Customer Reviews

Music in High Places - Ryan Adams (Live in Jamaica)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If you are a Ryan Adams fan, there is no doubt you will enjoy this video. Here we see Ryan not only playing his music, but traveling and mingling with the Jamaican folk. Throughout the "movie", Ryan does an excellent job putting a Jamaican feel into his popular and not-so popular songs. The most notable performance is clearly "To Be Young (Is To Be Sad, Is To Be High)", which if you've heard on his overlooked debut Heartbreaker, had that type of feel anyways. I won't go too in-depth with the details. And when he's not playing his music, you'll see him buying intriguing hats, talking with inhabitants, learning about their cultures, etc. Without those neat tidbits of film, this would've been nothing special.

In total, I believe he plays eight songs unplugged/acoustic; some solo and some with the help of Jamaican drums and other instruments that you wouldn`t normally expect to show up on an Adams track. I particularly enjoyed when he got a group of 20 or so children together to help with the background vocals to one of his songs. Again, I won't spoil the fun. And that's just the kind of thing you'd expect from a guy like Ryan Adams. Along with "To Be Young" you'll hear (and see) presentations of "Answering Bell", "New York, New York", "The Rescue Blues", "Touch, Feel & Lose", "Firecracker", "You Will Always Be The Same", and the rarely heard "Hard Time Situation". This is the only Music In High Places episode I've seen, but would say it was certainly worth my time. Do not expect these eight songs and Ryan's trek into the musical world of Jamaica and its fascinating people to move you in the same way either Gold, Demolition or even Heartbreaker did. But rest assured, they will move you one way or another. This is an illustrious video that portrays unkempt sounds beautifully; somehow, someway. The bottom line: (again) if you enjoy Ryan Adams' music, check this out.

Having never seen a Music In High Places episode, this DVD threw me for a loop. It ends up being a weird mix of travelogue and music footage which I found to be a strange mix. The footage of Ryan clowning around Jamaica and the random shots of Jamaican life and scenary are interesting and fun to watch once, but I'd gladly trade in this footage for a few extra musical tracks.

Speaking of the music, the musical scenes are superb. The sound for most of the songs is excellent and getting to see this music performed outdoors in such a beautiful setting is awesome.

I first saw this show on MTV, and hoped that it would eventually be released on DVD. The performances here seem so effortless, and convey both simplicity and depth. The footage is beautiful and shot on high-quality film (i.e. it doesn't look like a [shoddy] video job). My only complaint is that the commercial buffers ("Music In High Places" outros and intros) haven't been edited out, which is very unprofessional, but that small complaint doesn't keep me from giving this 5 stars. The interview portions are mildly interesting (though they seem to prove that Ryan isn't as big of a star as he could be because he's a dorky stoner). Fortunately, there is a "Play Just The Music" option that skips past the extraneous stuff. Highly recommended for your collection.

As a fan of Ryan Adams most people are also fans of raw acoustic and stripped down music. This DVD provides an insight into both. As he travels he plays great tunes that he is able to adapt to the musical style of each location and the people he meets. The music is great and the sound quality is even better. It is also a nice look at the more relaxed and creative side of Ryan Adams. I recommend it to any fan.

Remember MTV Unplugged, where artists did their stuff with acoustic instruments? Well, this film reminds me of that crossed with a travelogue. It is absolutely wonderful to see Ryan just jammin' and having fun... and his little side trips through Jamaica are a trip.
A definate must-have for any true Ryan Adams fan... And I think this DVD would be a great introduction to Ryan's music for some of my friends as well!

...I think your gonna like this.Some unplugged stuff from Ryan Adams plus him in the Studio with Toots and the Maytels.I wish it could have been longer but better than nothing.Hopefully he will record a live dvd one day but until then this is what you will have to settle for.

Full disclosure: Huge Ryan Adams fan. He can't do much wrong in my eyes so this review may be somewhat jaded (but then, what reviews aren't?). There are a few annoyances to it as it's not really fun watching stoned people stumble around Jamaica and the commercial bumpers should have been removed for the DVD. He does act a little goofy but not malevolent as some of his detractors would have you believe. The saving grace is that you can select "just the music" from the extras menu. This is definitely the way to go. It was a whole different experience when I chose this option on the second viewing. The tunes, mostly culled from Heartbreaker and Gold, sound great purely acoustic and it's fun watching him enlist the help of local children to sing back up on "Touch, Feel and Lose". For the price, if you're an Adams fan, you can't go wrong with this DVD.

A must for any fan. Worth it for his duet with Toots Hibbert alone. The sound quality is excellent, and it has versions of many of his best known songs.

If you are interested in both the music and persona of Ryan Adams you will appreciate this dvd. Anyone who has ever visited Jamaica will find it all the more entertaining. Several of the past reviewers have already commented on the musical highlights (which were masterfully captured) but for me the most enjoyable aspect of the production was being able to "walk with" the artist along this adventure. Great added features make this a must have for Ryan Adams fans. Amazing-Amazon's quick delivery had this at my door just in time for the weeekend.

Before I ordered this DVD, I watched some parts of it on youtube, so I had a rough idea about what I was going to get. When I watched the DVD, I saw that it has a lot more to offer. The scenes are shot very nicely which makes you absolutely want to go and visit Jamaica. The sound is great and the songs sound even better than all. I was also suprised to see Ryan Adams behaving nicely (I went to his concert recently and he was very mean to the audience). Overall, if you enjoy Ryan Adams' music, this DVD will please you with acoustic versions of some of his songs.