Somebody needs to explain this to me

[the_fliz1]

OK, I just found the Whiskytown album "Strangers Almanac" online and have fallen completely in love with it. The thing that I cannot figure out is how in the hell I can love a Whiskytown album and still loathe Ryan Adams at the same time. Any thoughts?

[Mystik Spiral]

You read too much bad Ryan Adams press.

 

Ryan has had a lot of shit delivered his way over the years. Some deserved, some not. Honestly, I can admit to being a total fangirl... but at the end of the day, whether you buy into his shtick or not, whether you love him or hate him, he's a talented guy. And although his character has come into question time after time, I sincerely believe that what he wants more than anything is to deliver for his fans. And I feel that's the way he's always rolled, since his Whiskeytown days and before...

 

He's succumbed to the "being young" phase and the "I'm on drugs" phase. Recently he's broken out of all of that to create some more beautiful music, personally making it quite satisfactory to know I've stuck with him all this time.

 

I guess if you can get past his personal imperfections and still find beauty in his music, good for you! There's your explanation. Pay no attention to the personality, pay attention to the music.

 

Hope that helps.

[the_fliz1]

My comment was based more on his music than his personality/reputation/character. I have no doubt that he is immensely talented but I have tried in the past to get into his solo stuff but I just can't seem to get into it. I will grant that I haven't heard anything that he has done lately, maybe I will try and give it another go. As for his character, I try not to read too many articles on musicians as they are generally skewed to whichever opinion the interviewer has towards the individual artist(s). The only thing I can ever recall reading on Adams was an interview in Rolling Stone where he pretty much came off as an egotistical twat, but that being said, I took it with a grain of salt considering the source. The only Rolling Stone writer that I put any faith in is David Fricke, and although I don't recall who wrote the article because it was a couple of years ago, I'm pretty sure it wasn't Fricke.

[jimmyjimmy]

You read too much bad Ryan Adams press.

 

Ryan has had a lot of shit delivered his way over the years. Some deserved, some not. Honestly, I can admit to being a total fangirl...

 

 

My comment was based more on his music than his personality/reputation/character. I have no doubt that he is immensely talented but I have tried in the past to get into his solo stuff but I just can't seem to get into it. I will grant that I haven't heard anything that he has done lately, maybe I will try and give it another go.

 

As a total "fanboy" I can attest to having indulged in the perception of Adams as a total twat via various media and seeing him in live settings. But, long story short, none of that matters in the least. The man has proven to be a train wreck at times, that's true, but then you come across something endearing in the vast output of material that pours out him (like"Hey Mrs. Lovely" from the Destroyer sessions that eventually becomes "These Girls" on Easy Tiger or the various versions of the beautiful "Dear John") how can you really care about his weaker personal moments?

 

The truly bad thing about Ryan is there is just such a large volume of material....the reward is that there are some wonderful gems buried in there.

 

BTW, Whiskeytown's "Pneumonia" is a pretty damn great record too.

[Lynch]

The truly bad thing about Ryan is there is just such a large volume of material....the reward is that there are some wonderful gems buried in there.

That is very true. Some of his albums I just cannot get into, but some I just absolutely adore. Some moments off the Love Is Hell albums that give me chills just thinking about them, Gold and Demolition are really good too ("Dear Chicago" and "Cry On Demand" are all time favorites of mine). But in the last few years he has cranked out so many albums I just cannot keep up. I don't know where to start, haha. I will have to back-track and get them one at a time.

[LouieB]

Its simple really....Whiskeytown is a band, Ryan Adams is an individual. Ryan has some baggage, Whiskeytown was just trying to make music.

 

LouieB

[lamradio]

My comment was based more on his music than his personality/reputation/character. I have no doubt that he is immensely talented but I have tried in the past to get into his solo stuff but I just can't seem to get into it.

 

That is exactly how his music has been to me. I got Heartbreaker because a lot of people said it was his best.. I gave it a listen and thought "yeah, this is alright.. maybe it will take a few listens to grow on me".. I listened a few more times, and it just never really took off for me.. Great lyrics, great melodies, but the songs are just too bland or something.. Nothing too distinctive.. Then I got "Cold Roses" and it was the same exact thing.. A few listens and that was it. So I thought, ok, let me try "Easy Tiger".. At first I LOVED that album.. I thought "finally, this is the Ryan Adams I was hoping for.."... But after listening to it for a week or two, sadly, it just got old too fast.....

 

I know he has a lot of other albums/songs that I haven't heard, but I think after trying three of his albums with no success, it's safe to say I'm just not gonna get hooked..

[CortezTheKiller]

Its simple really....Whiskeytown is a band, Ryan Adams is an individual. Ryan has some baggage, Whiskeytown was just trying to make music.

