[.ca] Rock N Roll

From Amazon.co.uk:
Enjoyment of Rock N Roll--Ryan Adams' follow up to his alt-country hit, Gold--is largely dependant on both your approach to it and your knowledge of rock's rich history. There's definitely plenty to enjoy, if you look in the right places and don't focus so much on others. If you know zilch about music, but love gritty, rough and ready rock with big, fat slices of tunes, crunching guitars and attitude, then this will make you growl. If you loved Gold, but secretly hoped something rockier would emerge after Adams's much publicised socialising with the Strokes and tribute-paying to Noel Gallagher, then this may be your record of the year. However, if you know your stuff, then you may feel uneasy. Not disappointed, but a little cheated. Why? Because, internal record-company politics and artistic tantrums aside, this is more Ryan Adams "In the Style of..." than anything else. For instance, "This Is It" sounds exactly like a Strokes song would sound, "Shallow" is Definitely Maybe-era Oasis (even down to the stolen T-Rex riff) and "So Alive" is 1980s U2. That isn't to say the songs aren't anything short of fantastic (especially the almost ethereal, emotional "So Alive" ("Today I watched the boats / Moving through the harbour / Walking on water / In your arms I stay")--great melodies, great guitar work. But you have to wonder, why. Thinking about that can only diminish enjoyment. It's not his best work, but still damn good dirty fun. --Cortman Virtue

Get "Love Is Hell" instead:
Ryan Adams obviously only did this record to appease his record company - they wouldn't release the superior "Love Is Hell" because they considered it "depressing". I think this record is more depressing in the way you can tell the guy is just doing a run-of-the-mill Smiths and U2 imitation and that his heart totally wasn't in it.

Fantastic. This guy can do anything!:
How rarely we encounter an artist who is truly eclectic in their musical talents. This guy knows how to tug on his listeners hearstsrings in a gentle, quiet-room and hard drink kind of way, but that's not what this album is about. This album is just Ryan having a blast recording well-written tunes that pay tribute to late 80's/early 90's alt-rock. There are few today who can match him lyrically, and his melodies are once again upbeat and catchy. If you're looking for Ryan Adams at his most sincere and intimate, this isn't your ticket. But if you want to have a good time, a record you can blast in the car, that DOES get better with every listen, pick this up pronto.

Extremely Disappointing:
As much as I loved his last album, Gold, and his previous work with Whiskeytown, I'm am severly disappointed by this album. His writing and performance on Rock N Roll is horrendous. It's one of those cds that gets progressively worse the more times you hear it.

An Able Ape:
At this point, Ryan Adams must be wondering what it's going to take to establish himself as a mainstream artist. He's dated several movie stars (Winona Ryder and Parker Posey), written a song inextricably linked with a major event in our nation's history ("New York, New York"), and released an album of relentlessly accessible rock songs (Rock N Roll). Still, Adams remains relatively ignored except by music critics and his cult of devoted followers. Since I have no intention of scrutinizing his dalliances with waifish actresses or offering social commentary on post-9/11 America, I'll focus on the third topic - Adams' recent rock album, Rock N Roll. For an album that contains myriad potential radio hits, Rock N Roll sold rather poorly. Familiar, catchy hooks from the 1970s and 80s lurk within almost every song and perhaps therein lies the problem. By so ably aping his predecessors, Adams fails to establish his own voice as a rock musician. At times, Rock N Roll practically becomes Adams singing karaoke. "So Alive" is a great lost U2 song and Adams does a fine job singing it. Nevertheless, it's a guaranteed number one single with Bono hitting those high notes instead of Adams. "Anybody Wanna Take Me Home" is straight out of the Smiths' songbook, but Adams is less suited to providing vocals here - the song practically begs for Adams to concentrate on his guitar-playing and let Morrissey take over on lead vocals. "Shallow" is a not unpleasant hybrid of T Rex's "Bang a Gong" and the Hollies' "Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress", but doesn't exactly scream originality. Most of the songs are good, but few can be considered great. Not surprisingly, the great ones are the songs that don't obviously recall another artist - "Luminol", "Note to Self: Don't Die", "Wish You Were Here". With his tendency towards the prolific and fondness for media coverage, Adams may yet attain the mainstream popularity he desires. As far as I can tell, he has two options. On the one hand, he could make a concerted effort to follow his more original musical instincts. The other option would be to start dressing stylishly while continuing to churn out mostly derivative tunes. The latter approach worked like a charm for another band, that is only half as good as Adams is, but of which Adams is inexplicably fond. The next time Adams decrees "This Is It", I want him to be telling the truth.

-:
i love ryan adams for making this cd. it's a departure from his usual and expected style which might be a good thing. his rebellious, passionate, and desperate natures come through stronger than ever and with his bold experiment he proved that he was up to the challenge of tackling rock and roll. when he was with whiskeytown he sang "...so i started this damn country band 'cause punk rock is too hard to sing," but it's obvious that he's found his nitch in rock. tracks 1-3 are excellent, 5 is my very favorite, and the rest aren't too shabby either.

• This Is It
• Shallow
• 1974
• Wish You Were Here
• So Alive
• Luminol
• Burning Photographs
• She's Lost Total Control
• Note to Self: Don't Die
• Rock N Roll
• Anybody Wanna Take Me Home
• Do Miss America
• Boys
• Drugs Not Working
• Hypnotixed \o*\c