some bias may have crept in.

One of my go too albums in 2001. Didn't think Ryan could top Heartbreaker. Grows track by track. 6 stars. Rescue blues and nobody girl are in my opinion two of the best songs of 2001.

Auf der einen Seite völlig überproduziert, auf der anderen Seite schreckliche vocals. Weichspülermucke, yeehaw.

Dreary ‘feel good’ Americana.

Wehleidiges Rockalbum.

Good ol American boy music, makes me wanna hop in my pickup after workin long hours at the mill Dnf

Auténtico peñazo infumable.

This almost makes early 2000s country appealing.... There are hints of the bro country 'murica music in this album, but otherwise feels like a standard American rock album. But it is far more deep than that. The Urban Centrism with country touches feels like a premonition of the de-population of the American country. Also unexpected Elton John is always welcome. I'll revisit it when I have more time to commit to it.

3.5 Really good sound and the songs start to grab ya after a while....

What is this even doing on this list?

Alright, but tuned out most of it

Pretty good. Not really my cup of tea. Likely will not listen again.

Despite not being my favorite style of music, I really enjoyed this and I was pleasantly surprised. Still relatively neutral on it.

It’s definitely not the most unpleasant thing I’ve heard, but this album commits the cardinal sin of music: it’s pretty boring and lame. Some songs sound like they were written by Ed Sheeran, some sound like they were written by the kids from the School of Rock movie, and the rest sound like typical 2000s pop rock. Torn between a 1 and a 2 rating

We have Bruce Springsteen at home

Pas de gros défaut, j’aime juste pas le côté tristounet de sa voix

Meh

Enjoyable

Veit ekkert um þennan mann og hafði aldrei heyrt þessa plötu. Hún á ekki heima á listanum. Hallaðist að tvisti framan af, en þegar á leið minniti tónlistin meira á snemmáttundatugs Stones og batnaði. Óeftirminnilegt, ekki leiðinlegt. Tæpur þristur.

Pretty typical sound out of Ryan Adams for me, and perhaps because this is the only album I've ever heard in the past. He has those tracks that stand out and rise above the rest which just sounds like a dull hum. Totally listenable and pleasant with a few especially useful and impactful songs-- New York etc..

I missed the boat on this one when it came out and I'm not disappointed. Gold and Ryan Adams in general is often used for the montages in shows like Parenthood or This Is Us to illustrate "This is a hard time for character A" or "Character B just learned a hard lesson and now they're a better person" ...and the viewer nods their head in agreement. This is like bubblegum music went to college and began 'experimenting' for 90 minutes. No shame in that, but we know who you are.

Essentially a repeat of my "Heartbreaker" review here, as "Gold" is much the same with some absolutely terrific songs that I just can't fully separate from the artist who wrote and performed them. This is a four-star album. But -1 because I just can't enjoy it in the same way anymore.

This album screams America to me maybe more than almost any other on this list (sorry Bruce). It has a classic sound, a fusion of rock, country, and folk. I guess a man abusing his privilege/influence/power to prey on young women is not uniquely American though. Sigh.

Beautiful at times. Boring at times. 70 minutes is entirely too long. There was certainly a very good album in there if the best 40 minutes were chosen.

This album wasn't bad by any means and I can still appreciate it to an extent but I was honestly really bored for most of the longggg 70 minute runtime. The vocal work was good and the writing was fine but compared to Heartbreaker it just wasn't interesting to me at all. I'm assuming that this was so popular because it was a mostly slow and sad album with a couple upbeat songs that came out like two weeks after 9/11 and everyone latched onto it. Who wouldn't connect with new york, new york, or when the stars go blue in the rally around the flag patriotism post-9/11; even the album cover gives post-9/11 vibes. Unfortunately, it's been 22 years and I wasn't even born yet so the tracks probably don't hit quite the same. Tina Toledo's... was the only track I even sort of engaged with.

