Faithless Street

Whiskeytown

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 29, 1998)
• Original Release Date: 1996
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Outpost Records
• ASIN: B00000C2BX
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (37 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #5,241 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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  Music > Country > Alt-Country & Americana

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Here is how the first album from this alt-country-flavored Raleigh, North Carolina, band was always supposed to sound. When Faithless Street was released on the indie Mood Food label, it suffered from an inferior mix and other enforced choices that frontman Ryan Adams and producers Chris Stamey and Tim Harper have successfully corrected. The result is restored and remastered versions of the original songs where the shining country soul, romantic heart, and rebel spirit of Adams's songwriting infuse every track. Among the nine bonus songs are earlier, arguably superior versions of Strangers Almanac standouts, including the exquisite "Excuse Me While I Break My Own Heart Tonight" and "16 Days" as well as violinist Caitlin Cary's vocal turn on "Matrimony." There are many other gems on this remarkable debut album by an uncommonly talented songwriter and his band. --John Sutton-Smith

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not just for the No Depression crowd ..., November 16, 1999

By	Chris Franklin (Oakland, CA) - See all my reviews

I'm not a big fan of Uncle Tupelo, Son Volt, or Wilco (I'm more of a Steve Earle/Rolling Stones/Replacements fan) -- but this CD has got its claws in me but GOOD. Top-notch songwriting, great arrangements, ace musicianship, beautiful melodies, and haunting harmonies all make this a must-have.

You know those releases that you buy on a whim, and that profoundly change your musical outlook, that you can't take out of the CD player for months? This is one of 'em.

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars NC's Dylan..., November 27, 2003

By	muse Kidd (North Carolina) - See all my reviews

Admittedly I am biased... I discovered this album in the winter of 2000 standing on a windy platform, waiting on a train in New Haven, CT... I was in the midst of a terrific divorce and this was the first CD I purchased following the abduction of my music collection... riding that cold MetroNorth commuter into Manhattan, walking through Grand Central and down Park Avenue in the snow, with headphones blasting; this album saved my sanity...

It is a brilliant collection of songs that captures the "broke-down-and-busted-but-still-running" Alt. Country spirit so vividly ... bits of Uncle Tupelo; "Drank Like A River", the Jayhawks; "If He Can't Have You", Son Volt; "Top Dollar"... and still Adams breaks out on his own with gems; "Faithless Street", "Black Arrow, Bleeding Heart" and "Yesterdays News"... but he hits the hardest with "Excuse Me While I Break My Own Heart" and "Desperate Ain't Lonely"... and while "Factory Girl" is incredibly sweet with some of the prettiest guitar and gut-wrenching lyrics, a near perfect closer... it's the song "16 Days" that shows the talent that's about to explode...

"Ghosts has got me running away from you"... Thanks Ryan, I needed to hear that one...

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Trust the reviews, August 6, 2000

By	"mshuk" (pittsburgh, pa USA) - See all my reviews

I have never purchased a CD from a band I've never heard of based solely on Amazon reviews. I took a chance on this one though and trust me, if you enjoy Uncle Tupelo (any of their recordings) or the original Jayhawks, you will love this CD. I got it a week ago and haven't listened to anything else since. Just get it...you'll love it.