2 keepers
keeper avg .143
Ryan Adams' ambitious second album was meant to sprawl over 4 full LP sides, and is still his best-selling solo album to date. As if to cover all the bases, the casually-rocking opening track "New York, New York" resembles 70's California-rock, with a little "Pinball Wizard" thrown in and rapid-fire "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" verses; the very similar "Gonna Make You Love Me" seems inspired by self-titled-era Fleetwood Mac (1975). Adams channels the Stones on the second track "Firecracker" ("maybe be your baby tonight") with harmonica via The Black Crowes; the steadily-building, nearly ten-minute epic "Nobody Girl"; and on the R&B-heavy "Live With Me" (1969) or "Brown Sugar" (1971) era Stones with the driving "Tina Toledo's Street Walkin' Blues"****, a tongue-in-cheek tale of hooker saving money for college. Speaking of R&B, "Touch, Feel & Lose" ("cry, cry, cry") makes a big play for Memphis-soul. Of course, big gospel backing vocals figure heavily into this mix.
"Enemy Fire"**** goes all-in with a pummeling riff, lifted right from Phil Collins' "Inside Out" (1985), and it's far from the only track to wear Adams' influences on its sleeve. The Big Star-influenced "Somehow, Someday" and the alt-country ballads "When the Stars Go Blue" and "Harder Now That It's Over" would fit right in on a Jayhawks album. "Answering Bell" skips right the well-spring of Americana itself, The Band (specifically "The Weight" (1968)) for inspiration, while the gospel-tinged ballad "The Rescue Blues" digs no deeper than Poison's "Something To Believe In" (1990). Acoustic ballads "La Cienega Just Smiled", "Sylvia Plath", and "Wild Flowers" make modest statements, to put it a nice way. A string arrangement gives cabaret piano ballad "Goodnight, Hollywood Blvd." a little drama to close the album out.
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