| Never one to rest on his artistic laurels, Ryan Adams once again shows off his impressive command of musical styles on his latest release, Demolition. The album is a collection of demos taken from four different sessions over the past couple of years.
It is clear from the start that Adams was exploring many different styles throughout these different sessions. But the amazing thing about this album is that even though it could come across like a thrown together group of songs, it manages to hold together nicely.
The songs range from quiet acoustic ballads to outright electric rockers, encapsulating everything in between. The beautiful "You Will Always Be the Same" would have fit nicely into Adams' solo debut Heartbreaker, while the country-rock "Hallelujah" could easily have been included on his last release, Gold.
On the twangy "Chin Up Cheer Up" Adams revisits his country roots from his days in the now-legendary group, Whiskeytown. The song shuffles along with a loopy slide guitar taking the lead, occasionally joined by the distinct sound of a steel guitar for effect.
Two of the most surprising tracks from Demolition are the straight-ahead rockers from Adams' Woodland Studios sessions in December of 2000. The songs, "Gimme a Sign" and "Starting to Hurt" show a whole new side to Ryan not expressed on previous releases, solo or otherwise. While by no means complex, these songs, heavily influenced by groups like The Replacements, show that Adams has an affinity to occasionally lose his singer/songwriter image and just "rock out."
Adams brings the collection to a close with the haunting "Jesus (Don't Touch My Baby)." The song, reminiscent of Tom Waits' more somber work, is a fitting conclusion to this tour through the many faces of Ryan Adams.
With this collection of "throw away" tracks, Ryan Adams proves once again that along with being one of today's most prolific songwriters, he is also one of the best.
by Greg Yost
Ryan Adams' Site
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