568 replies to this topic

[Hero]

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.

Go in order of released. Mix in the unofficial releases.

Throw up the Bedhead Anthology if you got it, i know i dont have all of those discs

[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?

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 -

Thank you!

[August West]

I've been a little hesitant to jump in this thread, because I fear it might ignite some kind of obsessive compulsive mania within me. I love love love Ryan Adams, but I haven't yet gotten through all the bootlegs. Between the official releases and the more widely traded unreleased albums (Suicide Handbook and 48 Hours), I still feel like it's a lot to process. That said, I can no longer resist. To join the discussion, "Faithless Street" is one of my favorite Ryan Adams albums. I love the raw, shoddy drunkenness of it all, and I think it's charming in a way the other Whiskeytown albums aren't. I do think it runs on a little too long, but if you take out the Baseball Park sessions (which - save for 'Factory Girl' - I could do without), it is a concise, VERY solid album with maybe one weak track. Never been too big on 'Top Dollar'. Overall, I think in many ways it is Ryan's most endearing record, even if it is decidedly tongue-in-cheek in tone. The faux-redneckisms are done with affection and a sense of humor, and the songs are simple but chock full of hooks. It is not the refined alt-country statement that "Stranger's Almanac" would become, but as for listening value, I prefer "Faithless Street" and its ramshackle charm. Favorite tracks: Midway Park, Tennessee Square, Faithless Street, Desperate Ain't Lonely Lo-Fi Tennessee Mountain Angel

[Hero]

True Story: i was playing "Call Me On Your Way Back Home" in my car and this girl mocked him and laughed about the harmonica part. i wish i could say i kicked her outta my car, but i no longer speak to her

[theremin]

I'm looking forward to catching up with this thread as soon as I get out of the #'s.

[Heretix]

I know I said I would slow down but I just want to get this one out of the way:

Those Weren't The Days
(bootleg, unreleased album recorded inbetween Faithless Street and Strangers Almanac -- sorry about the chrono mess-up)

http://www.mediafire.com/?sharekey=2918db7fd79c0f31d2db6fb9a8902bda

A Stranger Is Born
(bootleg, an unmastered tape of the sessions for TWTD, including songs that would end up appearing on Stranger's Almanac

http://www.megaupload.com/nl/?d=E8U8HK76

You can just download to find the tracklists.

CAVEAT EMPTOR: These releases overlap heavily with each other, and furthermore overlap heavily with the bonus disc of the Stranger's Almanac deluxe edition, so those who aren't really hardcore fans can just skip this post.

The music here is a perfect bridge between the dirty drunkeness of Faithless Street and the clean but dirgey Stranger's Almanac -- interesting to hear the band transition so smoothly.

Here's what Ryan said about Those Weren't The Days:

"Plus there's another record that is called Those
Weren't The Days, that's what I'm calling it now, I don't know if
that will change. But when they re-issue Faithless Street, that will
come as well. I don't know if it will all come on one cd or if
it will come as two cds, but its coming out. It was done about 6
months after Faithless Street. It's fairly similar."

Obviously it never came out.

The story behind A Stranger Is Born is just that it was a tape found of the session for the Double 7" EP Theme for A Trucker (which we will get to later). Unlike Those Weren't The Days it is not a sequenced, coherent album but it's also somewhat interesting because it's an unedited session -- false starts and so forth -- and contains some tracks recorded at this session that would later be re-recorded for Strangers' Almanac. Like I said, recommended for hardcore fans.

I'm very sorry for the slight mixup with chronology here, and the fact that these two albums are so confusing and messy; but I assure you from here on it is smooth sailing.

Some of the notable tracks on these releases that didn't appear on the SA deluxe edition:

Hipshake, a fun little country rocker.
All You Can Feel, a super quiet dirge with whispered vocals... very experimental for Whiskeytown
New York Angel/Only To Lose two solo ryan demos that close Those Weren't The Days.. very eerie and beautiful, totally essential.

[Mike Schank]

Digging the thread but Adams like many other alt-country acts is so inconsistent. Songs are either brilliant or boring. Only alt country bands that were/are constantly great are Tupelo and Handsome Family.

[Hero]

Digging the thread but Adams like many other alt-country acts is so inconsistent. Songs are either brilliant or boring. Only alt country bands that were/are constantly great are Tupelo and Handsome Family.

