Ryan Adams - Rock N Roll

You've lost total control

Ryan Adams was famously drunk for about a decade of his life (he named his band Whiskeytown, after all), so it's easy to imagine the worst of his wild ways occurring right in the middle of recording Rock N' Roll, which, I think, is why it works. Adams is a major artist whose best albums seem without much unification or structure - you hear an album like Cold Roses and marvel at the songs individually more than the album as a whole. Well, Rock N Roll is a unified collection, moreso than any other of his records, and it's because his self destruction is so tantalizing and vivid here - his voice is scratchy, the guitars are rushed and angry, and the song titles alone are enough to justify an intervention ("Note To Self: Don't Die" anyone?). Still, that combo is as tonic as its subject matter - "This Is It" and "Shallow" open the record with bombast and pissiness, and the tracks fulfill it one after another - for the most part, at least. I could have lived without "Boys" or "Do Miss America," but for an album of self-destructive tendencies, a bad song or two should be expected. When it works best, in songs like "Note to Self," "So Alive," and "Burning Photographs," the songs perfectly capture the rush and thrill of the sins they describe, as does the overly calculated "soft" title track. Its best song, though, is the final one, "The Drug's Not Working" - a song that stands on the brink of thrill and annihilation for a time then finally falls over, which is, in its voyeurist excitement, even more of a thrill. November 20, 2007

A rollicking rock n roll romp

Ryan Adams records have traditionally kept his sound in the alt-country box that the prolific artist has mastered producing nine records by the age of 32. Rock N Roll is a noteable exception being a complete 180 from other Adams records resulting in a piece of alt rock heaven that emanates a sense of creative freedom.

Apparently after completing the Love Is Hell album, Lost Highway asked Adams to give them something more marketable. Instead of going all George Micheal and whining (or suing the record company), Adams jumped into the record studio and happily churned out Rock N Roll.

Whereas other genre pieces by Adams (Jacksonville City Nights raw country sound comes to mind) seemed to suffer from a rushed effort, Rock N Roll is greatly aided by it. Rock isn't the most complicated music as loud guitars, smashing drums and energetic vocals have produced many great tunes. For someone like Adams it is then the perfect world to romp through as meaty electric guitar riffs churn out song after song with great success. Whether it's the sly romp Note to Self Don't Die or the chunky riff that erupts into Shallow each tune on Rock N Roll carries an infectious spirit. As if the artist found the angered energy at the heart of many great rock songs a welcome distraction from his previous countrified tunes of broken hearts.

On Rock N Roll, Adams keeps it simple allowing him to conger up sounds that seem to pay homage to rock idols such as Oasis, AC/DC and Seattle grunge bands. Due to the genre's straightforward style, Adams doesn't churn out perfected choruses or tender moments, he doesn't have to. Instead Adams simply rips through tune after electrified tune allowing the free spirit at the center of this prolific artist to burst into a frenzied rock n roll love fest.

It's like Adams saw the opportunity to record Rock N Roll as probably his only chance to tear out a raw piece of electrified energy. Therefore the album is aided by a gleeful love Adams seems to have on display. Now maybe he didn't enjoy making Rock N Roll, but listening to Adams say "everybody do Miss America" in a wry, sarcastic tune, makes it hard to believe that he was not loving every minute of his opportunity to jump into heaven.
July 9, 2007

Read the name of the CD...

and that's just what it is. I might dare to say Rock/pop. Who knows, his next album might be "Alt/Rock/Country".
This was my first exposure to Ryan Adams, and I am completely ok with this fact. I am not a Ryan Adams fan, but this and Love is Hell are incredible pieces of work.
Im sure that this CD did not sit well with the true fan base, but for anyone who enjoys good song writing and a good radio single will definately enjoy this. Check out Burning Photographs. May 27, 2007

Eat Your Heart Out, Gary Glitter

Ok, so Ryan Adams turned his back on Alt-Country. So he happened to borrow (some might say "rip off") the sound of U2 ("So Alive"), The Smiths ("Anybody Wanna Take Me Home"), Nirvana ("Note To Self: Don't Die"), Jackson Browne ("Wish You Were Here"), and Neil Young ("1974"). So what. Big deal. The point is, this album is still a rocker, and serves to show that there's no single definition of Rock 'N Roll music. While very little on this record is uniquely Adams, it's still a keeper since the songs are pretty catchy and they run over 45-minutes. Adams isn't the first person to hastily throw an album together, but he's likely one of the few who haven't regretted that decision in retrospect. April 12, 2007

I REALLY wanted to like this album

I tried differnt moods, settings, setup, everything to get into Adams' vibe on this disc but I couldn't do it. The other reviews are right, he's rockin' the hell out of this album. The instrumental side is kick-butt and tight as hell. Lyrically this album comes up short. I like to rock out as much as the next guy but my music also means something to me and I couldn't find it here. If you want something to throw in the player at party or rock it on the open highway then this is a solid buy. If you want an album you can hold onto for a while then may I suggest Gold or Demolitions. September 28, 2006

More reviews at Amazon.com ...