Ryan Adams

Ryan Adams thinks big. Really big. The original concept behind the prolific pretty boy's third effort, Demolition, was to release this collection of unreleased studio sessions as a four CD boxed set! But he eventually whittled the offering down to these thirteen twangy, heartfelt beauties.

For some musicians, songwriting is like tooth extraction; for others, it's as easy as brushing
twice a day. Like Prince and Stephin Merritt, rising alt-country star Ryan Adams is a
compulsive songwriter. His third solo album, Demolition, collects demos he made in the last
year between tour dates. Adams recorded five albums' worth of material in five separate
sessions, two of them with his cow-punk pals the Pinkhearts; it was all rumored t... More >

Hayseeds manqué who think he's betrayed his alt-country heritage should adapt to a world where traditionalism means not having a call out to the Neptunes. Tiny banjo fills, grand guitar solos, solo-acoustic, swelling strings that disguise your inability to distinguish between nuclear holocaust and breaking up with your girlfriend--they're all roots-rock now. With that tumescent ache in his voice, tunes easy as pickup lines, and a telltale tendency to vague out completely when saying anything you don't already know, Adams is a romantic egoist of the old school. Like every other alt-country hero worth spit, he assumed the pose because it gave him a way to look conceptual while knocking off some strophes. It's an excuse he's long past needing. Four albums boiled down to one--all right! (Grade - B+)