It’s been a busy couple of years for Ryan Adams. In 2000 he released his solo debut “Heartbreaker” to critical acclaim, and then in 2001 he released Whiskeytown’s swan song “Pneumonia,” and his second solo release “Gold.” “Gold” received a slue of positive press and two Grammy nominations. Now Adams has given us a little of his leftovers. “Demolition” is not his official follow-up to “Gold,” the official follow-up is due out in early 2003, and is rumored to be titled “Love is Hell.” “Demolition” is a collection of demos that Adams recorded over an eighteen month span from 2001-2002. All of these songs are untouched in the sense that there has been no over dubbing or post recording production. We get the songs as Adams left them on the moments that they were recorded. Most of them are first takes.
The first track on “Demolition” is the single “Nuclear.” It’s a solid rocker, but not even close to the best song on the record. Then tracks three through five are possibly one of the best three song stretches ever present on a record. Three is titled “You Will Always Be the Same.” It is a soft and delicate acoustic number about past love. Adams flowing and well written lyrics are the highlight of the song. His delivery and soft soulful voice help make the song rather beautiful. Track five is “Desire.” “Desire” is a song written about his love affair with singer/songwriter Alanis Morrisette. Once again Adams has a unique ability to capture true feeling in word and song. The song’s heart felt lyrics and well chosen harmonica solo help to elevate the song to five star status. Then track five is called “Cry On Demand.” This is possibly the saddest song on the record. This becomes evident when Adams says that the way he cries on demand is to “close my eyes and think of you.” An interesting aspect of the song is that there are two other voices singing backup on the chorus, both of which belong to Adams.
The other track that deserves individual recognition is track nine, “Dear Chicago.” It is a love song written not about the city, but a girl he fell in love with in that city, and the eventual end of the relationship. The saddest and best part of the song is when he sings “I’ve been thinking some of suicide, but there’s bars out here for miles. I’m sorry about the every kiss, every kiss you wasted bad. I think the thing you said was true, I gonna die alone and sad.” It’s this type of writing and ability to pour himself into the song that makes him one of the best song writers of his generation.
All in all, Ryan Adams continues to prove him self as one of the most prolific and talented musicians today. He is very well accepted and respected in the musical community and is gaining that same level of respect from the fans and the press. Of all of the musicians and song writers of his generation he is easily at the top of a short list. In twenty years when looking back at the great music and musicians of this time people will mention a list that will probably consist of two names. One will be New Jersey singer/songwriter Pete Yorn and the other will be Ryan Adams. These two men could possibly define a generation of music. If this is so, then this generation is in very good hands.
- William Saulsbery
