Ryan Adams Ryan Adams has got to be the most prolific songwriter of his generation. I’m certainly not saying that everything he does is amazing (bits of RocknRoll and Cold Roses come to mind here), but as far as output goes, he’s a frontrunner. Jacksonville City Nights finds Adams completely steeping himself in country music – the twangs, the lyrical stereotypes, and all the broken hearts in a county mile are included. Sometimes heartbreaking (the wrenching “The End”) and sometimes exhilarating (“The Hardest Part”), it’s always inherently familiar in that indescribable way that truly good music is. Some of the album’s highlights are fairly unexpected: “Dear John” finds Adams dueting with jazz chanteuse Norah Jones, who takes a beautiful vocal turn in this song about marriage gone wrong, and “September” features the sparse guitar and low-key drumwork that are staples of country music, yet Adams’ voice is curiously and consciously low-key as well (as fans of Ryan Adams know, this is a rarity). Adams, who got his start fronting the alt-country outfit Whiskeytown, is right at home with this country style, and his vocals, which were never conventionally pretty, strike just the right rough-edged note through the album. Overall, Jacksonville City Nights is an enormously affecting and engaging listen, and one that points to great things for Adams’ next album (due out before the end of 2005). -- Jessica Netishen, 10/07/05 |
