Infinity Blues [Paperback]

Ryan Adams (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2009

“Ryan Adams, one of America’s most consistently interesting singer/songwriters, has written a passionate, arresting, and entertaining book of verse. Fans are going to love it, and newcomers will be pleased and startled by his intensity and originality. The images are vivid and the voice is honest and powerful.”—Stephen King, author of Duma Key

“Ryan Adams writes with equal parts precision and recklessness; the blood he draws from the text is easily as unnerving as its unapologetic tenderness. He is proof that poetry will find its writer.”—Mary-Louise Parker, actress

“Infinity Blues is Ryan Adams at his personal, unforgettable best. Strong and beautiful and funny and pure. Like all his work, it’s soul poetry of the highest order.”—Cameron Crowe, filmmaker

“This is much better than reading a friend’s journal. It’s more like watching somebody you love in the bathtub talking to himself. You’re like, wow, he’s even good at taking a bath. After reading Infinity Blues (which I think is a great title), I give Ryan Adams the best compliment I ever got—and the only reason for reading anyone’s poetry. Ryan, I really like your mind.”—Eileen Myles, author of Cool for You

Ryan Adams may be known primarily for acclaimed albums such as Cardinology, Heartbreaker, Gold (which includes the popular hit songs “When the Stars Go Blue” and “New York, New York”), Love Is Hell, Cold Roses, Jacksonville City Nights, and Easy Tiger, but the world renowned singer/songwriter has always been a poet and fiction writer at heart. With the release of Infinity Blues, his nonmusical writing is for the first time ever unveiled in book form. Mr. Adams’s work rings of an emotional authenticity that provides perhaps an even deeper insight into the man than is revealed through the songs that have resonated with his hundreds of thousands of fans the world over.

RYAN ADAMS is usually performing in some city on the globe at any given moment with his longtime band the Cardinals. Adams is known for his prolific nature, which in the last ten years has produced various international hit albums. Adams has also produced Willie Nelson’s Songbird album and contributed to records by Toots and the Maytals, Beth Orton, the Wallflowers, Counting Crows, and Cowboy Junkies; additionally, he has appeared on CMT’s Crossroads with Elton John. He was a longtime Manhattan resident before relocating to France in 2009, and he listens to A LOT of heavy metal.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Ryan Adams is an alt-country/rock singer-songwriter best known for his song "New York, New York." In addition to releasing 5 solo albums, Adams has also produced an album by Willie Nelson and contributed to albums by Toots and the Maytals, Beth Orton, The Wallflowers, Minnie Driver, Counting Crows, and Cowboy Junkies. Also appeared on CMT's Crossroads with Elton John.

Product Details

• Paperback: 290 pages
• Publisher: Akashic Books (April 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1933354747
• ISBN-13: 978-1933354743
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #247,083 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Infinity Blues, May 17, 2009

By 

S. Policoff (BERKELEY, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Infinity Blues (Paperback)

I did buy this originally because I am a big fan of Ryan Adams' music, but

I've read it through, and reread parts, and think it is definitely worth

reading even if you aren't a fan, or don't know his music. Most of the poems are long, and there is quite a bit of obscenities, though they didn't see gratuitous to me. But people should know that, in case it offends them. I started to list some of my favorite of the poems--Papaw Special (for his grandfather), You Will Not Miss Me When I'm Gone, For My Father the Drunk, Electric Blue--but the list got too long. Not every poem in here works, but I found much to savor and I hope it isn't dismissed as just another vanity project by someone famous in another field--it's much better than that.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Journal Entries As Poetry?, August 28, 2009

By 

Michael W. Smith "mikey5alive" (Lafayette, LA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Infinity Blues (Paperback)

I have been a big Ryan Adams fan since the Whiskeytown days, and Heartbreaker is a classic album. I was really excited when I heard this book was coming out. Sorry, but I think Ryan should have kept this one to himself. I know he had a serious drug and alcohol problem, and the text reads like a drunken/stoned rant about some girl(s) he's trying to connect with but is failing. I heard that he got cleaned up, but maybe he hadn't yet when he decided to go ahead and publish this book. Maybe with a clearer head, he would have thought otherwise. It's as if he gathered up all of his journal entries into a pile and threw them at the feet of his publisher. Who knows? Maybe Ryan felt he needed to publish this mammoth volume to purge himself of all his demons. If that's the case, I understand, but he does a better job at singing his pain through song.

No big deal. I'm sure some readers will get a kick out of some of the passages. The book definitely has its moments and does provide an almost painfully naked glimpse into his psyche. Maybe if it was edited and pared down a bit, it might have retained a more cohesive shape. An almost 300 page book of poetry is usually an anthology of some better poet's work, not a first collection, and Leaves of Grass this ain't.

5 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Blues, February 26, 2009

By 

J. Wahlgren "j paris" (boston) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Infinity Blues (Paperback)

Ryan Adams takes on a very free, lingering form in this book. If anything, it is similar to Bukowski's form, but I don't think there is a poem in it as good as "So you want to be a writer." There is a good amount of profanity which I find a bit intriguing. I also find the flow of the poems pretty intriguing; a somewhat choppy stab at being in someone's own world, with less interesting character development which doesn't necessarily "spit in your face." Take for example the edited poem which was 32 pages long, but was cut down to less than 10 lines. I think there are some sparks of good ideas in these poems, which is why I'm giving it 4 stars, but compared to the Black Goat series, I think it doesn't compare.