Customer Reviews

Rock N Roll

5 star:		(55)
4 star:		(68)
3 star:		(27)
2 star:		(16)
1 star:		(32)

 

 

At this point, Ryan Adams must be wondering what it's going to take to establish himself as a mainstream artist. He's dated several movie stars (Winona Ryder and Parker Posey), written a song inextricably linked with a major event in our nation's history ("New York, New York"), and released an album of relentlessly accessible rock songs (Rock N Roll). Still, Adams remains relatively ignored except by music critics and his cult of devoted followers. Since I have no intention of scrutinizing his dalliances with waifish actresses or offering social commentary on post-9/11 America, I'll focus on the third topic - Adams' recent rock album, Rock N Roll.

For an album that contains myriad potential radio hits, Rock N Roll sold rather poorly. Familiar, catchy hooks from the 1970s and 80s lurk within almost every song and perhaps therein lies the problem. By so ably aping his predecessors, Adams fails to establish his own voice as a rock musician. At times, Rock N Roll practically becomes Adams singing karaoke. "So Alive" is a great lost U2 song and Adams does a fine job singing it. Nevertheless, it's a guaranteed number one single with Bono hitting those high notes instead of Adams. "Anybody Wanna Take Me Home" is straight out of the Smiths' songbook, but Adams is less suited to providing vocals here - the song practically begs for Adams to concentrate on his guitar-playing and let Morrissey take over on lead vocals. "Shallow" is a not unpleasant hybrid of T Rex's "Bang a Gong" and the Hollies' "Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress", but doesn't exactly scream originality. Most of the songs are good, but few can be considered great. Not surprisingly, the great ones are the songs that don't obviously recall another artist - "Luminol", "Note to Self: Don't Die", "Wish You Were Here".

With his tendency towards the prolific and fondness for media coverage, Adams may yet attain the mainstream popularity he desires. As far as I can tell, he has two options. On the one hand, he could make a concerted effort to follow his more original musical instincts. The other option would be to start dressing stylishly while continuing to churn out mostly derivative tunes. The latter approach worked like a charm for another band, that is only half as good as Adams is, but of which Adams is inexplicably fond. The next time Adams decrees "This Is It", I want him to be telling the truth.

I love Ryan Adams. Sometimes. I love Heartbreaker. I love much of Gold. I utterly love "Love is Hell", and refuse to listen to it except as a complete album. I was resistant to getting this album, however, because of the negative press that it seemed to be garnering.

Well, the press can be pretty stupid sometimes.

This is not a difficult listen. This is not a symphony, an opera, a John Cage composition. This is exactly what it was labelled to be: Rock and Roll. Ryan has put together a collection of rollicking, hard rocking, fun music. Much has been made of the tips of the hat that he makes to other bands. Good for him. Music builds on itself, and right now people, many folks don't even understand that they are standing on the shoulders of the proverbial giants. Ryan does. He name checks, riff checks, voice checks all the music he loves--check out "So Alive" for his brilliant love letter to Morrissey. People who are unable to give in to the joy, the abandon, the wild passion for real rock and roll that suffuses this album like the joy of breaking out of school on a snow day, a beach day, heck, any day...well, that is a shame. Don't come to this album to heal your hurts. Don't come to this album to find the next great advance a-la radiohead. Come for a good time, and you will get it in spades. Bravo, Mr. Adams, keep em coming. Just as fast as you can put them out, we'll listen to them. Granted, we may make some of them into mix tapes...but hey, keep 'em comin.

After hearing all the hoopla surrounding this album and it's conception, I had mixed emotions when I popped this one into my CD player. I figured because Love is hell was essentially shelved for not being "accessable" in the record company's view, that this CD would be largely a rushed attempt to satisfy the drooling record execs. This may be the case, but to my surprise, it's a very good CD. The alt-country is all but gone, replaced by upbeat rock songs. But, this is not a bad thing, because the integrity in the music remains, and the songwriting is brilliant, as always. This album actually contains some of Ryan's best songs, and it definetly has a 80's modern rock feel to it. As a long fan of Morrissey, The Church, The Cult, etc, etc, I find it highly entertaining. Definetly one of the best of the year.