 

LouieB

 

Succinct and true. Throw in some well placed fiddle and Caitlin Cary and you may be on to something. Another similar debate could be why is Faces so fucking awesome and post-Faces Rod Stewart is so horrible?

[MattZ]

I have always felt conflicted by his personality and shtick. I love that he marches to his own drum. It's endearing to me that in a world of bland corporate styled acts that are pre-packaged and delivered, that he can be himself. For better or worse. I don't mean to say that I like his meltdowns or his apparently prior serious drug abuse, but I do like that I feel as though I am seeing the real Ryan Adams when I see him.

 

He could be pulling the wool over my eyes -- the "real" Ryan Adams could be as much of a shtick as anything else, but there's something authentic about him that sticks with me. He's fooled me. And I say this as someone who has been burned by a Ryan Adams meltdown at a show. I was really bummed when it happened, and I remember fearing that he was in a downward spiral, but maybe he's just kooky. And kooky is kool in my book.

[cryptique]

In the end, I don't mind if an artist is an asshole if I love his/her music.

 

There are limits. If I heard that Ryan had been out clubbing baby seals, it might be harder for me to listen to his tunes. But if the guy's just an egotistical twat ... well, that happens, but it doesn't prevent him from producing good music.

 

By all accounts Dylan's not exactly a picnic, but I'm not going to stop listening to his songs just because he would probably never give me the time of day.

[Lammycat]

I agree that the major difference is that Whiskeytown= band and all, but The Cardinals are a band too and I still find a disticntion in Ryan's singing compared to his Whiskeytown days. I think his voice comes across as more controlled in the early years.

 

He can be abrasive with the vocals in his solo/Cardinals stuff at times. I'm not saying one is better than the other, but I notice subtle differences.

[quarter23cd]

Ryan only took me about a decade to get into. I really don't even care about the personality thing, but I've been hearing about what a genius he is for I don't even know how long--and then every time I go check out an album, my typical reaction is "Eh, this is okay." Heartbreaker is good, Gold has a few moments, I only heard the first Whiskeytown album which I couldn't really get into, and I pretty much wrote him off after the first Love Is Hell EP. I figured I just wasn't ever going to get it. But then I had a co-worker who was a fan and I "borrowed" Cold Roses and liked it--and then I went over to archive.org and listened to some flat-out amazing live shows that put me over the top. There are a couple shows I downloaded that I listen to way more than any of the studio albums. Of course...as per his reputation, his live shows can also go bad sometimes.

[Mystik Spiral]

My comment was based more on his music than his personality/reputation/character.

 

Ah, my incorrect assumption. I think what Louie said is right on the money, and you certainly can't count out Caitlin Cary's contribution to Whiskeytown. She's an amazing musician in her own right.

[Wendy]

... I figured I just wasn't ever going to get it. But then I had a co-worker who was a fan and I "borrowed" Cold Roses and liked it--and then I went over to archive.org and listened to some flat-out amazing live shows that put me over the top. There are a couple shows I downloaded that I listen to way more than any of the studio albums. ...

 

quarter23cd - I'd be interested to know which shows you're listening to, because I agree with you, the live shows are amazing.

 

 

 

 

Here's one I'd recommend from the more acoustic shows (added Jamie Candoloro on keys, Ryan vocals only due to wrist injury)

 

Ryan Adams Live at Brown Theater (Louisville, KY) July 11, 2007

http://www.archive.org/details/ryanadams2007-07-11.sbd.flac

 

 

 

And one more electric from when he was back playing guitar again (I have not heard this, but I was there )

 

Ryan Adams Live at Murat Theatre (Indianapolis, IN) October 24, 2007

http://www.archive.org/details/ryanadams2007-10-24..flac16

[kimcatch22]

Ryan Adams Live at Murat Theatre (Indianapolis, IN) October 24, 2007

http://www.archive.org/details/ryanadams2007-10-24..flac16

That's my favorite of the shows I downloaded from his Fall tour!

[Irwin M. Fletcher]

Is anyone going to the RA show tonight at the Rialto in Tucson? I'm really looking forward to this. He was supposed to come to Tempe a couple of years ago, but cancelled after the infamous wrist breaking incident when he fell off the stage.

[MattZ]

Ryan Adams Live at Murat Theatre (Indianapolis, IN) October 24, 2007

http://www.archive.org/details/ryanadams2007-10-24..flac16

 

Wow, thanks Wendy. This is awesome. How the heck does he get his voice to do what it does?

[Wendy]

Is anyone going to the RA show tonight at the Rialto in Tucson? I'm really looking forward to this. He was supposed to come to Tempe a couple of years ago, but cancelled after the infamous wrist breaking incident when he fell off the stage.

I was really close to making another trip to Tucson to see a friend, and hoped to be in town for this RA show, but plans fell apart. Report back to us about the show, okay?

