Customer Reviews

Heartbreaker

5 star:		(82)
4 star:		(36)
3 star:		(13)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

I thought "Love is Hell, Pt. 1" was Ryan Adams' best musical accomplishment. I was wrong. That production, as phenomenal as it was, doesn't come close to the level he reached in "Heartbreaker", his first album after he left Whiskeytown. Perhaps I have a weakness for nu-folk and alt-country these days, but I admit I have been possessed by Heartbreaker. "AMY" is a great example of why. It brings Elliott Smith right back to mind, and other momemnts in the album remind me of Dylan and Cash as well. Overstatement? Say what you want, but Ryan Adams' solo debut is one of the most solid albums in the past five years.

I saw Whiskeytown live in London a couple of years ago. The set, in a bar venue, finished with Ryan alone on stage with acoustic guitar singing "Avenues" from "Strangers Almanac", it was absolutely electric, you could have heard a pin drop in the place, a real hairs-stood-up-on-the-back-of-the-neck experience. So news of a Ryan Adams solo album was exciting indeed, and obviously I was hoping for more potential "Avenues" moments. So does "Heartbreaker" deliver? Well, yes, up to a point, but you do get the feeling he's running as if in the semi, not in the final! The reason I don't think this is the full 5 star classic we all know Ryan has in him is that some of the songs, such as "To Be The One", ramble on in a fairly shapeless manner, virtually grinding to a halt in places, and punctuated by some Dylanesque harmonica that can be a bit jarring. There has been a shift in focus in the songwriting, away from the Replacements and REM influences that were evident on "Strangers Almanac" towards Dylan, the Band and Steve Earle, and of course the ghost of Gram Parsons is still pulling quite a few strings. There are though enough good songs here to make it very much worth the price of admission. The start off track "To Be Young" is a terrific up-tempo number, "My Winding Wheel" has a hint of Paul Westerberg (compare this to "It's A Wonderful Lie" from the last Westerberg solo) and, rather curiously, calls to mind "Wonderwall" by Oasis. "Call Me On Your Way Back Home" could well be the song to provide me with my "Avenues" moment next time I see Ryan live. So if you particularly liked the quieter songs on "Strangers Almanac" then you will undoubtedly like this, but we know there's more in the tank! (PS A comment of significance to English readers only - As an English person and former resident of Manchester, how weird is it to hear Ryan discussing our beloved Morrissey at the start of this? What next, an analysis of the best front two for United?!!)

Ryan Adams's solo album trumps anything he's released with his band Whiskeytown to date. "Heartbreaker" has stronger songs, better arrangements and better songwriting than anything Adams has previously recorded. On the accoustic song "Damn Sam (I Love a Woman that Rains)," Adams is a dead ringer for classic mid-60s Bob Dylan (albiet with a much better voice). In fact, most of the highlights on the album are the slower accoustic numbers like "Oh My Sweet Carolina," (with Emmylou Harris) "Come Pick Me Up" and "In My Time of Need." The anthemic "To Be Young (is to be Sad, is to be High)" is also first rate and makes a great rallying cry for the younger generation. The album does feature a couple of clunkers, particularly to rocking but bland "Shakedown on 9th Street" that keep it from being a full five star effort. But it also marks Adams as a potential major star about to break through to the big time.

Ryan Adams is as unpredictable on CD as he is in life. When I saw him perform solo in SF last year I left thinking that this was the next great American songwriter, but that he probably wouldn't live into his 30's. He's fragile & exposed & probably heavily medicated, but he can generate a single line that is so beautiful, sad and true that it almost stops your heart. I guess that's why the album is called Heartbreaker. I hope it's not cause the guys got a huge ego... Anyway, this album reflects all that I've written so far. I give it 4 stars because I think he will pull together one of the classic albums of all time one day, and I'm saving 5 for that kind of a record. This one is filled with great moments that are never quite stitched together. Maybe I'll see the connections in time, who knows? He's backed by David Rawlings & Gillian Welch, but unfortunately these two VERY talented musicians don't add much to the project. As much as I love David Rawling's work I'd rather just have a true solo project. Warning: there are definite flaws in the quality of recording. The volume level changes dramatically as he apparently was backing away from and leaning into the mic. Nothing was done to fix this or the sometimes piercing harmonica parts. But then, you came for the songs, right?

Someone wrote a review recently, saying that none of the music sounded like "Summer of 69." That reviewer is confused. The Hearbreaker album is by Ryan Adams. The song "Summer of 69" is by Bryan Adams. So please ignore that reviewer's comments. Thanks.