It seems that 90% of the people who dislike this album and consider it a profound disappointment are alt-country fundamentalists who were religiously pining for Ryan Adams to deliver another "Heartbreaker" for their personal enjoyment and consider this an act of personal betrayal.

Well, I hate to be blunt, but those people are pathetic. I love Heartbreaker as much as anyone. It's the best thing Adams has done. But the narrow-minded musical myopia displayed by the hardcore element of the fanbase is the reason that people like Ryan Adams and Rhett Miller felt the need to bust out of the alt-country ghetto in the first place. They found it stifling.

The title to this record says it all: Rock N Roll. People who complain that Adams should have slapped some sort of anti-purist warning label on this product seem to be ignoring the fact that he did just that. This is a very simple, straight-forward pop-rock record where Adams pays homage to some of his musical heroes, experiments with different singing styles, and generally liberates himself from silly expectations. There are shades of the Replacements and Smiths, U2, Tom Petty, and even contemporaries like the Strokes.

In the end, what shines through is that Adams is an extraordinarily versatile singer and songwriter who can excel in a number of styles. No, he is not redefining music as we know it. Many of the songs, like the songs on the inferior Gold, seem unpolished and quickly written, because in fact they were. This whole record was apparently recorded in two weeks.

But Adams seems to be having fun. Sadly for some of his less imaginative fans, who want him to keep making the same record over and over, that will be no fun at all...

I'm sure that I don't know as much about Ryan Adams as some of the people who are posting reviews for his new CD "Rock N Roll." I have his last few CDs, which I loved, and now "Rock N Roll." Some have written that these songs aren't up to par with those on his previous albums. I offer a different view: put this album in the context of 2003's "Top 40" radio and tell me what you think. This is refreshingly straight-forward rock-and-roll, something one doesn't see often anymore. Yes, Adams experiments with styles that may seem unusual for his traditional format, but that is the mark of every great artist. What he's created here is energetic, engaging, and fun, and repeated listenings only add to its appeal.

Yes, we've all heard the stories: "Love is Hell" was rejected and sliced in two by the record company, who also sent Adams back to the studio with his tail between his legs. Out of the predicament comes this monster (not an endearing term in the least), known to many as "Rock N Roll" and known to Rolling Stone as "lloR N kcoR" (pretentious idiots). Can something written and recorded in two weeks (already a recipe for disaster) reach the rockin' heights of "Gold" or the lovely lows of "Heartbreaker" and "Love is Hell"?

The answer, sadly, is "no." Essentially, "Rock N Roll" is a chronicle of Adams' seemingly extensive record collection; elements of his countless influences prevail throughout. In fact, you can barely listen to a track without first going, "My God, this sounds just like [insert prominent 70s, 80s, or 90s band here]." If this were anyone but Ryan Adams, this attitude would be a problem. Fortunately, Adams managed to carve a beautifully bloated album out of his influences 2 years ago (2001's "Gold"), putting nearly every criticism to shame. And it's no surprise that he's repeated the formula for "Rock N Roll." The unfortunate thing is this: it simply doesn't work as well the second time around.

Don't get me wrong though: by no means does "Rock N Roll" sound a thing like "Gold." Whereas "Gold" was really really pretty rock and roll, "Rock N Roll" (anyone get the feeling I'm repeating myself) is dirtier, grimier, and messier than anything he's put to tape before. There's no better example of this than in the opener, "This is It" (a coy little Strokes reference of no consequence, since the song sounds nothing like them). The guitars bang in furiously until Adams decides to rip into the mix with one of his "rougher" singing voices, stating right off the bat: "Let me sing a song for you/ that's never been sung before." Of course, we can only imagine this was Adams' intent from the beginning. Still, his derivative songwriting nature hangs like a cloud over "Shallow," which is only saved by its astounding chorus.