A country song about New York just sounds weird. Everything else is generic and dull. 🇺🇸

Slows way down in the backhalf of the album, but started off very well. I think Ryan has the elements of a revolutionary singer/songwriter and he puts together some exceptional songs. However, this is quickly balanced out with passionless blueprints that span genres and lack the conceptual integrity of a good song. Coupled with his troubling background, Ryan will only ever be a mildly successful act. He tried way too hard to fit a mold, instead of being authentic. I’ll keep the classics for the occasional folk-exposure, but the rest can fade to obscurity with him when he’s gone.

Meh

Just awful

The runtime might seem a little intimidating, but this hour and 10 minutes passed surprisingly quickly. Adams is melodic and forthright.

Rescue Blues copies the riff from Summer Holiday by Cliff Richard. Other than that, it's that bland Americana that critics go nuts for but that is actually just 70s blandness with a noughties production sheen. When the Skies Go Blue is nice.

Classic

Didn’t excite me

One of my fav albums

2/5 Best: Firecracker Worst: Wild Flowers

I thought this was pretty good, but I didn’t love it. It was a little poppy for my taste and honestly, I thought some lyrics were a little overly clever.

It’s good Ryan, it’s good.

Kind of whiny, all a bit too serious, this is the sort of music you just never hear in the UK, as it's aimed squarely at American listeners. I actually liked the Nobody Girl song and there were a few places where I started to get into it a little, but mainly because I identified the music as being similar to another, better band. It also took me to the end of the first disc to realise that one of the female backing vocalists was actually the main guy singing in a squeaky voice. Not awful, but very cheesy and no real substance. Having to listen to an hour and a half of petulance about relationships got dull fast. Two stars.

This wasn't for me, very basic all around.

Ryan Adams is quite clearly a talented songwriter and puts some good depth into his musical stylings here. However, I think it's unfortunate that he can't seem to find a genre identity. He oscillates between country and rock (along with other genres like blues and some funk), never quite merging the sound in an effective manner and therefore leaving us with a relatively long but disjointed album. I genuinely feel bad that I had no idea "When The Stars Go Blue" was his song, only knowing the numerous covers prior to listening to Gold. Overall, I feel like I would revisit individual songs on this album, but never the full album in one sitting again. I'm also feeling relatively generous today, so I'll bump him up a star considering I will likely listen to other albums of his and think they are worse - I need some way to piece through these after it's all said and done.

B New York, New York 3 Firecracker 3 Answering Bell 3 La Cienega Just Smiled 3 The Rescue Blues 3 Somehow, Someday 3 When the Stars Go Blue 3 Nobody Girl 4 Sylvia Plath 3 Enemy Fire 3 Gonna Make You Love Me 3 Wild Flowers 3 Harder Now That It's Over 3 Touch, Feel & Lose 4 Tina Toledo's Street Walkin' Blues 3 Goodnight, Hollywood Blvd. 5 Ryan Adams, I was not familiar with your game. Goodnight, Hollywood Blvd was one of my favorite songs of the whole jenny.

"modern" country; just so so bad in every way.

Too long and samey, but it wasn't that bad.

A bit formulaic for my liking. Generic light country rock stuff.

So... why is this one of the albums I needed to hear? I found nothing on it that was truly remarkable. One song ("Nobody Girl") would have been good with better lyrics, I think. Another song ("Somehow, Someday") that had an intro that reminded me of "Can't Find My Way Home". And I would have been happy with it being a clone of that song, but it wasn't. It all just seemed like middling songwriter fare. Seriously, am I missing something here? It was okay, but I just found nothing in it that wowed me.

I gotta say I'm digging Ryan Adams. I'm not sure what makes his albums so monumental that they need to be listened to before you die, but they are cool folk rocking pieces. Can I keep giving him a 4? That's where I sat after listening once and restarting the album. On multiple listens, I felt like half the album was just okay. I didn't really care for Tina Toledo's Street Walking Blues or Nobody Girl and When the Stars Go Blue is overrated in my opinion. Maybe there was just too much material - he wanted a double album but it was still a bit bloated even with the record company cuts. However, I really freakin' enjoyed New York New York, Firecracker, Answering Bell, and Gonna Make You Love Me (all rocking pieces) and La Cienega Just Smiled, The Rescue Blues, Sylvia Plath, and my favorite Harder Now that It's Over (all beautiful softer pieces). And I liked how Goodnight, Hollywood Blvd trailed out but I didn't love the opening of it as much. I also liked how his vocal style or pitch changes on certain songs (see Somehow Someday for verses, where his vocals sound different than in the chorus and most other songs). Except for the fact that he's a bit of an ahole and a womanizer, he's sort of the new millennium's version of Bruce Springsteen. Not quite as good a lyricist, but he has that Americana sound and musical dexterity. So maybe I get why he's on this list a few times. And I will definitely go look for more of his music (even though my sister will hate me for supporting him). But I still think this album is too up and down and too long to rise above 3.5.

