Customer Reviews

Regret Over the Wires

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I have to say I have been a Matthew Ryan fan for quite sometime but this record really blew me away and easily stands as his best work (which in my mind is really saying something).

This is by far the most accessible record Matthew has made to date. He has made this transition without giving up any of the depth and thought that has made so many people devoted fans of his music. This record is the best record top to bottom I have heard this year.

Ryan's mastery of imagery and the english language have always been his trademark and that still holds true. I have always been amazed how he can explain so much with so few words. The tracks "Return to Me", "Long Blvd", and "Caged Bird" are my early favorites but the record is full of standout tracks.

Mixed in with his heartbreaking tales of loss and politics are rays of hope. This was also true of his last major release "East Autumn Grin" but I did not feel that many people really saw the hope hidden in that record. In this record it is all right there. He lays himself out on the line for all to see and still has hope for himself and us all.

His humor is even more apparent. On "Come Home" Matthew sings:
"Our cat is sad and withdrawn
The dog just stares at the lawn
None of us are eating
I think they blame me your gone"
Mixed in with the so many heavy and powerful images, this simple witicism strikes a real needed balance.

If you have never heard Matthew Ryan before I would defintely offer up this disc as an excellent introduction. I really don't rave like this about stuff usually but it is just a crime that this guy is not a household name.

Carl

If I were creating a bionic singer-songwriter, I'd start with these elements: a decent voice, a knack for writing lines that make you think, a heart just slightly smaller than the mind, a love of all kinds of music, an interest in the most tedious details of the recording process, a modest capacity for joy, a gallon of empathy for the listeners. And I'd shove all that into a body --- male or female --- that might not look so good modeling clothes.

Which is to say: I'd build Matthew Ryan.

"Regret Over the Wires," Ryan's fourth CD, was released in 2003. It rather pleases me that I missed the first three; reading about them, they sound dreary. And I'm always happy to be two years "late" --- hearing about someone great years after the fact suggests that the musician has something enduring to say.

You have only to listen to a snippet of the first song, "Return to Me," to know that Matthew Ryan's a bit more interesting than the competition. There's a melody, an actual melody. And lyrics that are smarter for their seeming informality.

The voice? I hear echoes of Leonard Cohen, Dylan, Mellencamp. But just echoes. The whisper that's topped by hoarseness is all his own. And there's none of the stripped-down production that pushes the vocals forward --- there's knockout percussion here and even better violins. The music supports the words, the words echo the music: This is what a song is meant to me.

Matthew Ryan's one of those guys --- Josh Rouse is another --- you hear on alternative radio and think, "Yes, I ought to get this." Usually, you don't because, after all, you've heard the One Good Song. The thing is, "Regret Over the Wires" is sharp all the way through. Listen to it loud, listen to it soft, play it as background music, put it on during a party --- it passes every test.

"The little things, the little things mean everything," he sings. So true. And he got them all right. I like to think I'll be listening to this CD for a long long time.

First, let me say this: I have never written a review for any product I have ever purchased. I just don't do it -- no matter how great or awful I think a book, CD or product is. So the fact that I am writing this review, maybe the only one I'll ever submit, should tell you how highly I regard Matthew Ryan's work -- and how much I think the music of this underappreciated, almost-unknown artist deserves to be heard.

In the past five or six years, a whole slew of new-generation singer-songwriters have hit the scene: Pete Yorn, Ryan Adams, John Mayer, etc. For my money, Matthew Ryan beats them all. Each of his albums -- this one included -- teems with fresh, heartfelt, intelligent lyrics delivered with a gravelly, world-weary voice that -- like Paul Westerberg on songs like "Skyway," Here Comes A Regular," and "Achin' To Be" -- captures the pain and hope of being human. If you like literate singer-songwriter music, do yourself a favor and buy this CD...and grab "East Autumn Grin" and "May Day" while you're at it.