Ahhh... you're one of those people. You have two levels 1. It's Awesome! 2. It Sucks!

there are plenty of Ryan songs which are good or alright. I don't doubt he has a few that are boring, but c'mon

[August West]

Moving on to "Stranger's Almanac." "Stranger's Almanac" is widely considered Whiskeytown's seminal album, and for good reason. It's a massive refinement of the groundwork that Ryan and the gang laid with "Faithless Street." It's shorter, cleaner, more focused, and more radio-friendly. It also, for these reasons, lacks some of the charm of its predecessor. But while one can't help but miss the quirky imperfections that made FS so endearing, the songs here are by and large superior. For me, "Stranger's Almanac" is the quintessential alt-country album. Sure, "No Depression" may be the trailblazer, but I feel like early Whiskeytown and this album in particular are just great representations of the genre as a whole. From the opening notes of 'Inn Town' to the last seconds of the haunting "Not Home Anymore," the album is just this side of perfect. To this day it remains one of Adams' most cohesive statements as a songwriter. Best tracks: Yesterday's News, 16 Days, Houses on the Hill, Turn Around, Dancing With the Women at the Bar

[August West]

PS...Cannot wait to check out that deluxe edition. Many thanks to heretix for posting all this stuff.

[Slrpy Nozzell]

Anyone have the Exit Inn show that was floating around the internets a ton right before Gold came out? There was some real nice duets with Gilian Welch and one song, Statuettes With Wounds?, that was especialy haunting. This was always a favorite of mine from the "humble" Ryan period. Before he started reading his own press and acting the part.

[theremin]

Heretix: My thread is going to be at Ryan Adams after the weekend. Can you give me a chronological listing of what order I should listen to all this non-album stuff? I only have 6 bands left, although...one of them is AC/DC.

[Campaigner]

Anyone have the Exit Inn show that was floating around the internets a ton right before Gold came out? There was some real nice duets with Gilian Welch and one song, Statuettes With Wounds?, that was especialy haunting. This was always a favorite of mine from the "humble" Ryan period. Before he started reading his own press and acting the part.

Most of Ryan's gigs are up over at the Live Music Archive if you need it (not sure if you do or not).
That particular show is a favourite of mine from the early days.

[The Gram]

Most of Ryan's gigs are up over at the Live Music Archive if you need it (not sure if you do or not).
That particular show is a favourite of mine from the early days.

I'm surprised that the Archive doesn't get more mentions around here.

Check this link for a full listing of available bands/shows Live Music Archive By Creator
Ryan Adams collection features 302 shows. The latest is from 31-1-2008. The earliest is from 04-02-1994! Patty Duke Syndrome. Everything else is post 1998

[theremin]

I'm not that familiar with Whiskeytown, but I just stumbled across a listing for a bootleg called Forever Valentine. It features Ed from Ohio on guitar! WTF!

[Heretix]

I'm not that familiar with Whiskeytown, but I just stumbled across a listing for a bootleg called Forever Valentine.

It features Ed from Ohio on guitar! WTF!

That's next in line; posting it tomorrow morning. Great album. Recorded at the very end of 1997.

[Heretix]

FOREVER VALENTINE
(bootleg, unreleased album, recorded late 1997)

http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?dmb3otx7rdq

1. Anyone But Me (a/k/a Dial Tone)
2. Don't Wanna Know Why
3. Easy Hearts
4. Sittin' Around
5. Rays Of Burning Light (a/k/a Rays Of Light)
6. Ghost Without Memory
7. Runnin' Out Of Road
8. Can't Take A Lover (a/k/a Talkin' In My Sleep)
9. Think About Me (a/k/a (What You) Think About Me)
10. Crazy Lonesome (a/k/a A Memory Away)
11. Caroline

Chris Stamey -- "Skillet played drums,
I played bass. Recorded in Raleigh at Scores/Slackmates,
and at Modern, my place." "Addendum: I forgot to add
that the piano player on the Forever Valentine
Whiskeytown sessions was Ben Folds. My memory was
jogged by his smashing show this Saturday at the Cradle."

Skillet Gilmore -- "Forever Valentine was recorded
around Xmas '97. The band at the time (for the purposes
of recording) was Ryan, Caitlin, Mike Daly, Ed Crawford
on guitar, Chris Stamey on bass and me." "Although the
record was made in about a week, the challenge was actually
that Ryan wanted to make a record without the label knowing
about it. And so we did."


