So with this new record, I think I can say I finally "get" Ryan Adams.
Not that I didn't like him before or anything. But I guess I just couldn't really understand what all the fuss was over this guy. I mean, he put out decent enough records — and at one point it seemed like he was releasing them at the rate of about one every month or so. So part of the problem there may have been simply keeping up with the output.
But while records like Cold Roses and Jacksonville City Nights certainly had their share of fine moments, there was also an uneven quality about them. For every near-great song, there'd be others that sounded more like castoffs from an artist who seemed hellbent on releasing every single song he ever committed to tape.
Most of all, to my ears, some of Adams' songs also lacked the one thing separating him from real greatness, which was a natural sounding quality of genuine warmth. Maybe, all of that well documented anger had something to do with it.
Regardless, by this time I was still really trying hard to "get" Ryan Adams because so many people I respect were busy singing his praises. I even went to see him play live for the first time last year, and ended up witnessing an acoustic show that was one of the biggest trainwrecks I have ever witnessed on a concert stage.
I'll have much more to say about that in my review of the Ryan Adams show I'll be seeing here in Seattle this weekend. Because based on the strength of Adams' new disc Easy Tiger, I'm giving him another shot. This new record is so good, that I'm really liking my chances of seeing a great concert this time out.
The biggest difference between Easy Tiger and all of the previous Ryan Adams discs for me is just how organic, warm, and natural sounding this record sounds. Not a note of these thirteen great new songs sounds the least bit forced or contrived. Despite the fact that a myriad of influences ranging from Gram Parsons and Neil Young, to the Rolling Stones and Wilco inform the relaxed singer-songwriter sort of vibe which permeates this album.
Article comments
1 - Tom Johnson
For whatever reason, I'm in the same boat. I liked the guy previous to this album, but this album is the one that has really clicked for me. Probably because it is so much more focused than most of his previous albums. Whatever it is, Easy Tiger has it and is quickly escalating to be one of my favorites of the year.
2 - Connie Phillips
Congrats! This article has been forwarded to the Advance.net websites and Boston.com.