Ryan Adams is the former singer/songwriter for Whiskeytown. That band's swan song "Pneumonia" was finally released after two years of delays, and now that I've heard it, I get "Heartbreaker". "Heartbreaker" was recorded after but released before "Pneumonia", and "Pneumonia" shows exactly how Ryan was evolving as a songwriter and how he got to "Heartbreaker". This is a beautiful, understated country-folk record. There are a few excellent barn-burners to mix things up, but at its soul, it is a quiet record of love, confusion and loss. Adams is quite simply the most compelling songwriter to emerge in the past 10 years. He lays his heart on his sleeve but never sounds corny and always manages to pull you into his world. I love this album, and I can't wait to hear more from Ryan Adams, with or without Whiskeytown.

Ryan Adams, songwriter and volatile primary member of the Alt. Country group Whiskeytown, has ventured off on a solo project. The theme seems to be exposing the raw emotions that at times threaten to overwhelm him--as illustrated in "Why Do They Leave?" and the ironic "Come Pick me Up"--and you as the listener may feel like an intruder. The music is passionate, and his uncanny ability to paint word pictures to express that passion put him among the top songwriters/poets of the genre. At times Dylanesque, Adams' songs on Heartbreaker are more thoughtful and introspective than much of his previous work with Whiskeytown. Highlights include "To Be Young," perhaps the most upbeat of the songs, "Oh My Sweet Carolina," a duet with Emmylou Harris, and the somber "Bartering Lines." A must-buy for Whiskeytown and Alt. Country fans. The only way this album could be better would be if the production quality were more consistent--the vocal levels tend to wander in a few songs. A fabulous solo debut, but you can't dance to it.

A diatribe in Spin Magazine sent me to buy my first RA CD which was the oft-maligned "Rock n' Roll". Figured any artist that generated so much controversy - everything from "Ryan Adams is Master of the Universe" to "Ryan Adams is a self-indulgent, derivative, over-prolific jerk that has squandered his talent" was someone I should check out. R&R had that 'certain something' catchy and intriguing enough for me to buy "Love is Hell" (which is utterly stunning) and thus began a Ryan Adams binge that is still in full force. "Heartbreaker" is definitive, yet only one of the thousand moods and musical styles he is capable of. If you are new to Mr. Adams, start here: get in your car and take a long drive with this CD turned up as loud as you can stand it. Listen all the way through once, then listen to it again. Lyrics, phrasing, composition, heart, soul, authenticity. Adams is at least Master of the Universe. Heartbreaker isn't my favorite of his expansive catalog, but "Amy" & "Call Me on Your Way Back Home" make my knees buckle.

Heartbreak has spawned some of the best albums ever. This is a well known fact - when the artist in question pours all his or her emotion into the songs, looking for a way to sort things out and bring closure to whatever happened, it really tends to show. When this honest emotional intensity is put onto a record and paired with wonderful lyrics, then you have something special indeed. And this is the recipe that has produced Ryan Adams' "Heartbreaker". The debut album from the former Whiskeytown frontman chronicles the dissolution of a relationship and the emptiness and directionlessness that often accompany it. You can hear this in Adams' pining for his "sweet home Carolina", and in lyrics like "I feel just like a map / without a single place to go of interest" (from the fantastic "Winding Wheel"). And I dare you not to have your heart broken by the album's centrepiece "Come Pick Me Up", in which Adams concedes that even though the relationship ended in a lot of pain, he'd do it all over again: "I wish you would come pick me up / Take me out / Steal My Records / Screw all my friends". The music, which traverses folk, pop, and rock with a country twinge, is perfect: bare bones acoustic guitars parallel the honest emotion in the lyrics. I think that for many songwriters, there is a brief window when talent, vision, and songwriting all come into line. With "Heartbreaker", Ryan Adams has found that window. This album should be treasured for years to come.

After buying 'Gold' this fall and having a religious experience at a Ryan Adams show in Minneapolis, I knew I needed to get anything this guy laid his name to. After buying 'Heartbreaker,' I still feel the same way.

To me, 'Gold' was the perfect album to rock out to, beer(s) in hand, reveling in the "who-cares-but-it-feels-like-good-rock-and-roll" production. 'Heartbreaker' is decidedly different. True, it opens with the definitely rollicking 'To Be Young (is to be sad, is to be high)' and contains the equally incendiary 'Shakedown on 9th Street,' but the remainder of the album is a beautiful, slow walk though carefully strummed guitars, soft basslines, rich pianos, and wonderful harmonies. A duet with Emmylou Harris on 'Oh My Sweet Carolina' is worth the price of the album itself. And don't miss his Dylanesque turn on 'Damn, Sam (I love a woman that rains).'

So while 'Gold' may want you make you turn up the stereo and dance, 'Heartbreaker' is best suited for a dark quiet evening, a comfortable chair, and a pair of headphones. Beer optional.