Album: Heartbreaker
Artist: Ryan Adams
Born: Raleigh, North Carolina
Released: September 2000
Genre: Alt Country
Like many people, my first encounter with Ryan Adam's work was the single New York, New York, which was released in late 2001 along with a video recorded just days before 9/11. On the strength of that song and album reviews that I'd read, I bought a copy of Gold and found it a bit of a mixed bag. It wasn't until years later, when discussing Adams' music with a friend, that I discovered he'd recorded a much better LP just a year before Gold. Heartbreaker is now a firm favourite. I also really like Adams' work with alt country outfit Whiskeytown, especially Strangers Almanac, but this is his best collection of songs. They perfectly distil what country music is best at; tales of heartbreak, drinking and being down on your luck. Not long after Adams split with his long-term girlfriend Amy Lombardi, he headed to Nashville for two weeks to record this album, and the sense of betrayal and loss is palpably raw in many of the songs. Only the coldest of hearts would fail to be moved by Come Pick Me Up, a song that reveals his weakness at still being attracted to a cheating girlfriend ("Come pick me up / take me out / fuck me up / steal my records / screw all my friends / behind my back / with a smile on your face").
Oh My Sweet Carolina is another moving track, involving country legend Emmylou Harris (who released the stunning Red Dirt Girl in the same year) on backing vocals, her crystal clear singing the perfect foil to Adams' growl. The song articulates a nostalgia for the simplicity of his younger years. This melancholic mood dominates throughout, although the record opens with a light-hearted audio snippet of Adams discussing a song on Morrissey's Viva Hate album followed by the upbeat Dylanesque rocker, To Be Young (Is To Be Sad). This song and Shakedown On 9th Street are the only two that break the prevailing mood of downtempo country blues. In My Time Of Need, Why Do They Leave? and Call Me On Your Way Back Home are all particularly affecting, featuring brilliant support work from Dave Rawlings and Gillian Welch -- who wrote her own masterpiece, Time (The Revelator), in 2001. There are also lighter moments on the records, like when Adams channels early Dylan on Damn, Sam (I Love a Woman That Rains), but here still you get the sense of a songwriter of genuine talent. Follow-up album, Gold, featured some great moments (like Answering Bell) and a wider palette of Americana, from The Band and Dylan to Johnny Cash and Gram Parsons, but it didn't have the same depth of quality and coherence as Heartbreaker.
Like many people, my first encounter with Ryan Adam's work was the single New York, New York, which was released in late 2001 along with a video recorded just days before 9/11. On the strength of that song and album reviews that I'd read, I bought a copy of Gold and found it a bit of a mixed bag. It wasn't until years later, when discussing Adams' music with a friend, that I discovered he'd recorded a much better LP just a year before Gold. Heartbreaker is now a firm favourite. I also really like Adams' work with alt country outfit Whiskeytown, especially Strangers Almanac, but this is his best collection of songs. They perfectly distil what country music is best at; tales of heartbreak, drinking and being down on your luck. Not long after Adams split with his long-term girlfriend Amy Lombardi, he headed to Nashville for two weeks to record this album, and the sense of betrayal and loss is palpably raw in many of the songs. Only the coldest of hearts would fail to be moved by Come Pick Me Up, a song that reveals his weakness at still being attracted to a cheating girlfriend ("Come pick me up / take me out / fuck me up / steal my records / screw all my friends / behind my back / with a smile on your face").
Oh My Sweet Carolina is another moving track, involving country legend Emmylou Harris (who released the stunning Red Dirt Girl in the same year) on backing vocals, her crystal clear singing the perfect foil to Adams' growl. The song articulates a nostalgia for the simplicity of his younger years. This melancholic mood dominates throughout, although the record opens with a light-hearted audio snippet of Adams discussing a song on Morrissey's Viva Hate album followed by the upbeat Dylanesque rocker, To Be Young (Is To Be Sad). This song and Shakedown On 9th Street are the only two that break the prevailing mood of downtempo country blues. In My Time Of Need, Why Do They Leave? and Call Me On Your Way Back Home are all particularly affecting, featuring brilliant support work from Dave Rawlings and Gillian Welch -- who wrote her own masterpiece, Time (The Revelator), in 2001. There are also lighter moments on the records, like when Adams channels early Dylan on Damn, Sam (I Love a Woman That Rains), but here still you get the sense of a songwriter of genuine talent. Follow-up album, Gold, featured some great moments (like Answering Bell) and a wider palette of Americana, from The Band and Dylan to Johnny Cash and Gram Parsons, but it didn't have the same depth of quality and coherence as Heartbreaker.
Comments