568 replies to this topic

[UselessRocker]

Slow down, Heretix. This thread's inspired me to listen to Ryan Adams for the first time in a while, but I haven't really had time to do that yet! Also, let's hope this thread inspires discussion about RA's albums and not just end up being a fish-RA-bootlegs-from-Heretix thread.

[coldcomfort]

As a casual fan, I need to be schooled - thanks for this

[Kate]

I'm enjoying this thread. I love Ryan Adams. My only quibble with him is that I think he could use a better editor. Rock and Roll was a pretty great double album, but it would have been a killer single album.

[M_Rots]

Rock and Roll was a pretty great double album, but it would have been a killer single album.

Rock'n'Roll was a single album - single CD, anyway. Love is Hell got split into two EPs. Do you mean Cold Roses? I'd be in agreement with you, there.

This much Whiskeytown this fast has proved almost too much. I never owned more that Stranger's... and Pneumonia, and while i really liked Stranger's, the other did nothing for me.

I dunno, this may sound weird, but work with me on this.

For me, alt country/country-rock is about like the '90s "Swing revival" groups - some good stuff in there, but most of it just reminds me of why I love Duke Ellington. Listening to all this Whiskytown reminds me why I don't have more Uncle Tupelo or early Wilco or Son Volt - it's all decent; some of it extraordinary, but most of it still just sends me running for Gram Parsons or Hank Sr. or Hank Snow or Webb Pierce or even Dwight Yoakam or Townes Van Zandt. Little of it is really awful, but there is a blurry, samey-sameness to it that makes me think I will spend more time in my library wth the classics than learning to love some of this.

[Heretix]

hmm.. not sure what to do. I won't post another album until at least thursday, to give everyone time to digest. BUT.. Starting at this point do you want me to go in the order of Official Albums, and then save unreleased albums for later? Or do you want to do a complete chronology, including unreleased albums in their rightful place (which would look something like Those Weren't The Days -> Forever Valentine -> Fucker -> Pneumonia -> Exile On Franklin St. -> Destroyer -> Heartbreaker -> Q Division -> Pinkhearts #1 -> Suicide Handbook -> Gold -> 48 Hours etc! That's just 1997-2001!!), to completely cover Ryan's development? I was planning to go with the latter option but I realized it would take a long time to get to stuff that most people are familiar with, so I thought I'd ask. Also, a caveat for people who haven't downloaded Drunken Confessions yet, the quality varies throughout -- nothing is an audience recording or anything, but don't expect top-notch SQ either.

[theremin]

do it chrono, especially if you are posting the "bootleg" material.

[M_Rots]

I guess my preference would be for the former, but I'm hanging in, regardless, so I think it's probably mostly up to you.

[Campaigner]

Rock and Roll was a pretty great double album, but it would have been a killer single album.

Rock'n'Roll was a single album - single CD, anyway. Love is Hell got split into two EPs. Do you mean Cold Roses? I'd be in agreement with you, there.

No way - Cold Roses is his best album by far. As for it being a double - because you can burn both discs onto one CD and still have room to spare.

I also don't agree that he needs an editor. Let him release as much as he wants. People will have different favourite tracks to others. And besides, if he had no editor, we'd have plenty more albums to choose from...

[M_Rots]

He has never come close to topping Gold, and Cold Roses sure isn't the place to start.

[Heretix]

Rock and Roll was a pretty great double album, but it would have been a killer single album.

For me, alt country/country-rock is about like the '90s "Swing revival" groups - some good stuff in there, but most of it just reminds me of why I love Duke Ellington. Listening to all this Whiskytown reminds me why I don't have more Uncle Tupelo or early Wilco or Son Volt - it's all decent; some of it extraordinary, but most of it still just sends me running for Gram Parsons or Hank Sr. or Hank Snow or Webb Pierce or even Dwight Yoakam or Townes Van Zandt. Little of it is really awful, but there is a blurry, samey-sameness to it that makes me think I will spend more time in my library wth the classics than learning to love some of this.

I know exactly what you mean, but I found especially with Whiskeytown, the more I listened to it, I just started to fall in love with it. Faithless Street especially blurs together, 21 tracks of samey-sounding Uncle Tupelo ripoffs and drunken acoustic dirges. But the songs do reveal themselves. Same with Pneumonia, it's a bit of a homogenized mass of slick production, but it's actually quite a varied and wholly interesting album. As for the issue of authenticity or worthwhile as compared to the genre's progenitors (or at least those who inspired the genre), I don't necessarily agree with your approximation of the fad 90s swing revival because at least these musicians were somewhat unique and had something interesting to say and play, rather than just completely rip off the old, elder statesmen.

But certainly I could see how Whiskeytown can seem really boring and unoriginal at first, I felt the same way. But lately I've been listening to more WT than solo Ryan. Hope the rest of the WT stuff to come doesn't kill you before the solo RA.

And at this point I think I'm going to include the unreleased albums, because it's really an interesting way to go through the catalogue. But I'll wait and see if anyone else chimes in (because right now it's 1-1).

[M_Rots]

Rock and Roll was a pretty great double album, but it would have been a killer single album.

For me, alt country/country-rock is about like the '90s "Swing revival" groups - some good stuff in there, but most of it just reminds me of why I love Duke Ellington. Listening to all this Whiskytown reminds me why I don't have more Uncle Tupelo or early Wilco or Son Volt - it's all decent; some of it extraordinary, but most of it still just sends me running for Gram Parsons or Hank Sr. or Hank Snow or Webb Pierce or even Dwight Yoakam or Townes Van Zandt. Little of it is really awful, but there is a blurry, samey-sameness to it that makes me think I will spend more time in my library wth the classics than learning to love some of this.

