Gold

by

Ryan Adams

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Gold came out in the late summer of 2001. The opening track, "New York New York," became something of a rallying cry for me (and other New Yorkers and Americans) after 9/11, even though the song-- as one colleague described it, "Tangled Up in Blue" played fast-- is about a girl, not a city. (Adams sometimes writes about a girl by using the name of a city he associates with her; see also, "Dear Chicago.") But the very fact that this tune evoked the familiar Dylan song is precisely what makes this work so compelling and timeless.

OK, so given the timing, that tune sucked me into the record, in a very visceral way. But the whole thing had masterpiece written all over it from the very first spin at my home in September of 2001. As my wife so aptly said, "It has that sweet familliar ring of every album you ever loved as a kid." Which, if you are our age, means it feels like Van Morrison, Neil Young, Dylan, Exile-era Stones, like that. It hits you in that "Into the Mystic," "Brown Sugar," "Everybody Knows This is Nowhere" place. Do you like that place? Yeah, me too.

Adams is so prolific an artist that he is generally an album or two ahead of his fans; by February of 2001 he was playing these rockers to rooms full of alt.country romantics who wanted to moon with him over the Heartbreaker songs. But now, four years on, "New York New York," "Answering Bell," "Stars Go Blue," and "Rescue Blues" sound like songs you've known all your life, and are warmly greeted in concert as the masterworks they are.

Adams is a polarizing figure; people tend to have strong opinions toward him, either way. I obviously lean toward the "love everything he touches" camp. But divorced from the public persona, the music on this disc stands up to the closest scrutiny, taps into a classic vein defined by the artists listed above (and more recently, by Lucinda Williams and Counting Crows). I hate to compare one artist to others, but I find it a helpful construct in providing buying advice; its the "recommended if you like..." concept. If you've read this far, I think you know whether you want to buy this or not.

If not, I'll add that if I were to suggest a single title to someone interested in getting their ears wet with Adams, this would be the one. I think you can find traces of every direction he's gone in, before and since, on this album. It is long (70 minutes or so), but in a sweeping sort of way; I can listen to it all the way through and not find a single song I want to cut.

I really enjoy Ryan Adam's work because it is not often that I find in popular music such talent and depth in singing and songwriting. After listening to Ryan Adams, I found it hard to return to my other music; it just didn't compare. "Gold" is the third cd that I have purchased and unfortunately, while it is still pretty amazing, it just did not live up to my expectations for Adams. The way Adams sings in "Love is Hell" and "Heartbreaker" makes you feel the music as more than just sung words; each song is an emotion. I can't feel the emotion as poignantly in most songs on the "Gold" cd. The songs on "Gold" are accessible and catchy, but if you really want to feel what Adams is singing go for "Love is Hell" or "Heartbreaker." "Heartbreaker" has mostly country music, but don't be scared off if you don't like country. I don't think Adams is so much of a country artist, as a singer who uses country music as a metaphor for his sadness. I really am not a fan of country music, but the feeling that Adams puts into Heartbreaker makes the country music so beautiful. The harmonica almost sounds like crying. Adams is so amazing because he can turn tangible objects and sounds into emotion. Gold does not seem to have this power for me.