Not gold, not even Bronze.

From his Wikipedia page: Harassment allegations On February 13, 2019, The New York Times reported that seven women (including Phoebe Bridgers and ex-wife Mandy Moore) said Adams offered to assist them with their music careers, then pursued the women romantically. They also claimed that Adams reportedly retaliated when they spurned his advances, hindering their careers and harassing them in text messages and on social media.[87][88] The accusations surfaced in the context of the Me too movement against sexual harassment. Adams initially denied the accusations but in July 2020, he issued a statement in the Daily Mail apologizing for his actions.[89][90][91]

Ugh. It was country and then tried to be rock. It didn't work.

This album was not as bad as the cover suggests. Not a huge Ryan Adams fan, but this old navy looking ass with the upside down flag album coming out two weeks after 9/11 just screams counter culture. Again, if I saw this album on the shelves two weeks after the towers fell, I'd have said, or more likely heard my parents say "This is why we are boycotting the movies". It's in that way that this album is deceiving. I'm not arguing this is some sort of masterpiece or even a 4 star type of album, but it's just comical to me that this is what was chosen. I'd love to know if they pivoted on the album cover after the plane crashes (there were 27 planes? or was it 79? (Portlandia joke for anyone reading this outside of our family group)) or if this was always the plan. Ryan just said, "I'm getting sick and tired of America" but then everything happened and he thought "this could work" as he reflected back on when his mom bought him that shirt a few days before the 4th off the Kohls rack. I could keep going....and I will. He's also really rocking the multi-holed belt that has almost as many circles as those around his wrist with those bands. Look, I'm not saying I didn't wear a few back in that time, but I def didn't wear that belt, nor did I put my hands on my hips in both fashions like he is trying. To his credit, he didn't do the one thumb in the pocket, or all fingers but the thumb in the pocket. He did, however, inadvertently inspire Green Day, My Chemical Romance, and many others with the died black hair. There's a small part of me that wonders if they shot this as an above shot where he was actually just putting his pants on as he laid on the flag and they made the decision to go with it looking like he was standing up, sacrificing the position of the flag so that it didn't look like he was a vampire hanging from the ceiling since that would be too believable and might ruin his All/Anti American look. On top of all of that, he has songs called New York, New York (DID HE KNOW?? COULD HE HAVE PREVENTED IT??), Firecracker, THE RESCUE BLUES??? As in the first responders??? When The Stars Go Blue (another boys in blue reference, but also a good song that I first heard I guess as a cover from Tim McGraw who did it better, sorry). Enemy Fire (are you freaking kidding me). And there's one more song that mentions blue but doesn't really work with this theme. All I'm saying is this album might have been an inside job.

Our second from Ryan Adams, only a week or two after the first. Once again, damn, the guy makes great music. Not hard to see how he made a name for himself. This album feels less like folksy rock stuff and veers into almost blues/gospel territory, at least that's my impression (granted, I'm not the best judge of genres). "Nobody Girl" reminded me of that one Dylan song, was it "Lay Lady Lay"? The big highlight for me has to be "Touch, Feel & Lose," and that's the one where the gospel/blues thing hit me the most. What a cool, heartfelt song. If the albums are all this good, I wouldn't mind more from this asshole. Favorite tracks: Touch Feel & Lose, Wild Flowers, Answering Bell, Nobody Girl, Somehow Someday, Firecracker. Album art: Just plain bad. And not in the boomer sense of "what's this guy think he's doing with the upside down flag?," but more in the boomer sense of "what is this clown wearing?" He looks like an AI-generated emo character. Hair looks awful, fit is atrocious, pose is embarassing. How can anyone walk away from a photoshoot thinking this is a winner? How different, really, was 2001? 4/5

Most of the songs I didn't care for, but "Goodnight, Hollywood Blvd." is beautiful.

eh.