But so far, it's pretty good... isn't it? Well, get ready for the quality to dip - FAST. "1974" is the perfect example of how bad this record gets. An empty hook matching with a decidedly unmelodic chorus does not a good song make. Things only get worse later on in the album with "She's Lost Total Control," which is only effective as a one-chord headache doubled over with a not-so-special chorus. Fortunately, however, these songs are about as bad as it gets. "Wish You Were Here" is relentlessly catchy, despite its terribly trite attempts at shock value through the use of expletives. And then there's "So Alive," which just SCREAMS "U2," but, somehow, I find myself adoring it... I wouldn't have bought the album had this song not popped up one late night on MTV2. The guitar lick, the lyrics, and Adams' soaring voice - "So Alive," to me, stands strong as a testament to the brilliant songwriter that Ryan Adams is. Still, the influences can grow overbearing; I know a few U2 fans who simply cannot listen to this song. Also worth mentioning is the "Love is Hell"-reminiscent "Burning Photographs," which never fails to bring me in with the line "I used to be sad/ Now, I'm just bored with you."

I think the best moment on this album, however, is summed up in the quiet irony of the title track. Somehow, in the middle of the endlessly clashing guitars, Adams crafted a brilliant little piano piece that, despite its relatively short length, manages to be the best track on the album. And "Do Miss America" may quite possibly be the catchiest damn thing Adams has written yet.

So why shouldn't this album receive four stars instead of three? After all, there are only a few bad songs. Unfortunately, that's not the point. This record is what it set out to be - a terribly RUSHED collection of "off the top of my head" songs, having no real connection to Adams whatsoever. When you listen to "Heartbreaker" and even "Gold," you get a sense that Adams is putting his heart and soul headfirst into the music. With "Rock N Roll," this sense is sadly absent, replaced with extremely useless piano outros ("1974") and Sonic Youth/Nirvana hearkenings ("Note to Self: Don't Die"). Of course, "Rock N Roll" wasn't created with the intent of moving the heart or the soul; rather, it was more created with the intent of "rocking out." And it succeeds for the most part. But, while listening to this, I can't help but find myself entirely separated from these songs... which takes a big bite out of the enjoyment factor, and is thus reflected in my overall rating.

In the highly-anticipated follow up to the 2001 release Gold, Ryan has taken a very different-sounding approach. Gone are the twangy guitars that peppered many of Gold's most memorable songs. In its place are Smiths-esque strummings, as well as a harder-edged sound that may have been borrowed from The Strokes.

Different is good, however. This is a strong album, featuring all of the things we love about Ryan. With lyrics such as "I used to be sad, now I'm just bored with you" (Burning Photographs) , any Ryan Adams fan will find him or herself at home here.

If you're looking for something a little more mellow, try the EP "Love is Hell Part 1" that was released simultaneously with "Rock 'n' Roll."

For those who like Ryan for his fantastic song writing, you won't be dissapointed. For those that prefer his country-ish sound, stay clear.

That having been said, this album rocks (as the name would imply)! I still prefer Gold, but this is pretty damn good!

I'm sure this impressed and depressed about the same amount of people. It sounds nothing like, yet just like Ryan Adams. Those alt-country and "Heartbreaker" fans will find no "Come Pick Me Up" on here. However, those fans waiting for him to pick up the pace will be happy. It's nothing I would consider hard or heavy though. This disc could have actually been called "Alt-rock circa 1989" as well. As throughout his whole career, it's fun playing spot the influences, "Uncle Tupelo", "Smiths", "Replacements", etc., it's all here. The bottom line though, is that this is really good. It's not "Heartbreaker II", but it's fun, catchy, and rebelious. My favorite songs are "Luminol", "Burning Photographs", and "Boys", but it's all good. Overall, I like this as much as anything else he's done, just differently. Try it.

The bad reviews comes as quite a suprise coming from Ryan Adams fans who seem oddly suprised that his sound has changed. If the pieces haven't fallen together yet, Ryan gave clear signs of his fascination with the Smiths/Morrissey in the opening track of Heartbreaker when he argues with a friend about which album a "Everyday is like Sunday" is on. The new release "So Alive" finds Adam's vocals sounding a lot like Morrissey which should be the next big hint.
Ryan is attempting nothing new as a lot of people assumes he has, his other influences have just surfaced in this album, the ghosts of Madchester are alive and well in Adam's songs. The people that seem suprised just haven't been paying attention.
The new album is reminscent of the luminous sound of James, the Sundays, and the Smiths. The songs are a refreshing oasis from the tired nu-metal fad that unfortunately dominates much of radio today.