Track Listing

1. The Ballad Of Carol Lynn
2. Don't Wanna Know Why
3. Jacksonville Skyline
4. Reasons To Lie
5. Don't Be Sad
6. Sit & Listen To The Rain
7. Under Your Breath
8. Mirror, Mirror
9. Paper Moon
10. What The Devil Wanted
11. Crazy About You
12. My Hometown
13. Easy Hearts
14. Bar Lights/To Be Evil

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #9366 in Music
• Released on: 2003-05-26
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .22 pounds
• Running time: 57 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
Prior to their ultimate split, Whiskeytown made a record that was buried for nearly three years by industry snafus. Pneumonia was well worth the wait. The band's final lineup (singer and songwriter Ryan Adams, violinist Caitlin Cary and guitarist Mike Daly) is augmented by special guests such as Tommy Stinson of the Replacements and James Iha of Smashing Pumpkins. Sure, Adams doesn't quite grasp what he's reaching for on the Latin-tinged "Paper Moon" and "Sit & Listen to the Rain" is about as exciting as its title suggests. But "Jacksonville Skyline", a hometown ode that's sweetly nostalgic but hardly naïve, easily ranks among Adams's best ballads. And don't bother trying to elude the hooks of the bouncy kiss-off "Don't Wanna Know Why" or the polished piano pop of "Mirror, Mirror". While it's unfortunate that the reliably unreliable Whiskeytown didn't live to see the release of its most consistent disc, Pneumonia is a harbinger of still better things to come from both Adams and Cary. --Anders Smith-Lindall

CD Description
Though Whiskeytown singer Ryan Adams has been anointed by the NO DEPRESSION set as the Bob Dylan of alt-country, his non-world-shaking solo debut proved that despite the boy wonder's talents, Whiskeytown is very much a band. That fact is amply borne out by PNEUMONIA, which strolls amiably down the neo-Americana highway with taste and modest invention (no mean feat in that crowded field). The opener "Ballad of Carol Lynn" suggests nothing so much as Steve Forbert fronting theSTAGE FRIGHT-era Band. "Don't Be Sad" answers the question "what would Oasis sound like as an open-hearted American country-rock band?" "Under Your Breath" is a quiet, folkie number reminiscent of Adams's solo work.
"Mirror, Mirror" gets decidely Beatlesque, while "Paper Moon" goes for a Cuban-flavoured feel. Despite all these stylistic detours, though, the main course plotted on PNEUMONIA is a sunny, jangly roots-rock expansive enough to encompass all the aforementioned influences and Adams's lyrical concerns while still maintaing a common sonic thread.

Customer Reviews

A blinder!.....it just took me a while to realise it!
Having picked this record up when it was offically released in the UK it's fair to say I was pretty disappointed at first. I didn't really get much of a kick from most of the songs when I played it (except, naturally, "Mirror Mirror") and it eventually slipped further down my album pile (which is quite a drop!).

The sheer brilliance of Ryan Adam's "Gold" finally got me motivated to put it on again, and this time I actually gave it chance. What's pretty clear to me is that this album is a bit of a strange old fish because it is a real grower, and now I'm having trouble NOT playing it!

It puzzles me when I look back on reviews from magazines like Mojo, which implied this was the sound of a knackered band on it's last legs, whose major stars were just itching to get on with their solo careers, because it's utter rubbish! This is a great album which is full of soul that is utter infectious, and I'm starting to reach the opinion that it is better than "Strangers Almanac" (which is quite a claim).

Fans of Ryan's "Heartbreaker" or "Gold" should certainly pick this up without hesitation because it's a great, great record with a lot of heart and cracking good tunes!

Arguably Ryan Adams best record!
This is simply beautiful stuff. There is NO filler on this album at all! Ryan Adams singing is at its best on this album and every track has a beautiful melody. My personal favourite is "Easy Hearts", with its beatiful orchestration and the blending of Adams and Careys voices (Adams voice just soars at the end). If i was looking to buy my first Ryan Adams/Whiskeytown album i would go for this one as it is slightly more accessible than "Strangers Almanac" or "Heartbreaker". You will not be disappointed!

Better than his solo work...
My first encounter with a Ryan Adam's album was a chance purchase of Gold because I thought the reviews on the sticker sounded good (don't mock,it was also the only way I probably ever would have bought 'O' by Damien Rice). Since then, I've bought Demolition, Love is hell (1&2) and Rock and Roll, and then when searching on Amazon saw some good reviews for this album. This album is all the other reviews say and more. If you like Ryan Adams then you will love this album, and it will become one of your all time favourites.

As an all round album it is fantastic, of the 14 tracks I would only ever really skip two (Paper Moon and What the Devil wanted), and some of the other tracks I think rate up with the very best of Gold, Demolition and Love is Hell. Don't wanna know why, Crazy about you and Bar Lights are very catchy upbeat numbers, but it is definitely the slower numbers that mark this album out. Reasons to Lie is a taste of what is to come, but fails to scale the heights of my personal album favourties,Under Your Breath and Easy Hearts. Under Your Breath is a haunting, beautiful song which suits Adam's voice to perfection. Easy Hearts is quite a contrasting ballad. Bigger in sound, with the voices of Adams and Cary complementing each other with a beauty that would shine even without backing, I believe it is a song that Adams will probably never emulate whilst solo. If the money isn't right, can I be your's tonight, is a line that is bound to stick in your head, and this is an album that should certainly stick in your collection.