Rock suave. En ocasiones sureño, en otras muy tranquilo. Buena guitarra, sin abusar de ella. Agradable de escuchar.

I don't think I ever actually listened to this artist before. I thought this was very good, if a little padded out at its length.

Making a tired, exploitative Americana album right after 9/11 feels slimy and gross, kind of like Ryan Adams

Some great tunes and some awesome vocal deliveries

Solid Ryan Adams album, not in the same league as Heartbreaker. I had forgotten how long it is even without "Side 4". It was always a 3-star album for me, and one can feel that there is a hidden 4*+ album of 35-40 minutes in it. But will give the extra star due to the 9-minute song Nobody Girl. Score: 7/10

Solid Americana album, though maybe a bit long. In my memory Heartbreaker was better than this one, but I would have to listen to it again to confirm that. Presumably it will be on the list as well.

Incredible album from the days that everything Ryan Adams touched turned into .. yes Gold. Take the epic Nobody girl and find out that this is soon followed by the heartbreaking duo Wild flowers and Harder now that it's over. And whether they are rock, country, gospel or whatever, weak songs are not remotely in sight.

3.3 - The fucking balls on this guy to bitch to his record label about not making this a double album! I mean, this record is not terrible but, as is, certainly its gravest sin is that it’s at least 15 minutes too long. At least! Particularly, the almost 10 minute whine-fest “Nobody Girl” needs to be drowned in a bathtub. And “Sylvia Plath” isn’t much better. At best, he cuts a convincing persona as Dollar Tree Melloncamp, perhaps mixed with a dash of Wilco. I don’t know, Ryan Adams and Robert Dimery both need a reality check

Before today, the only Ryan Adams song I knew was To Be Young (Is To Be Sad, Is To Be High). I had been introduced to this song by a university roommate, so as soon as I saw Ryan's name, I immediately thought of my university days! Great times. Ryan Adams is a folk rock /alternative country artist from the United States. I would say that his music is similar to Bob Dylan, or Jason Isbell. Ryan's song writing style is very cryptic, which is what reminds me so much of Bob Dylan. This album was supposed to be a double album, but the record company made it a single CD, then took the last 5 songs on the record, and put them on a bonus disc, which they included in the first 150,000 copies of the album that were sold. This allowed the record company to charge more money for the deluxe edition of the record which included the bonus disc. This pissed Ryan off because he felt like it was screwing over his fans by making them pay inflated prices for his new album. The one song from this album that I was familiar with before listening to it was When the Stars Go Blue, which was covered by Tim McGraw. I was unaware that it was a Ryan Adams song until I did a little research on this record. Apparently his song "New York, New York" gained popularity on MTV after the 9/11 attacks. Also, The Rescue Blues was featured in the end credits of Behind Enemy Lines. Overall, an excellent album today. I really enjoyed it, and will 100% listen again! Musical accompaniment was tight, and Ryan's vocal delivery was spot on. Favourite songs: Rosalie Come and Go, Sweet Black Magic, "New York, New York", When the Stars Go Blue, Tina Toledo's Street Walkin' Blues, The Rescue Blues, Enemy Fire, The Bar is a Beautiful Place, Firecracker, Answering Bell, Gonna Make You Love Me Least favourite songs: Sylvia Plath, Wild Flowers 4/5

boooring

Insanely bland and obnoxiously long folk/light rock with a twang of country. So bland that I just finished it and couldn't pick out a single musical idea out of the entire hour and thirty minutes

A huge improvement on his first album where the emotion on his songs mostly struck me as affectation. I simply didn't believe him. It's much better on this album, especially when he ups the tempo a bit. Undoubtedly a great songwriter.

🥱

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As a Brit, I’d never heard this before. I thought it was pretty good. For a while I even thought maybe 4 stars. But in the end I settled on 3.

