Ryan Adams - Heartbreaker

Wed 7th Feb, 2007 in Music Reviews

I know I’m meant to believe that Ryan Adams is a hipster poser, known for an embarrassing incident falling off a stage, alcoholism and dating Parker Posey, while releasing too many albums in one year.

The truth is, I don’t believe this for a second. Yes, I believe like JK Rowling he could perhaps use the editing process more effectively and cull his material down to one or two fantastic albums in a year, I do also believe that he probably does drink too much, even for someone who comes out of the country tradition. Problem is, I more firmly believe that Heartbreaker contains the only two songs in the world that can and do regularly make me cry, while also holding the award for the song I embarrassingly dance around my room to while getting ready to go out. After all To Be Young makes drugs and alcohol sound like a great idea, the reward of the youth as long as you ignore the second part of the title.

The thing I adore the most about this album is the sympathy and compassion that falls through every song. In some ways, it’s the easiest to look at this album as a series of character sketches – each song paints another story about a person in distinct detail. Of course, with an album titled Heartbreaker and a link to alt country, you can assume most of these tales aren’t going to be very happy ones.

I once had a discussion with someone that concluded only a true musician could understand a song that put stealing records and sleeping with your best friends on the same level of disgust. Come Pick Me Up is a prime example of what I mean, it draws through the details of a woman who doesn’t care and a man who cares too much, always relying on physical images, but the story is told with a level of emotion that never slips into derision. The series of questions that dominate the verses continue this theme, the chorus and its repetition with subtle changes create a depth to the relationship, while the easy use of harmonies suggests that Adams is an artist who really does think about the structure of his music. In a similar way Damn Sam (I Love a Woman that Rains) calls on the imagery evident in its title and even odd lyrics about fruit stands work within the context and Adams continues to use repetition and simple melodies to work a song that sounds familiar and comfortable almost within the first listen.

Oh My Sweet Carolina uses the same technique, but here it is bought to greater depths, mimicking a place and a person. The real credit to this song is the capacity to make these emotions obvious to everyone listening, despite the continuous references to locations. With the addition of harmonies by Emmy Lou Harris, it is probably the standout track from this album, calling on the listener to think about their own idea of nostalgia.

There’s no doubt that Adams has the capacity to be an amazing songwriter, but it’s on this first solo record that such efforts are the most glaringly obvious. In fact, coming back to this album, I only ever find myself more frustrated with his other releases, perhaps with the exception of his work with The Cardinals. There seems to be intention within these songs, unlike other albums (the not so good Rock N Roll particularly) Adams is thinking about what he wants to say and this shows in the careful construction, the way he sounds particularly sure of his own style and how the album itself holds together as the perfect example of the emotional low of an ended relationship.

As a result though, don’t ever listen to it at the end of a relationship. No amount of drugs or alcohol will get you through it, despite Adams’ own philosophy.