"Songs are souvenirs, for the peace that hasn't come and if it neverdoes,better still that they be sung...." - The Little Things

Why in the world Matthew Ryan isn't a household name amongst
proverbial aficionados of singer/songwriters and performers has
baffled me since late 97 when his first offering "Mayday"
cast a huge musical shadow, eclipsing many of the year's musical
challengers. Perhaps it was the advance buzz by the musical press hailing Ryan as the next Springsteen,Waits or Dylan tag scaring off potential listeners that sealed his fate as it has done to many contenders of the past, with stripped and barren stories lying unfinished and in tatters.
Or maybe a record label that expected mega platinum success with
bottom line results, condemning those who fail in delivering hit
records, to the cut out bins and second hand stores who deal in used goods.
"Mayday" was a bright light filled with brilliant stories of broken and torn communities of the human spirit,
seeking redemption and healing, (Lights of the Commodore Perry)
or self reflection (Beautiful Fool) that left those in the known musical community stunned by it's intensity and beauty. It explored avenues in the struggle of darkness over the trivial day-to-day battles forsurvival and understanding of what life means within the rainbow of emotional high and lows.
Matthews second offering to A&M "East Autumn Grin" with guests
Johnette Napolitano, Will Kimbrough and David and David alumni David Ricketts fell into obscurity upon release in 2000. In Ryan's own words:

"East Autumn Grin was written during and after the falling apart of a relationship. At the time, all romanticism seemed challenged to say the least. Nothing seemed permanent. This record reaches for the stars knowing full well that often, it's only hope and faith that keeps you suspended in any precarious situation. I produced it along with Trina Shoemaker. I tried to surround myself with musicians that would read between the lines. I love this record. It was made in an attempt to
find the comfort in coming to terms with loss. Sometimes that's all you can do. Upon leaving Interscope, a month after it's release, I was offered $15,000 to put in my pocket or do a tour with. I chose to do a tour with Steve Earle. Watching him every night was an education".
Indeed, working with Earle was an education. Perhaps Earle's
independent and distant attitude toward an industry that breed's
contempt for under performers rubbed off on Ryan. Retreating to his garage studio and 16track recorder, Ryan would record the one work that truly captured the naked spirit of Springsteen's 1982 opus "Nebraska". With tales of rage, lawlessness and abandoned hope Ryan drew a dark and stripped down musical canvas which took "Concussion" to a very deep and disturbingly dark level of exploration of the human condition, with guests Lucinda Williams on the drunken disoriented "Happy Hour".
With 2003's "Regret Over the Wires" Matthew Ryan offers us the
culmination of the past 3 albums. Still intact throughout is his
intense and deep vocal delivery much in the spirit of Springsteen,Mellencamp, or Dylan, the songwriting strong and vibrant and his delivery more convincing then ever. Along with Dylan alumni BuckyBaxter, David Ricketts (David and David) and Fellow compadre and sound engineer David Henry, Ryan has created his accumulative masterpiece for 2003.
From the opening of "Return to Me" with its heartfelt melody filled with regret over past relationships and broken promises to his observations of greed and corruption in "Caged Bird" (" Tony Robbins boot camp,Dickey's got a new plan, It's deep pockets with quicker hands, privilege breeds circumstance") and "I Hope Your God Has Mercy On Mine" ("Unions can't be trusted, workers must unite, It's not a wage your fighting for these days, Your fighting for your lives") Ryan has created
a masterfully composed and executed contemporary musical
statement that deserves a much wider audience then it will receive.
In an era of prepackaged assembly line musical product, Matthew Ryan continues to fight the good fight. The fight for true artistic merit in a world gone awry with image over substance, ugliness over beauty and emptiness over fulfillment. "Regret Over the Wires" delivers the goods in full and that's something to cherish and behold.....................

-Mystic-

"Regret" arrived in the mail today, but I have been listening to cuts for months, even years in various forms from Matthews basement demos produced after two major label releases and one independent label release. This is Matthew's fourth "official" release, but sixth true release with another "official" scheduled just one week from this release.

From the opening song "Return To Me" to the last aching echoes of "Skylight" (a song inspired by poet Seamus Heaney), this record belongs in any critics top 10 of this year's records. In "Return To Me", Matthew mutters the chorus "I can't return to you. You must return to me, that's the deal.", and what a deal it is to keep returning to him record after record. This first album track is a haunting love song about a relationship gone astray as it does for many of us, but Matthew makes poetry out of it with that voice born of one too many cigarettes.

