Product 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.

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
15. Non-Musical Silence (Whiskeytown/Pneumonia)
16. Photos (Whiskeytown/Pneumonia)
17. Bio/Discography (Whiskeytown/Pneumonia)
18. E-Card (Whiskeytown/Pneumonia)
19. Interview (Whiskeytown/Pneumonia)
20. Press Reviews (Whiskeytown/Pneumonia)
21. Weblinks (Whiskeytown/Pneumonia)

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #25127 in Music
• Released on: 2003-05-26
• Number of discs: 1
• 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

Customer Reviews

Wonderful bedtime music
This is definitely my favorite CD to listen to when going to bed, and I mean that in a good way. These songs are so gentle, and it's hard to believe Ryan Adams was like, what, 24 when he put this album out?

Didn't Know Having Pneumonia Could Be This Good.
This was Whiskeytown's final album before they went their seperate ways. Caitlyn Cary having some minor success whilst leadman Ryan Adams achieved more.

This album is produced by the ever brilliant Ethan Johns, who at the time of writing is enjoying major success with Ray LaMontagne.

The collection of songs featured here act almost as a test of the water for Adams' solo career really showing a range of different songs and vocal styles. The songwriting here is just brilliant too, most tracks are written by Ryan and third band member Mike Daly and to me the most outstanding of these has to be 'Under Your Breath,' a slow song with haunting melodies.

Other strong songs include 'Don't Wanna Know Why,' a country number that nods towards Ryan's more recent work with his new band The Cardinals. 'Don't Be Sad,' a real pop number and 'My Home Town,' a song that sounds like a stone cold 80's classic recorded by the likes of Dwight Yoakham.

That's not to say there are any dud tracks on this release and with each listen the lyrics become clearer and stronger. This is an album that i never tire of listening to.

It was sad to see Whiskeytown split up but at least they went out on a high.

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.