I know exactly what you mean, but I found especially with Whiskeytown, the more I listened to it, I just started to fall in love with it. Faithless Street especially blurs together, 21 tracks of samey-sounding Uncle Tupelo ripoffs and drunken acoustic dirges. But the songs do reveal themselves. Same with Pneumonia, it's a bit of a homogenized mass of slick production, but it's actually quite a varied and wholly interesting album. As for the issue of authenticity or worthwhile as compared to the genre's progenitors (or at least those who inspired the genre), I don't necessarily agree with your approximation of the fad 90s swing revival because at least these musicians were somewhat unique and had something interesting to say and play, rather than just completely rip off the old, elder statesmen.

But certainly I could see how Whiskeytown can seem really boring and unoriginal at first, I felt the same way. But lately I've been listening to more WT than solo Ryan. Hope the rest of the WT stuff to come doesn't kill you before the solo RA.

I don't know that I'd go so far as to call Whiskeytown boring, and if I did just say that then for about the millionth time in life, hyperbole has gotten the better of me. Some of this stuff, esp. Stranger's Almanac, I really love. Pneumonia I need to hear again, as homogenized slickness wasn't what I recall annoying me. What I remember is a lot of it had a heroin-dirge quality to it that left me feeling as sick and fever-dreamy as the condition it's named for.

[Heretix]

Rock and Roll was a pretty great double album, but it would have been a killer single album.

For me, alt country/country-rock is about like the '90s "Swing revival" groups - some good stuff in there, but most of it just reminds me of why I love Duke Ellington. Listening to all this Whiskytown reminds me why I don't have more Uncle Tupelo or early Wilco or Son Volt - it's all decent; some of it extraordinary, but most of it still just sends me running for Gram Parsons or Hank Sr. or Hank Snow or Webb Pierce or even Dwight Yoakam or Townes Van Zandt. Little of it is really awful, but there is a blurry, samey-sameness to it that makes me think I will spend more time in my library wth the classics than learning to love some of this.

I know exactly what you mean, but I found especially with Whiskeytown, the more I listened to it, I just started to fall in love with it. Faithless Street especially blurs together, 21 tracks of samey-sounding Uncle Tupelo ripoffs and drunken acoustic dirges. But the songs do reveal themselves. Same with Pneumonia, it's a bit of a homogenized mass of slick production, but it's actually quite a varied and wholly interesting album. As for the issue of authenticity or worthwhile as compared to the genre's progenitors (or at least those who inspired the genre), I don't necessarily agree with your approximation of the fad 90s swing revival because at least these musicians were somewhat unique and had something interesting to say and play, rather than just completely rip off the old, elder statesmen.

But certainly I could see how Whiskeytown can seem really boring and unoriginal at first, I felt the same way. But lately I've been listening to more WT than solo Ryan. Hope the rest of the WT stuff to come doesn't kill you before the solo RA.

I don't know that I'd go so far as to call Whiskeytown boring, and if I did just say that then for about the millionth time in life, hyperbole has gotten the better of me. Some of this stuff, esp. Stranger's Almanac, I really love. Pneumonia I need to hear again, as homogenized slickness wasn't what I recall annoying me. What I remember is a lot of it had a heroin-dirge quality to it that left me feeling as sick and fever-dreamy as the condition it's named for.

Well any misperception is probably just me misinterpreting your words or relating them too closely to my own personal experiences. Because I certainly found Whiskeytown somewhat boring at first. But I really think you should give Pneumonia another chance (which we'll get to soon) because I think it is wonderfully varied and not dirgelike at all...

[Campaigner]

He has never come close to topping Gold, and Cold Roses sure isn't the place to start.

I actually think 48 Hours is his best work, but of the released stuff, CR gets my vote. Love that album. Gold has died down a bit in my estimation over the years, but I'll get to talk more about that when the thread reaches that point.

[Heretix]

He has never come close to topping Gold, and Cold Roses sure isn't the place to start.

I actually think 48 Hours is his best work

Holy crap I never thought I would find someone who agrees with me on that! But yeah, that's for later in the thread.

[The Gram]

If you're still taking votes put me down for doing the whole thing chronologically...boots, official albums, finished unreleased albums, website anomolies the lot. It should make for an interesting journey for the casual fan as well as the RA nuts among us. For what it's worth, Pneumoniae will always be numero uno in the WT catalogue for me with Strangers... coming second I know! Shoot me. Faithless street always sounds like I should be (more) drunk and I'll always have a beer before I get to the end of it...probably explains why I stopped listening to it in the car. Thanks for Drunken Confessions boot...just finished the download now. From your list I think I have most of the upcoming WT boots. I'll have a looksee if I have anything additional that I can pass on.

[the dude]

do it however YOU want campaigner; it's your thread. and by the time you finish there's bound be a new album out! and probably that book.

also can't believe no-one's listed heartbreaker as their fave ryan moment yet. that one gets my vote of the official stuff.

[Campaigner]

do it however YOU want campaigner; it's your thread. and by the time you finish there's bound be a new album out! and probably that book.

also can't believe no-one's listed heartbreaker as their fave ryan moment yet. that one gets my vote of the official stuff.

Haha, thanks Andrew - but it ain't my thread! I'm just along for the ride on this one...

[the dude]

it's all relative, it's all relative; ryan is this generation's shakey, no? i meant heretix of course.

[Kate]

I'm not the most technologically savvy person I know. I downloaded Faithless, but I can't seem to open it. Do I need something special to do that?

[M_Rots]

I'm not the most technologically savvy person I know. I downloaded Faithless, but I can't seem to open it. Do I need something special to do that?

Yes. You need winRAR - an archiving application. It's available free for the first 40 days, and still works after that, more or less. EDIT: Ths should get you where you need to go.

www.soft32.com/Download/free-trial/WinRAR/4-175-1.html - 67k -