Rock N Roll
Ryan Adams has angered nearly everyone with his insistence on his own prolific greatness. The record label didn’t know what to do with so much music constantly appearing, ready for release. *Rock N Roll* is Adams making it clear that he is no longer an “alt-country” songwriter, but a rocker who has studied the seminal texts. He can shuffle from a U2 wail on “So Alive” to a glam-metal abrasion with “1974” without losing himself in the process. What ties these tunes together is Adams’ melodic gene. He simply writes tunes that stick to the cerebral cortex. The guitars slam with punk-rock energy on “Luminol.” “Burning Photographs” chugs down Santa Monica Boulevard with a taste for the Pacific breezes. “She’s Lost Total Control” echoes a manic disorder that updates Joy Division’s “She’s Lost Control” with louder guitars. “Note To Self: Don’t Die” sounds like he’s cautioning the hardcore punks to disregard their poses of nihilism. The title track forsakes raucous rock for a trip to the piano.
The story of Ryan Adams' artistic decline is currently approaching epic, a long, complicated tale of public cockiness, big mouth ...
Ryan Adams is the male Courtney Love -- a hard-working hustler with impeccable taste who talks such a good game that it deliberately overshadows his music.