Ryan Adams

Add Date: October 11 

Artist: Ryan Adams 

Album: Ashes & Fire 

Label: PAX-AM/Capitol 

Genre: Folk, folk rock 

Comments: I have impossibly high expectations for a Ryan Adams record. I'm well aware of this. But quite frankly, it's Adams' fault; for over a decade, he and his various bands (Whiskeytown, The Cardinals, The Finger... OK, not The Finger) put out album after album--most quite good, others simply great--that almost effortlessly hopped between folk, rock and alt-country. Toward the middle part of the last decade, though, Adams became the most "prolific"--in the sense of releasing a lot of stuff--musician this side of Robert Pollard, and we found out that, well, not everything that he touched turned to Gold. (Sorry.)

With my background as a longtime Adams fan, it's hard for me to give an impartial listen to Ashes & Fire. My initial impression is that the LP lacks the emotional pull of Heartbreaker, the full-band alt-country feel of The Cardinals' era or the youthful energy of Whiskeytown. Now, I'll try the unbiased view: this is a very solid collection of Americana-inspired tunes from a mature musician. Adams' penchant for excellent songwriting shines through, and there are some really fine tracks here: the upbeat, country feel of the title track and "Invisible Riverside", the ballads "Dirty Rain" and "Save Me" and the piano-tinged folk number "Lucky Now" all stand out.

It seems unfair to expect a return of the Adams of old--I don't think anyone can sustain the pace (and the substances) that he was on--but what we're left with is a fine folk-rock artist. Spin 2, 7, 1, 10 and 8.