Not bad, maybe a little too country for me. 7/10

The record turned him down from having a double record, so this guy just threw a shit ton of songs as a bonus side. Dude, there's a reason you got rejected. No one could stand this garbage. How much of this pop Americana shit did I not press the skip button for? Could be worse; it's bearable when you try embodying Springsteen or Dylan and not completely get it wrong. But yeah, no memorable or outstanding tracks. It's all meh. Most bearable: Rescue Blues, When the Stars Go Blue, Enemy Fire, Tina Toledo

Een beetje vanne dit, een beetje vanne dat, een beetje zus en een beetje zo. Wat Americana, wat country, wat singersongwriter-invloeden... en het is allemaal net niks. Het wil Elton John en Bruce Springsteen zijn, maar het is slappe hap, muzak voor in de kledingwinkel.

Het eerste nummer belooft te spetteren. Maar het verzandt als snel in een veel te lang singer-song-writer album. Het is een goede zanger. Maar als geheel is het een dertien in een dozijn album.

Fijne singer-songwriter muziek met country, rock en bluesinvloeden. Ik ben wel blij dat de platenmaatschappij er geen dubbelalbum van wilde maken itt Ryan zelf, want het is nu al meer dan een uur muziek. Dat was echt te veel geweest. Maar ondanks dat Ryan min of meer gecanceld is, is dit fijne muziek om te luisteren op een zomerse ochtend.

I enjoyed this album quite a bit, surprisingly. I liked the sound of his voice. The music was pretty good.

A really good album. "When the Stars Go Blue" is probably the best song on it.

This didn't really stand out for me. I expected more.

This album is pretty great!

I find Ryan’s stuff very generic. Boring

Decent. Nothing ground breaking IMO. Vanilla is a good way to describe it.

I got maybe 2 songs in. Couldn't do it, not a fan a modern country.

This is fine, though its so smoothed out that there really isn't much to latch on to.

Great record, mix of rock, country and singer songwriter is right up my alley. Too bad he appears to be a massive dickhead.

I remember not caring about this when it came out and apparently nothing has changed.

Another tortured soul... music is really damned good, though. Not sure why the album cover showed an upside down flag... I'm torn because I want to listen to this again and again, but not sure I want to feed his demons.

This one is really close to being higher. I think Firecrack, Answering Bell and La Cienega are awesome. But after that, everything is okay, kinda in the same vein, all pleasant and polite lyrical rock... but nothing that stands out too much. Its fine, but seems very samey.

Eh

Pretty dull and over-long.

while this is goofy long I like it, doesn't overstay its welcome. some great songwriting and doesn't sound at all like its album cover. best tracks: new york new york, la cienega just smiles, harder now that its over

It began with the correct guess that an hour and a quarter of Ryan Adams would be less than pleasant. Before the nosedive in the second half, though, there are hints of a sound that goes beyond Springsteen imitation; Even flashes of light in that long tail. Still, it boggles that this got an official double LP release.

Sometimes good but mostly meh.

Fine. There’s no reason for this to be here, but it’s tolerable. I’m glad I didn’t have to listen to ‘Side Four’, though, and nobody has to hear his nine-minute opus. Overall, extremely OK.

Own on Vinyl

I was going to turn this off around track 8, "Nobody Girl", but then heard the song "Sylvia Plath" which I found really fantastic, so I continued listening. The rest of the album is much more soulful folk than the country vibes of the beginning. I ended up being ok with this album, but it's really not my thing except for a few tracks near the end. "Goodnight, Hollywood Blvd." is also quite wonderful.

not for meeeeeee

it’s just that indie singer-songwriter thing but he’s so good at it

Very easy-to-listen music, but it ends up being so generic that it's hard to care with it after 30 min, and it keeps playing.

Nice refreshing catchy singer/song writer album

Okayish

Noice

Another one that every time I listen to I feel like I should listen more often.

Nice sounding background noise but it’s long and already drags by track 5, 3/5.

Oh no, not this sexual harassing piece of shit again. Not on my watch! Fuck you, Ryan Adams. Justice for Liz Phair and Mandy Moore. I’m going to listen to their music today instead. I hope your dick rots and falls off.

A couple decent songs here and there, mostly boring and dull. Being a Ryan Adams project bumps it down an extra point too. 2.5/5

I liked it but its just kinda bborin.He's a good singer but just not great.