 

I was just there over Halloween and got to see Calexico at Reid Park which was great seeing them in their home town. So hopefully the next trip there will include another great show. Dang it, I love Tucson.

[quarter23cd]

quarter23cd - I'd be interested to know which shows you're listening to, because I agree with you, the live shows are amazing.

I've been listening to the soundboards from the 7/14/2007 (acoustic) show in Austin and the 9/21/2007 (electric) show in Toronto. I haven't listened to enough other recent shows to know where they rank among his last tour, but if there are better shows out there I'd love to hear them. The sound is amazing on these, too.

[Wendy]

I've been listening to the soundboards from the 7/14/2007 (acoustic) show in Austin and the 9/21/2007 (electric) show in Toronto. I haven't listened to enough other recent shows to know where they rank among his last tour, but if there are better shows out there I'd love to hear them. The sound is amazing on these, too.

 

 

http://www.archive.org/details/RyanAdams

 

Click on that link, and look at the bottom right corner of the screen. It shows the most popular downloaded Ryan Adams shows at archive.org. So if numbers speak well about the show, check out the ones everyone seems to like.

 

 

 

I love that Ryan Adams allows such free access to his soundboard for tapers, and such free access to the files via Internet Archive to the fans. I wish Wilco would decide to do this. I agree, the sound is amazing. Such great tapers out there too.

[El Picador]

I think it's unfortunate that Ryan releases so many bad songs along with the good. I find that his records are released too frequently and he doesn't do a very good job of weeding out the crappy songs. I feel his ego tells him that quantity is equally as important as quality, sometimes at the expense of the latter. That said, he still writes some amazing songs. 'Dear Anne' for example.

[LouieB]

Succinct and true. Throw in some well placed fiddle and Caitlin Cary and you may be on to something. Another similar debate could be why is Faces so fucking awesome and post-Faces Rod Stewart is so horrible?

Caitlin Cary's post Whiskeytown albums are quite good. Rod Stewart just got lame, that's all.

 

LouieB

[Campaigner]

I think it's unfortunate that Ryan releases so many bad songs along with the good. I find that his records are released too frequently and he doesn't do a very good job of weeding out the crappy songs. I feel his ego tells him that quantity is equally as important as quality, sometimes at the expense of the latter. That said, he still writes some amazing songs. 'Dear Anne' for example.

 

See, this is something I've heard for years now and it's an argument that's fine for an individual, but on the whole I don't buy it one little bit (no offense!).

 

If there was a general consensus on what the crap songs were and what the greats were then it would be fine - but that's not the case. You'll have as many people get themselves ready to stand in front of a tank to defend something along the lines of 'Cherry Lane' from Cold Roses - and you'll get others who'll say that it's filler which distracts from the rest of the album.

 

We hear so many stories about how the record industry is changing, but in reality it's still the conservative, money-driven machine that it's been since the late 70s. In the 60s you had bands releasing two or three albums a year, but you didn't hear complaints of flooding the market back then. Now, because the record companies want to slow down what the public has access to (in order to increase revenue), they've instilled this opinion that it's the way it's supposed to be, but in reality it's only the way they'd like it to be. As for Ryan Adams' ego - I don't think it's 'ego' at all - I think he's just someone who realises that because it's been done a certain way for thirty-odd years, it doesn't necessarily mean that it's the way it should be done.

 

As it is - I don't think Ryan Adams releases too much music - not in the slightest. In fact, I don't think he releases enough. Why? Because he doesn't release as much as he'd like to - he's constrained by a record company that's been pretty bendable in the past, but still doesn't have the balls to let the artist to release as much work as they would like.

 

Besides - who are we to tell an artist what they can and can't release? The skip button was invented for a reason.

 

Anyway, I'd rather an artist like Ryan Adams that releases one or two albums a year where maybe 70% of that work is brilliant, as opposed to someone who takes five years off to deliver masterpiece albums.

[Lynch]

As it is - I don't think Ryan Adams releases too much music - not in the slightest. In fact, I don't think he releases enough. Why? Because he doesn't release as much as he'd like to - he's constrained by a record company that's been pretty bendable in the past, but still doesn't have the balls to let the artist to release as much work as they would like.

 

Besides - who are we to tell an artist what they can and can't release? The skip button was invented for a reason.

 

Anyway, I'd rather an artist like Ryan Adams that releases one or two albums a year where maybe 70% of that work is brilliant, as opposed to someone who takes five years off to deliver masterpiece albums.

You make alot of good points.

In a way I really respect him for having the courage to release the amount of material he has. He obviously does not give a damn what the critics think. "Here is what I have created, take it or leave it." There are alot of artists that I wish would release more material as well. Two, three, sometimes four years is a long time to wait for the next album from your favorite band.