Search - Ryan Adams :: Gold

A Modern Classic

J. Chasin | NYC, NY | 08/23/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Gold came out in the late summer of 2001. The opening track, "New York New York," became something of a rallying cry for me (and other New Yorkers and Americans) after 9/11, even though the song-- as one colleague described it, "Tangled Up in Blue" played fast-- is about a girl, not a city. (Adams sometimes writes about a girl by using the name of a city he associates with her; see also, "Dear Chicago.") But the very fact that this tune evoked the familiar Dylan song is precisely what makes this work so compelling and timeless.



OK, so given the timing, that tune sucked me into the record, in a very visceral way. But the whole thing had masterpiece written all over it from the very first spin at my home in September of 2001. As my wife so aptly said, "It has that sweet familliar ring of every album you ever loved as a kid." Which, if you are our age, means it feels like Van Morrison, Neil Young, Dylan, Exile-era Stones, like that. It hits you in that "Into the Mystic," "Brown Sugar," "Everybody Knows This is Nowhere" place. Do you like that place? Yeah, me too.



Adams is so prolific an artist that he is generally an album or two ahead of his fans; by February of 2001 he was playing these rockers to rooms full of alt.country romantics who wanted to moon with him over the Heartbreaker songs. But now, four years on, "New York New York," "Answering Bell," "Stars Go Blue," and "Rescue Blues" sound like songs you've known all your life, and are warmly greeted in concert as the masterworks they are.



Adams is a polarizing figure; people tend to have strong opinions toward him, either way. I obviously lean toward the "love everything he touches" camp. But divorced from the public persona, the music on this disc stands up to the closest scrutiny, taps into a classic vein defined by the artists listed above (and more recently, by Lucinda Williams and Counting Crows). I hate to compare one artist to others, but I find it a helpful construct in providing buying advice; its the "recommended if you like..." concept. If you've read this far, I think you know whether you want to buy this or not.



If not, I'll add that if I were to suggest a single title to someone interested in getting their ears wet with Adams, this would be the one. I think you can find traces of every direction he's gone in, before and since, on this album. It is long (70 minutes or so), but in a sweeping sort of way; I can listen to it all the way through and not find a single song I want to cut."

One of the best CDs I've bought in a good long while

Caren | Falls Church, VA USA | 11/21/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Very rarely do I buy a CD after hearing just one song off the album. I usually have a 3 song rule; if I hear 3 songs & like all of them, then I'll buy it. Late one night I couldn't sleep so I was watching MTV & they showed his video for "New York, New York" and I loved the song. A couple days later I bought the album, but was concerned that I'd hate everything else. I couldn't have been more wrong. It is absolutely amazing. His voice, lyrics & musicality are just supurb. It's few and far between that I'll buy an album and listen to it non-stop, and this is one of them. If he doesn't become a household name soon, then a lot of people will be missing out on talent that comes along so infrequently. With all the bubblegum crap that's out there he's a much needed breath of fresh air."

Refreshing

Caren | 01/30/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

""Gold" is a masterpiece. Usually when I buy cd's it is for two or three songs that I've heard on the radio that I enjoyed. Sometimes there are a couple more surprises that I discover later, but for the most part the rest of the songs seem like filler. "Gold" is like a "best of" compilation that I would have created for myself of all my favorite Ryan Adams songs. Every song on the disk is great. "New York, New York" of course is a mainstream hit. "Answering Bell" has a great country-rock sound. My favorites though are the ballads "Goodnight Hollywood Boullevard", "Wild Flowers", and "The Bar is a Beautiful Place" (bonus track on 2nd disk). They are among the best songs I've ever heard. "When the Stars Go Blue" is also really popular right now with the Corrs and Bono having recently done a cover of it. This is a must have for anyone who likes music with an emphasis on accoustic guitar and deep lyrics. I went out and purchased "Heartbreaker", "Demolition", and the Whiskeytown album "Faithless Street", all of which are very good too. "Gold" is the way to go for anyone trying Ryan Adams for the first time. You will not be disappointed."