Ryan Adams - 29: Album Review

Ryan Adams, 29 (Lost Highway, 2006)
I'm usually not too good with keeping up with these things, but as far as I know, this album was recorded first of the three albums he released last year. Which makes sense since sonically this sort of splits the difference between the Love Is Hell EPs and his two Cardinals albums.

From what I understand, each one of these songs is supposed to chronicle a different year during his twenties, which doesn't quite make sense since you actually (and I counted, with my fingers) spend ten years being twenty-something. Unless this is some sort of Dekalog thing in which the years don't directly coincide with the actual songs.

29

A sort of quasi cover version of the Grateful Dead's "Truckin'," only in this case it's "singin'." Adams' singing is especially dramatic throughout this album, which is fitting I guess since all of these songs tell stories.

STRAWBERRY WINE

This song rambles a bit and indeed has a runtime that exceeds eight minutes, but you wouldn't really notice unless you're severely ADD prone. Adams busts out some supremely excellent falsetto during the chorus and the stories themselves are... um, touching.

NIGHT BIRDS

More Love Is Hell-esque, but in a good way mostly, though he does completely overdo it with the echo effect during the last verse. And even that you don't notice as much after the first couple of times you hear it.

BLUE SKY BLUES

Continues in a similar vein, but more subdued and less cringe-worthy. The piano and string accompaniment is the definition of tasteful. Don't even get me started on the vocal performance. Nullus, just in case.

CAROLINA RAIN

More along the lines of the first two songs. It doesn't come off as quite as epic as some of the other ones, but it works quite well within its given context.

STARLITE DINER

This on the other hand does tend to drag a bit. Stylistically, it's a bit similar to some of the other low-key numbers on here and it happens to come right before "The Sadness," which is awesome, and so I'm always tempted to press skip.

THE SADNESS

Like I said, this is awesome. It's got a sort of Western/Ennio Morricone thing going, which I'm sure he completely cribbed from some semi-obscure '70s artist like he does most everything else on here, but whatever. This may be the most epic song ever recorded.

ELIZABETH YOU WERE BORN TO PLAY THAT PART

Again, quite the downshift from the epic "The Sadness," but in this case you don't mind as much because it fucking works. The extended instrumental section is quite lovely.

VOICES

Concludes the album on a harrowing and desolate note. Which is fitting I suppose.

COMMENTS: Being sort of an outsider type and being dead in the middle of my twenties, this album hit me on a level that it might not reach most people. Is this the same way mediocre white people (i.e. basically the entire population, minus a few random individuals) feel when they hear Shania Twain albums? Hmm... Anyway, this is an incredible album. It doesn't quite rise to the level of the other two albums he released last year, but then neither does hardly anything else.

BEST TRACKS: "29" "Blue Sky Blues" "The Sadness"