Absolute trash, waste of 90 minutes of my life. Ooh look at me, I'm so edgy, got my American flag upside-down, blue-jeans with my face looking down and my spiky hair. Please give me a break. Whiny, country music, that doesn't deserve to have any Grammy Nominations in the "Rock" Category. Waste. Of. Time. Best (this was hard to pick): Firecracker Worst: The rest of the album

Laid back, country-infused rock. A likeable and well-executed album, but far too long. Fave songs: Firecracker; When the Stars Go Blue; La Cienega Just Smiled; Answering Bell; New York, New York; Somehow, Someday; Wild Flowers

Like a sadder, more generic Mellencamp/Springsteen/something else. Not bad, just a little emo and eh.

LP

I just do not know what to think of this album. I really like it at times and then a moment later I just couldn't care less. Just mediocre.

Ok

En una discografia gairebé inabarcable, aquesta continua sent la joia suprema. El segon treball d'Adams l'agafa a Los Angeles fugint de mal d'amors a Nova York. I, com diu la llegenda, les ferides propulsen la creativitat. Com a la majoria del seus treballs, continua havent molta palla, però aquí el blat és d'una qualitat excel.lent

dipped his toe in noncing this one. the music is shite and i never understood why people bummed him so much, but time has shown they probably said he was good so he didn't do some sort of retaliation bumming or whatever shit it was he did.

Always believe in your soooouuuuull.

I really truly genuinely TRY to make it through the whole album before rating but by track #4 this album had ruined my day and I cannot do it anymore. Go ahead and judge this album by its cover because it is 🇺🇸 a w f u l 🇺🇸

Altogether not great 1.5/5

Well that was a brutal 1.5 hours. Sounded like the worst combination of Speingsteen and Coldplay. Absolute drivel

When I was watch One Tree Hill in high school I think I listened to various covers of When The Stars Go Blue for months straight... never knew this guy had the original. Some songs are pretty boring but others were very good. 3.5, closer to 3

Idk if I’m just in a bad mood but I…did not like this. It’s fine but I felt unimpressed throughout. Good writing I guess. I’ll go 2.4

Excellent pop rock folk album. Starting track is a banger. Will definitely listen again.

stop

mixed bag - some god songs but a few shit ones

An enjoyable ode to NYC. Takes me back to being a 20-something, just living it up in the city

love alot of later day ryan adams but havent ever spent time with this one. busier song writing, less vibey than alot of what i like of his. but solid!

Ryan Adams you fucker. Dude has so much talent. The modern day Gram Parsons. But he’s eccentric and did some dumb shit and now his output has somehow flipped to bedroom cover albums.I always fucked with his Whiskeytown shit, just such swagger, depth and soul. Heartbreaker is his best solo album, then Prisoner, then Gold, but Gold is so long the Side 4 disc isn’t even on Spotify. There is so much there for Gold, that the back half when you get there it’s a holy shit moment the album is still this good. He’s the unsung troubadour of the 2000s.

Decent album

some good Wings on there.

Lifeless and soulless, no clever turns of phrase or creative arrangements. Any band or local songwriter would have left this collection unrecorded. No business being on the list. And obligatory slap from beyond the grave from Sylvia Plath for taking her name in vain on such a dull song.

This album was a real test of strength considering it’s an hour. At first it sounded like that guy at the open mic before mordecai and the rigbys but occasionally I’d be like oh shit is this about to get interesting then it didn’t

This ain't it

Maybe Winona Ryder was bad in bed? Or at least dull, because that's what this album is, with any of the better moments stuff that everyone has done before and done it better.

This is fine, but a bit dull. If you're going to do an album cover like that (looks like the Green Day guy doing Springsteen) it probably needs a bit more to it than this has (sounds like Buble doing Springsteen/Dylan). Feels like there's some talent there, but all the edge has been sanded away and you're left with something that is perfectly pleasant, but uninteresting. 2/5.

Liked most of the songs on an individual basis but holy shit the album is way too long.

A Bob Dylan light? No thank you

Typical American music. Not really bad but also not really impressive

Ugh

La Cienega Just Smiled. Bastantes canciones preciosas.

