Product Description

Whiskeytown were one the mid-'90s wave of bands who approached American roots music--country, folk, singer/songwriter, and combinations thereof--from an alternative rock standpoint. They were apt to be as influenced by Nick Drake and Superchunk as by Johnny Cash and Neil Young. Ryan Adams performs vocal duties for Whiskeytown, and HEARTBREAKER is his first solo album.
It's primarily a singer/songwriter affair, with lots of acoustic guitars, gentle drums, subtle keyboards,and back-porch harmony vocals, but there's also a lot of variety and kick. "To Be Young" tears out of the gate like a rollicking out-take from Dylan's HIGHWAY 61 sessions, and thegentle, shimmering, baroque-tinged "Amy" recalls both the Left Banke, and the Beatles in their "Eleanor Rigby" mode. Many tunes--like "To Be the One"--have a bare-bones, dusty, story-telling quality that recalls Dylan, John Prine, Woody Guthrie, and Steve Earle (who Adams slightly resembles vocally) without ever sounding like Adams is aping them. As a bonus, Emmylou Harris and Gillian Welch supply heavenly harmonies.

Track Listing

1. (Argument with David Rawlings concerning Morrissey)
2. To Be Young (is to be sad, is to be high)
3. My Winding Wheel
4. AMY
5. Oh My Sweet Carolina
6. Bartering Lines
7. Call Me On Your Way Back Home
8. Damn, Sam (I love a woman that rains)
9. Come Pick Me Up
10. To Be The One
11. Why Do They Leave?
12. Shakedown on 9th Street
13. Don't Ask For The Water
14. In My Time of Need
15. Sweet Lil Gal (23rd/1st)

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1070 in Music
• Released on: 2000-10-31
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.co.uk Review
With a touch of Robyn Hitchcock in his vocal timbre, a smidgen of Steve Earle in his narratives and instrumental writing and a heap of Gram Parsons in the fullness of his overall sound and structure, Ryan Adams steps well above Whiskeytown with Heartbreaker, his solo debut. By turns raucous, wistful, raspy and simply sweet, Adams makes the most of a top-shelf acoustic band, including Gillian Welch and David Rawlings and even a guest spot from Emmylou Harris on the tenderly yearning "Oh My Sweet Caroline". There is little dependence on the usual alt-country twang and a far more rounded sense of textures here (the multiple vocal tracks on "Amy", for example, sound Beatles-esque), with glockenspiel, organ and more signalling a sonic field of extensive depth. His spare guitar and stretched-thin vocal delivery alternate smartly with a bigger-shouldered guitar and throaty voice, never leaving behind a band conception straight out of Parsons's oeuvre. Adams signals occupancy of the post-alt country vanguard--if there is such a thing. --Andy Bartlett

Customer Reviews

Good start
For me, this is ryan's 3rd best album (after gold and easy tiger) yet i still give it 5 stars, that pretty much says it all (I'm going to keep writing anyway). For me this was the starting point of better things to come, it is in itself a very good album with songs like 'oh my sweet carolina' and 'come pick me up' being personal highlights, it was a very good debut solo album and probably only comes behind the other two albums mentioned because it is maybe a little harder to get into. I still listen to this album a lot and is very much a must own for any fan of Mr Adams, although with the amount of work this guy releases i understand it can be hard to keep up!

Great songs
This, along with 'Gold' and Demolition' are my favorite Ryan Adams albums. Mellow. Sweet. Spare. Great lyrics.
I can only repeat what is written in the other positive reviews He is just so talented. This is a subtle work of near genius and deserves attention. Favorite tracks are My Winding wheel; Amy; Oh my sweet Carolina and Damn Sam.

This is My Winding Wheel
First of all, this guy is a living genius. For this guy it really is about the music. A modern day Bob Dylan or Johnny Cash. Not necessarily in musical style but in pure creativity and attitude. They say they don't make 'em like they used to but here is the real deal. Everything he has done is gold dust (Even Rock N Roll). It is only a matter of time, say 20 to 30 years, before the world realises this.

This was the second album that I heard of his. Must have been about 5 years ago now. I remember going out and buying it after having and loving Gold. Coming back to my room. Sitting dead still rooted to my bed, looking out of the rain spattered window, shivers down my spine for about a whole hour immersed in this wonderful world of pure heartrending beauty and emotion. No other music had ever had this effect on me before. And I didn't even know what it was to have my heart broken then.

Opening with To Be Young (is to be high), Ryan creates an anthem for youth. Any generation could relate to it. Sounds like a Bob Dylan track. It makes all this heartbreak business all sound fun. However from here on he takes us on an amazing journey down the heartbreak highway. Stretching our emotions to breaking point before sucker punching us with a whiskey soaked, cigarette stained fist with the most optimistic ray of light to pick you up, then repeats. Like the ray of sunshine after the storm. Although to most of us the storm is the most exciting bit. Tears are likely to break out on even the hardest of folk.

Its foolish for me to pick highlights. Although To Be Young, My Winding Wheel, Sweet Carolina and Come Pick Me Up, are perhaps amongst the greatest songs ever recorded. The whole sound of this album is timeless.

I recommend everyone to check out his live show. Watch a genius at work. Watch the perfection in all of his little flaws. If you want a perfectly played, dare I say dull, then go and watch James Blunt. If you want a tattered, soul bearing, life enhancing performance go and see Ryan. Its the same with this and all of his album.

I can't describe this album in the way it should be. I just cannot begin to do it justice. A true classic. Every music lover should have a place in their (soon to be borken) heart.