"The Little Things" had its tempo ramped up, but it just enhances the line "Songs are souvenirs for the peace that hasn't come, and if it never does better still that they be sung".
Bucky Baxter's pedal steel on "Trouble Doll" also adds a voice that you never knew was missing from the demo version.

I am hard pressed to pull out "other stand-out tracks" as the entire record is stand-out, but if you're here looking to preview certain songs (other websites have all of the tracks in preview form), listen to "I Can't Steal You", "I Hope Your God Has Mercy On Mine", "Skylight" and "Nails".

You won't be disappointed with this humble, yet genius record. Go buy it! www.matthewryanonline.com

-Adam-

His voice is raspy, his emotion and sentiment is heartfelt, his words are poetry. I discovered Matthew after hearing one of his songs - "Return To Me" playing in the background on a favorite television show.. He reminds me of a combination of other gifted artists - Dylan, Reed and Shawn Mullins. This disc is worth repeated playings.. and grows on you every time.

I've got to say that I'm a sucker for a good singer/songwriter. There's just something about the good ones, they can produce honest lyrics woven with soft melodies and it's just something that I love. John Mayer, John P. Strohm, Jonah aka Onelinedrawing, the list goes on and on. Now that I've heard this album by Matt Ryan, I can add him to the list too.

Regret Over the Wires is a great album. Return to Me starts the album off, and is probably my favorite song on the entire album. Suttle strings and percusion are mixed with guitars all creating a very hushed feel through the song. One of those songs that you can just close your eyes to and feel memories come rushing back. Return to Me brings to mind an autumn day with a light wind blowing the leaves around. Every song communicates a feeling, the lyrics are personal and very well written. Ryan has written some of the best lyrics I've ever read, he says so much through so few words. That's something to admire.

The rest of the album rocks a little more than the opening song, while there are a few breaks in between for softer songs. Over all this album is easily above average from top to bottom and has some true standout songs. Return to Me, Skylights, I Hope your God has Mercy On Mine and I Can't Steal You are my favorites.

I recomened this release to almost everyone, it really appeals to a wide audience and is a great album. One that I've been enjoying and will continue to enjoy for a while. Hopefully his past works will be as good or even better.

This is actually the 4th official release from this extremely gifted songwriter if you don't count the two homespun releases. After hearing this cd, there is no question in my mind that Ryan is one of the best songwriters in music today. He writes his lyrics with such conviction, sincerity, passion, and relentless poetry. His melodies are warm and catchy but with an amazing beauty that is hard to find elsewhere. I have all his albums to date and this one ranks right up there with all the previous ones. It is too early for me to rank it as the best ever by this amazing artist, but it soon may reach that level. "Return to me" is definitely already one of my favorite songs by Matthew, and all I can say is that it is beautiful and sad. "Long Blvd" is similar in creating the same feelings while listening to it, but it is more upbeat...I have to say that the return to more upbeat stuff is a welcome change for Ryan, but basically there is not one song he has ever done in all his albums that I haven't liked. Other favorites at this point include "Trouble Doll", "I can't steal you", "I hope your God has mercy on mine", "Skylight", and "Every good thing".
I have to say that I have alot of cds, keep up with so many artists, and Matthew Ryan ranks right up there at the top of the list for songwriting ability...Its a real shame that this guy is not more well known...In my opinion, he ranks up there with similar artists Jeff Tweedy of Wilco, Steve Earle, Alejandro Escevado, Jay Farrar, Ryan Adams, and even Tom Petty. I think that Ryan writes even more soul-searching, hopeful, sad, and heart-wrenching lyrics than any of these artists I have named...And to think that 99 percent of the population have no idea who this guy is. One day when quality music and lyrics replace the garbage that you hear on the radio today, thats when you know that quality beats popularity anyday anytime anywhere......Buy this new classic, believe me its the real thing.

I've been in possession of Matthew Ryan's Regret Over The Wires for approximately 2 weeks, but man, words can't even begin to describe just how good this guy is and how much his music means to me.

Matthew Ryan is a gritty realist and champion of the underpriveledged. He possesess a rough-hewn voice and just happens to makes transcendantly beautiful music. 'Return To Me', 'Long Blvd.', 'I Can't Steal You' and 'Skylight' never fail to send shivers up my spine. In fact, everything on this album does. This is music with soul, gravity, grit and achingly good hooks.

Essential listening.