Ryan Adams maakt mooie muziek. Ballades, country nummers en rockliedjes: allemaal goed in orde

Very of its time. Some of it ages poorly based on what we know about the guy now. But I enjoy the production and songwriting quite a bit. I have a small sample size but I think I prefer Whiskeytown to Ryan’s solo stuff

This review does not pretend to understand the praise of mediocrity here. Ryan Adams is objectively good, but subjectively speaking there is no mortal requirement to have spent time on this.

Nothing special

I actually liked it. Simply good in every way, and consistent too. A great record.

This was a very just ok album. Nobody Girl almost stuck out to me enough to add, but after going back a second time. It just wasn’t my cup of tea. Giving a 2 with no adds.

Quite puzzled that I own Ryan Adams' first two albums. Anyway. This is ok in an undistinguished sort of way.

I respect it, but its nothing great to me.

I own this album and Heartbreaker. There are some very good songs on both and there's some filler. New York, New York and La Cienega Just Smiled are standouts for me. But I haven't listened to this in years because when I think about Ryan Adams now I think about a guy in his 40s having phone sex with an underage girl. And it's like, fuck, all you have to do, the minimum you have to do, is know the age of someone and they only really need to be, like, 21. You're a famous musician. You're not desperate. All you have to do, if you're going to have phone sex with someone, is know that they are 21. If they're 21 and everyone consented, then I don't even ever have to know about it. And I don't want to know about it. But you can't say "Oh, I saw photos of her and I thought she was older." and expect everything to be okay. If you're a man in your 40s in this country and you're a famous musician and you don't know about underage girls who look older than they are, then fuck you. I really like some of your songs and I need songs that I like. Songs are how we survive this life shit. There are fewer and fewer good songs as time goes on. So you're not allowed to take a shit on them. Just 21. Or, here's an idea - fucking grow up, how about? You're having phone sex with strangers? The fuck is wrong with you? You wrote La Cienega Just Smiled - you don't need anyone's validation. You were married to Mandy Moore. She seems terrific but now she hates you. You wrote Shakedown on 9th Street - why would you do things that make Mandy Moore hate you? Do the dishes, bring her some water at bedtime - it's not complicated. I mean, shit.

Shite.

It dawned on me listening to this again that in spite of all that's been written about how this album connected to NYC right after 9/11, maybe the two best songs on the whole thing have LA icons in the title. Go figure. I can't pretend that I didn't buy this record in 2001 and listen to it alot, but as I suspected it doesn't hold up and certainly pales in comparison to Springsteen's take on roots rock. In fact, my favorite track on the whole thing is "Enemy Fire," which feels nothing like Springsteen at all. But it also sort of shows just how prolific Ryan Adams has been at trying on too many sounds without maybe ever really landing on one that's all his own. Actually, now that I've made it to "Wild Flowers," I'm enjoying this one. There's no need for the three songs between this and "Goodnight, Hollywood Blvd." And no reason whatsoever for this album to be 16 tracks long, but that's Ryan Adams for you. Quantity > Quality.

Nahh, easy listening adult contemporary bullshit from a creepy son of a bitch. Pass.

okay, didn't blow me away.

Some nice songs here. He seems prolific, and like someone who doesn't overthink things, and that free-ness with the music comes through. Sounds like it comes easy to him. Many of the songs sound like they're going to be really boring, and then some lyric or hook hits, and I'm like, damn that works so well. It seems like I say this about most double albums, but true here as well: too long. There are enough throw-away tunes here that it could have been whittled down.

I hate this album so much I'm not even going to talk about the music. Instead I'd like ask a few questions about the album cover. First of all, who stands like that? Were they deliberately trying to capture the most awkward, unnatural stance possible? Also, look at his skin. I would think someone with such a rootsy sound would get a little more sun that that. Is he some kind of weird substrain of folksy Americana Goth?

Some songs are better than others, I know this album has it's fans but it's just alright for me. Nothing bad nothing amazing for my tastes.

