lambchops's Full Review: Rock N Roll by Ryan Adams
Ryan Adams calls his album Rock N Roll while I prefer to refer to it as mildly entertaining. I can’t say there is anything bad really about this album, but it also doesn’t strike me as particularly creative or engaging. It is far from a classic, but with a few good songs and moments it’s not a total loss either.
A native of North Carolina, his brand of rock was perfectly timed as part of the whole garage/indie revival of the last four or so years. Brash, cocky, and generally regarded as temperamental, Adams got his start as the front man and leader for alt-country band Whiskytown. Despite critical acclaim and fan acceptance, the band couldn’t manage to stay together (they cited personal problems and if the revolving door of personnel is any indication, they were inter-personal problems). Adams took no time to regroup. Less than a year following the official break up of Whiskytown Adams had reinvented himself as a solo singer-songwriter and released his 2000 debut Heartbreaker.
Heartbreaker is to date regarded as Adams’ most honest album, but it was with 2001’s Gold that he earned the biggest mainstream following despite its schizophrenic nature. He was clearly defined before, but on Gold he almost entirely lacked identity. In a way, this lack of direction is freeing for an artist (“what will he do next?”) but generally it just proves confusing for fans. Demolition followed a year later. It was even less cohesive—but at least this time around there was a reason. The album was in truth a grouping of demos and rough shod songs that never made it to another album.
Then, in 2003 the prolific Adams released his third studio album. Rock N Roll was intended to further glorify his self-proclaimed Genius (yes—with a capital “G”) and prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that he is indeed the best singer-songwriter currently making music.
Um. Yeah. Mr. Adams, I do think it’s time for a reality check.
The reason that his music never quite works has a good deal to do with his inflated opinion of himself. There is no question that Adams is inspired, but he has yet to actually harness that inspiration. It’s one thing to think highly of yourself, but it’s an entirely other thing to look down your nose at other successful music folk and consciously attempt to do them one better. On Rock N Roll (which is purposefully displayed in reverse on the cover so as to indicate it is something profound and very much otherwise) Adams never quite is successful in proving that he has an identity other than one that is busy aping Jack White (and the White Stripes) and a host of other garage/lo-fi/post-punk/glam acts.
Rock N Roll isn’t all bad, but Adams’ temper tantrums overshadow his music. A piss and vinegar fueled brawl here, the declaration that “I’m a GENIUS” there. It all reads the same way to onlookers—Adams is way too big for his suspendered dungarees. The moments which resonate on his proper third album are those on which he is trying the least to specifically outdo somebody else. What really adds insult to injury regarding Rock N Roll is that it is unnecessarily long. I get the fact that Adams is generally angry within the first songs. I pick up on the fact that he dislikes his peers vehemently by mid-album. The rest is just icing (we’re not talking chocolate or vanilla either—I’m thinking more along the lines of pistachio flavored). It looks ugly on the outside, but with a little bravery and attention it can, given the right audience, yield some amount of pleasure.
The best songs are dispersed throughout Rock N Roll. Fortunately, one of them is planted at the very beginning (This is It) which could lead to some amount of confusion over the quality/consistency of the rest of the album. I wouldn’t go so far as to say it is really creative or really interesting, but I appreciate Adams’ apparent ability to make a hooky pop/rock track. It reminds me of early-1980’s post-punk/new wave with a little of The Strokes tossed in for good measure. Similarly, 1974 and Luminol are fine but not particularly remarkable songs.
Outside of these three tracks, I am wholly unimpressed by Rock N Roll. It’s an unremarkable effort from somebody who so specifically insists he is nothing short of musical genius. My major issue with the music is that it is that it is both boring and over-produced. In addition, the lyrics tend to be on the simplistic side--Wish You Were Here is the worst of the bunch with completely out of place words and various expletives that while not offensive to me in their nature are offensive to me because they prove Adams didn’t really work too hard on his words. This is another clue that the album isn’t him being creative—it is Adams trying to be cooler than his peers. He fails pretty miserably across Rock N Roll.
Even worse? Not only does Adams try to outdo his (more talented) counterparts, but he also lifts titles from various bands. Once or twice and I would say it is unintentional, but on almost every song and it is impossible to deny the purposeful nature. From This is It (The Strokes, Is This It) to Wish You Were Here (Pink Floyd) to So Alive (Love and Rockets) to The Drugs Not Working (The Verve) to Rock n Roll (Led Zeppelin) Adams ripped off titles from bands of all calibers and natures. The least he could do would be to make them good songs.
The worst songs (at least musically) of the bunch are the wishy-washy mess So Alive, the jangly and atonal Anybody Wanna Take Me Home, and the outstandingly monotonous Do Miss America. However, even more problematic than the failure on any one song is the overall misfire of Rock N Roll. From Adams’ intentional aping, to the stealing of song titles, to the writing of mediocre songs his effort on the album can not be thought of as that of a genius (regardless of what he’d have you believe).
Adams returned in 2004 with a fourth album, Love is Hell. It has gotten slightly improved press, but after my experience with Rock N Roll it is unlikely I will pick up any new material from Adams. I’m sticking to the White Stripes for what it’s worth.
Rating: 2/5 stars
Track Listing:
01. This Is It
02. Shallow
03. 1974
04. Wish You Were Here
05. So Alive
06. Luminol
07. Burning Photographs
08. She’s Lost Total Control
09. Note to Self: Don’t Die
10. Rock N Roll
11. Anybody Wanna Take Me Home
12. Do Miss America
13. Boys
14. The Drugs Not Working
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