I Don’t Like Them As Much As I’m Supposed To: Ryan Adams

Dispatches From Beardsville, I Don't Like Them As Much As I'm Supposed To

Ryan Adams is pretty much adored by everyone I know. He’s a bit country, a bit punk, a bit folk, a bit rock’n'roll… which ticks all my boxes. So why can’t I get into him? I bought Heartbreaker and Gold all those years ago, and, in fairness, the former contained a couple o’ numbers that were stone cold killers. ‘Oh My Sweet Carolina’, ‘Winding Wheel’ and the one that opens the LP… can’t remember what it’s called now… were all great. Things looked promising. Had I found my new Gram Parsons?
Gold came up next in my collection, and ‘Answering Bell’ was a gorgeous slice of country-rock… but the rest of the LP? Can’t remember a thing. Y’see, I’d hoped that Adams was gonna grab country music by the balls and really go for the jugular. Show-stopping rockabilly numbers and tunes made for crying into your beer, you know?

Sadly, Adams’ output resembles another much-loved giant of American rock; notably, Bruce Springsteen. Now, The Boss always promised so much… but then went all stadium rock. Ryan Adams is, to me, going the same way. OK, his teeth are blackened through hard-livin’ and he puts albums out at an impressive rate, but a vital ingredient is missing… and I don’t know what it is… do I, Mister Jones?
I’ve got a feeling that Ryan Adams knocks songs out easily. It’s nice to see someone throwing out albums when they have the material, as opposed to agonising over songs for a couple of years like most (lazy) bands do. That said, the songs come so easy to Adams because they’re a bit generic. Bar-room boogie chords and a fistful of cryptic lyrics later, and the whole thing seems a bit… botched.
That said, I don’t resent Ryan Adams’ existence. Far from it. He seems to be out there and causing a decent amount of trouble. That said, once, when stood mere inches away, I watched him mill around his fans, turning his nose up at anyone who wasn’t glamorous enough for him. And maybe, jus’ maybe, that’s my problem. Country is the music of the people as opposed to the glittering few, and Adams needs to get aboard the train that serves humble pie.