Enjoyed

Was not expecting to like this album so much. The instrumentals carry a lot more than most other singer songwriter albums in this exercise though, and I appreciate it. Favorite track: Tina Toledo's Street Walkin' Blues

Like a straight-laced brother to Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, Gold mines similar territory, but ends up being more traditional and not quite as memorable.

Safe as milk (förutom att 90 min är för mycket för att vara hälsosamt) Låter som om det var lagat specifikt så att country radiokanaler skulle ha något de kan sätta på som bakgrundsmusik när som helst utan att någon blir störd. En del av sångerna är helt kiva men inget speciellt. Bright Flight och Yankee Hotel Foxtrot kom ut samma år båda tusen gånger bättre och mer intressanta "alt-country" album än det här.

Bruh momento

Yeah… kinda rocked with this. No hate. Sucks to hear he was alleged to have committed sexual misconduct though :/

För långt och saknar slagkraftiga låtar, vad gör det på listan?

Lukewarm mush.

I really enjoyed this one. Not sure how I’ve never listened to Ryan Adams before, given I listen to a lot of alt-country sounding stuff.

Yucky Americans. Really couldn’t tolerate it.

Nah I'm good.

I purposely chose not to listen to this because the guy is a cunt.

Started out decent but I was bored by the 30 minute mark. Glad the label clipped the last 5 songs b/c this is already too long.

Pretty bland and forgettable

6/10 not bad but not great by any means. i liked some parts of it, but i'm really glad that, as the wiki article states, his record label held him back from making it a double album.

6/10. Decent, but really long. Glad it didn't end up being a full double album.

Not bad and maybe I could’ve liked it if it wasn’t so long. 6/10

Shite. Awful, unremarkable shite. Another one from the Black Crowes or the Black Keys school of why am I listening to this, all the influences are already in the book and it's shite at that, nothing new. I don't understand it, there's just nothing here. And then there's all that shit about the man himself. Take it away.

2.5

Pretty generic Americana rock - not sure what the fuss is about. Also apparently he's a dickhead? My top pick is 'Gonna Make You Love Me' - the backing track of synthy keyboard (?) was interesting.

3+

There’s a fair about to like here. I didn’t think I’d be a fan but it’s not a as Country Rock as I was worried it might be. He jumps around styles and genres - a few nice down tempo ballads and a couple of pretty funky track with Chuc-Ka guitar and wailing organs. It all sounds a bit familiar: This is Rolling Stones or Primal Scream, elements of Jack Johnson here, David Gray there, if I was more familiar with heartland YankRock I suspect I’d recognise even more. I’m not sure if he is lifting a lot of ideas from others or maybe just making “obvious choices” when writing songs? I don’t think I can go higher than a 3 as I didn’t make it past the hour mark. Fair play, he’s wrote a lot of decent tracks there, but didn’t pull me in enough to get all the way to the end.

Boring

Great lyrics, some real standouts like the opener and Harder Now That It’s Over, feel like he could have taken some songs out and cut the fat.

Shiiit detta va fælt

Boring, too long and just a bit shit

A lot better than i thought it’d be

Had some range to it. Not too out there. Didn’t excite me or anything, but I enjoyed listening. 3/5

Really dull generic Americana.

Überbewertet in allen Belangen.

I can’t believe the first song isn’t a Sinatra cover. This guy’s a douche.

Enjoy his sound.

Not really my thing, gave it a chance but nothing hooked me

Whitebread, middle-class honky-tonk-ish music for those who don't want to be offended.

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.

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

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.

'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.

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.

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.

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?

I guess this is a case of separating the art from the artist... and both kinda stink.

ok

This was a nice surprise. Never heard of the guy, but this was some easy listening rock.

Really nice.

Totalmente olvidable

Este disco no me gustó nada. "Exageradamente estadounidense y muy genérico para el estilo.

Country music. Lekker op de achtergrond. Niks mis mee. ***

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 huge meh

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.

Judging from the other comments, I am lucky that I don't now Ryan Adams at all. So purely based on the music it is 4/5 for me. The album is too long though, not possible to listen in one day.

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

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

Je me suis surpris à apprécier ces grossières américaineries. Profitez-bien, ça n'arrive pas si souvent.

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.

Ok

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.

Enjoyable Americana, shame it came from a shitwad.