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Ryan Adams | Demolition

Elton John's friend sings about Beth Orton, beautifully.
CD, Lost Highway

Tekst: Wilko van Iperen

Publicatiedatum: 23 september 2002

Nowadays, he's said to hang out with Elton John. Fame makes you do silly things, it seems. Mr. Productivity, or the "rag doll boy," as Adams calls himself in She Wants To Plays Hearts, returns again with a new album. After the critically acclaimed debut (solo) album Heartbreaker and the status-affirmative Gold, Adams releases his third album. Actually, it's more or less an in-betweener, an album consisting of live-cut studio demos. The proper follow-up to Gold already is in the recording stage, but Demolition is a compilation of "older" demos. It contains 13 unreleased tunes from the swaggering singer, originating from five different recording sessions that took place between December, 2000 and October, 2001.

While many can't figure out which is Adams' best one yet — the debut album, which sees him as the bummer king, as he puts it, or the more uplifting second album Gold — Demolition combines both worlds: American rockers such as Nuclear, Hallelujah, and Starting To Hurt are succeeded with such heartbreaking beauties as Desire, Cry On Demand, and She Wants To Plays Hearts. Maybe it's an insult to some, but when rocking out loud, Adams is kind of reminiscent of the early Bruce Springsteen. And when getting more quiet, he can pull that Dylan-string.

If introduced to the phenomenon that Ryan Adams is nowadays, his overwhelming energy and poseur-like attitude threatens to overshadow what it's all about in the end. But this collection of songs is great R'n'R, and Adams gets to be a loveable guy in the end. The pumping rock of the opening song Nuclear, and the positive-change-can-come song Hallelujah set the tone. Apart from the full-band songs, there are the acoustic songs of which the first, You Always Be The Same, breathes the Beatles' Blackbird. With the charming strumming and soothing melody, this is a little beauty. Desire just gives you what it promises: a warm, longing song. The virulent, but blood-freezing Cry On Demand, with its one-tone piano-led chorus, almost gets you f**king doing what he sings about. Although the album has its other high points, the heartfelt pain is most extant here. "It 's a long way down / But I feel alright / And the cops get in / And the crowd gets tight," sings Adams while he puts himself into the situation of a suicide: "It's starting to hurt," he screams from the top of his lungs. The build-up of the songs makes you want to scream along. After your heart gets broken by the suicide, Adams' own heartbreak passes by in She Wants To Plays Hearts. The lighter tone of Tennessee Sucks splits the album up in two before getting smashed with the stunning Dear Chicago. Past love in an open acoustic letter to Chicago, the city waiting and listening. Adams and his backing band, the Pink Hearts, rock one more time with Gimme A Sign. Before getting to the positivism radiated by Chin Up, Cheer Up — the last song that comes as a needed relief — the ballad Tomorrow is full of sorrow again. The cheerful country-pop of Chin Up gets followed by the closing Jesus Don't Touch My Baby, which is a bit on the heavy side. Although meant as a more spiritual song, it's also the only one a bit out of control. This record makes a pleasant companion for the coming few weeks. These are timeless songs, and very addictive. Never thought it would get a hold on me. But it did.

http://www.kindamuzik.net/recensie/ryan-adams/demolition/1881/
Meer Ryan Adams op KindaMuzik: http://www.kindamuzik.net/artiest/ryan-adams