The “it” boy of early-’00s roots-rock, former Whiskeytown leader Ryan Adams has responded to the mountain of hype surrounding him with an arrogance worthy of his idol, mid-’60s Bob Dylan. Accordingly he follows his stripped-down solo debut with a two-disc, fully produced set that finds him grasping for the mantle of alt-country messiah. GOLD picks up where Whiskeytown’s swan song PNEUMONIA left off; a step removed from the country-rock hard line but still full of rootsy, organic, Band-like warmth.

The up-tempo opening tune “New York, New York” recalls vintage Steve Forbert, while “Answering Bell” sounds like David Gray fronting the aforementioned Band on a rewritten “The Weight.” The epic, acoustic guitar-based ballad “Nobody’s Girl” is one of the more overtly Dylanesque pieces here, and while trying to overshadow Zimmy is a fool’s errand no matter how big your britches, one has to admire Adams for the considerable chutzpah necessary to even take up the task. Whether you believe he’s the Gram Parsons of the 21st century or not, its that undeniable spirit and ambition that lay at the heart of GOLD’s appeal.

Tracklisting
1. New York New York
2. Firecracker
3. Answering Bell
4. La Cienega Just Smiled
5. The Rescue Blues
6. Somehow, Someday
7. When The Stars Go Blue
8. Nobody Girl
9. Sylvia Plath
10. Enemy Fire
11. Gonna Make You Love Me
12. Wild Flowers
13. Harder Now That It’s Over
14. Touch, Feel & Lose
15. Tina Toledo’s Street Walkin’ Blues
16. Goodnight, Hollywood Blvd.

Professional Reviews
Entertainment Weekly (9/28/01, pp.71-2) – “…This sprawling tour through American music…is like a dinner full of comfort food…” – Rating: B+

Q (1/03, p.54) – Included in Q Magazine’s “100 Greatest Albums Ever”

Q (10/01, p.117) – 4 stars out of 5 – “…Adam’s freewheeling nature remains irresistible. He’s a magpie, flitting between people, places and influences with equal enthusiasm…”

CMJ (9/17/01, p.4) – “…Sparkles with its creator’s shaky roots on the West Coast…with a slow, syrupy pace…”

No Depression (9-10/01, pp.129-30) – “…These songs are filled with hot emotion….There are more hooks here than at a pirate’s convention, and Adams’ gift for melody is so strong it’s almost scary…”

Mojo (Publisher) (1/02, p.69) – Ranked #9 in Mojo’s “Best [40] Albums of 2001″.

Mojo (Publisher) (10/01, p.114) – “…A beautiful trip…”

Related Posts
Ryan Adams – Love Is Hell
Ryan Adams & the Cardinals – Jacksonville City Nights

The confusing, complex saga of LOVE IS HELL–initially rejected by the label, then begrudgingly issued as two EPs before it finally saw the light of day as a full album–would be just an interesting footnote if not for the shockingly high quality of the material itself. In between his incarnations as alt-country troubadour and Strokes-friendly garage-rocker, Ryan Adams turned out what just might be the best record of his career. A beautiful, bittersweet journey through heartbreak, it’s a ballad-heavy album that bears echoes of Jeff Buckley and Britpop acts from the Smiths to Coldplay. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Smiths producer John Porter is on hand to assist the formerly earthy Americana artist in his transition to fragile, melodic, Anglo-adoring balladeer. While the original EPs were weighty documents in and of themselves, LOVE IS HELL’s full-length version bears an even greater emotional impact, as the mood is allowed to establish itself gradually and dramatically, pulling the listener into a very personal world of gorgeously observed romantic tragedy.

Tracklisting
1. Political Scientist
2. Afraid Not Scared
3. This House Is Not For Sale
4. Anybody Wanna Take Me Home
5. Love Is Hell
6. Wonderwall
7. The Shadowlands
8. World War 24
9. Avalanche
10. My Blue Manhattan
11. Please Do Not Let Me Go
12. City Rain, City Streets
13. I See Monsters
14. English Girls Approximately
15. Thank You Louise
16. Hotel Chelsea Nights

Ryan Adams’s sophomore album with the Cardinals as his backing band, and his second studio offering of 2005, JACKSONVILLE CITY NIGHTS finds the ever-prolific singer/songwriter in his twangy, Gram Parsons-inspired persona. In fact, on “Dear John,” jazz/pop superstar Norah Jones plays Emmylou Harris to Adams’s Parsons, as the two settle into a slow, smokey duet.

While JACKSONVILLE CITY NIGHTS has an energetic moment or two (”The Hardest Part”), it never wanders anywhere near Adams’s amped-up ROCK AND ROLL territory. In general, this is melancholy, down-tempo alt-country, which, given Adams’s past in Whiskeytown, explains why the performer sounds so at ease here. “A Kiss Before I Go” begins the album on a wistful note, setting the tone with bar room piano lines and weepy pedal-steel work. On “Hardest Way to Fall,” Adams indulges in a sauntering Dylan-like vibe, while “September” proves to be almost haunting in its minimalism. Although Adams’s artistic reach occasionally exceeds his grasp, JACKSONVILLE CITY NIGHTS finds the artist playing to his strengths, resulting in one of his most consistent records.

Professional Reviews
Rolling Stone (No. 984, p.148) – 3.5 stars out of 5 – “…[A]n unadulterated return to form…”