This is a nice little gem. It's basically the band further refining it's Strangers' Almanac sound, presenting lean, muscular songs that are both more interesting lyrically, and less droney/samey musically (i.e. there's no Turn Around or Waiting To Derail on this disc). It's somewhat evenly divided between the mournful country dirges and upbeat rock tracks; the latter, always a bit of a chore for Ryan, are probably the best he's ever sounded in rock mode. Songs like Rays of Burning Light have Ryan, for once, doing "rock" gracefully and serviceably.

But the slow acoustic dirges are the heart of this disc; Anyone But Me and (finally) a studio version of Think About Me, perhaps Whiskeytown's best song; a propulsive song with a chorus almost as great as the similarly titled Fleetwood Mac song. Highly recommended, oft-forgotten Whiskeytown album. Better than SA.

[nothingman00]

i just want to finally hear that new wavey record he put out a few years ago... what was that called again?

otherwise... fuck Ryan Adams.

I think that would be Rock 'N' Roll..

yeah? is that the one where he sounded all 80's and shit? i want that one.

otherwise, yes, i'm a hater and i will stay out of this thread. carry on.

Love is Hell is the 80's "New wavey" record RA put out. Jesus Fucking christ, you'd think someone would have corrected this a long time ago.

Rock N' Roll has maybe 2 tracks that hint at the direction of "Love is Hell". And yes, Love is Hell was written by Adams as an entire album, then scrapped by the label because it wasn't the Adams they'd grown accustomed to. So he broke it up into 2EP's and put them out at the same time. It was later combined into one album... Fantastic album. I can't remember what magazine it was ("Paste" maybe?) but they did a word association thing with Adams and when they said "Love is Hell" he simply said "Beautiful".

And yes, I think Love is Hell is the best Adams, WT album, hands-down.

[Heretix]

i just want to finally hear that new wavey record he put out a few years ago... what was that called again?

otherwise... fuck Ryan Adams.

I think that would be Rock 'N' Roll..

yeah? is that the one where he sounded all 80's and shit? i want that one.

otherwise, yes, i'm a hater and i will stay out of this thread. carry on.

Love is Hell is the 80's "New wavey" record RA put out. Jesus Fucking christ, you'd think someone would have corrected this a long time ago.

Rock N' Roll has maybe 2 tracks that hint at the direction of "Love is Hell". And yes, Love is Hell was written by Adams as an entire album, then scrapped by the label because it wasn't the Adams they'd grown accustomed to. So he broke it up into 2EP's and put them out at the same time. It was later combined into one album... Fantastic album. I can't remember what magazine it was ("Paste" maybe?) but they did a word association thing with Adams and when they said "Love is Hell" he simply said "Beautiful".

And yes, I think Love is Hell is the best Adams, WT album, hands-down.

I wouldn't call Love Is Hell new wave. It's more like 80s brit indie, i.e. Smiths... Rock & Roll is much more in the vein of new wave...

[nothingman00]

i just want to finally hear that new wavey record he put out a few years ago... what was that called again?

otherwise... fuck Ryan Adams.

I think that would be Rock 'N' Roll..

yeah? is that the one where he sounded all 80's and shit? i want that one.

otherwise, yes, i'm a hater and i will stay out of this thread. carry on.

Love is Hell is the 80's "New wavey" record RA put out. Jesus Fucking christ, you'd think someone would have corrected this a long time ago.

Rock N' Roll has maybe 2 tracks that hint at the direction of "Love is Hell". And yes, Love is Hell was written by Adams as an entire album, then scrapped by the label because it wasn't the Adams they'd grown accustomed to. So he broke it up into 2EP's and put them out at the same time. It was later combined into one album... Fantastic album. I can't remember what magazine it was ("Paste" maybe?) but they did a word association thing with Adams and when they said "Love is Hell" he simply said "Beautiful".

And yes, I think Love is Hell is the best Adams, WT album, hands-down.

I wouldn't call Love Is Hell new wave. It's more like 80s brit indie, i.e. Smiths... Rock & Roll is much more in the vein of new wave...

I think Love is Hell is what simakos is looking for... Maybe I'm wrong. It stands alone as being completely different from anything else Adams has done. And yes, I'd say it's more Smiths influenced, but I think someone who's looking for one particularly different Adams record is probably looking for Love is Hell. Could be wrong. There's a loooooong ways to go before you get there. We still have the Suicide Handbook, Franklin St, a couple proper studio albums, and the god-awful "Demolition" first...