Track Listing

1. New York, New York
2. Firecracker
3. Answering bell
4. La Cienega just smiled
5. The rescue blue
6. Somehow, someday
7. When the stars go blue
8. Nobody girl
9. SYLVIA PLATH
10. Enemy fire
11. Gonna make you love me
12. Wild flowers
13. Harder now that it's over
14. Touch, feel and lose
15. Tina Toledo's street walkin' blues
16. Goodnight, Hollywood Blvd
17. Rosalie come and go

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #4368 in Music
• Released on: 2001-02-05
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Extra tracks
• Dimensions: .23 pounds
• Running time: 74 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
Torrential creativity has fast-forwarded the artistic evolution of former Whiskeytown frontman Ryam Adams from country-rock boy wonder to despondent troubadour with a 1960s fixation (his solo debut Heartbreaker), but it may also explain why listeners often need to wade through some pedestrian material just to find a few pearls of poetic excellence. Gold is no exception to that trend, a sometimes engaging middle-of-the-road roots-pop album that's both overlong (70 minutes) and at times overindulgent. There are high spots--such as the bouncy, breezy opener "New York, New York" and the plaintive ballad "When the Stars Go Blue" (which features a vocal turn reminiscent of Morrissey)--but much of the disc gets lost in forests of indistinct guitars and plodding percussion that never nudges Adams into actually rocking. Gold is the work of a notoriously prolific songwriter who hasn't yet learned to play to his strengths, one whose execution doesn't yet match his vision. --Anders Smith Lindall

CD Description
Second solo album from ex-Whiskeytown frontman, recorded with Ethan Johns, son of legendary producer Glyn. More upbeat and relaxed than 2000's 'Heartbreaker'. While still retaining Adams's alt.country leanings, this sprawling, epic record echoes 70s American rock, Neil Young and the Rolling Stones.

Customer Reviews

Highly recommended
Gold was released by former Whiskeytown frontman Ryan Adams in 2001 and I purchased it on the back of a few decent reviews in various music magazines. Thrown into the 'Alt-Country' bracket, this is actually very musically diverse ranging from wonderful ballads such as 'The Stars go blue' and 'La Cienaga just smiled' to numbers that really rock ('Firecracker', 'Rosalie come and go').

Written almost entirely by Ryan Adams and producer Ethan Johns (more recently the man behind the Kings of Leon), for me this album is one of the greatest albums of the decade so far. The album is very accessible, probably more so than his previous, equally fine effort 'Heartbreaker'. Other highlights for me are 'The Rescue Blues' (a song that reminds me a little of the Rolling Stones) and 'Touch, Feel and Lose'. With seventeen songs and at around seventy minutes long, this album also represents real value for money.

This is a great starting point for anyone who is curious to listen to Ryan Adams' music as I have found his recent work to be a bit hit and miss, but this is probably to be expected from a man with such prolific output (he has released 7 albums & 2 Eps in 5 years including side projects). I don't normally enthuse too much or over-endorse products as I think it can be a bit misleading but this is an album that deserves to be heard by anybody who has a broad taste in music. One of the decades hidden gems.

Quality throughout.
Ryan Adams is nothing but prolific, the amount of work he releases is astonishing yet the quality always remains, Gold is possibly his most commerical work to date and showcases a great selection of relaxing, lyrically apt songs that will eat away at you somehow becoming instilled forever. Everytime i hear any song from this album it seems to calm me, a fantastic album from a very good and still youngish artist, lets hope there's plenty more to come. 'La Cienega just smiled' is my all time favourite Adams song.

Third masterpiece in a year...
Ryan Adams is the same age as me. 27. And I have lived with him through his music for about three years now. Whiskeytown's Stranger's Almanac, an album I picked up in a New York bargain bin for 5 bucks, was my introduction, my tonic, my addiction. The record reminded me of how I felt when I first listened alone to REM's Life's Rich Pageant - it was that good. My ability to market this great album was limited by its tendency to float into country ( it even has a fiddle on there for God's sake! ) but the Gram Parsons in me kept the faith.

Late last year, Adams returned with Heartbreaker, documenting in a 14 day studio stint how he fell in and out of love in Nashville. As I said at the time, "One not to listen to in the dark.". But, somehow with time, I find this one of the most uplifting collections of songs I have. His voice seemed more singular, more assured., like he finally understood and accepted just how good he is. Earlier this year, Whiskeytown's final album, Pneumonia, was released and was just as warm and melodic as its predecessor. So, with two albums already under his belt this year, surely a third was too much to ask?

But, in truth, a third is maybe not enough. Gold is a fabulous record. Country and rock do not hold Adam's muse no more... soul, blues, even the late night croon of early Tom Waits give full reign to Adam's wonderful voice. He has never used his higher register before but this tremulous instrument envelopes songs like 'Answerin' Bell' and 'Wild Flowers' in velvet. Evidently Adams has discovered Neil Young and Van Morrison. So those of you who wallowed in the melodic misery of Heartbreaker are well served.

But there are surprises. Opener 'New York, New York' is now impossibly poignant and kicks off with a classis Stone combo - acoustic guitar, Hammond organ and bongos. Driven by a relentless acoustic riff the song describes churches on the Upper East Side and the bitter Christmas cold of the now stricken city....

Indeed the Stones are recalled on the slow, languorous 'The Rescue Blues', complete with choir-led finale. The 10 minute long guitar wig-out, 'Nobody Girl', is followed by the stunning 'I Wish I Had a Sylvia Plath'. Adams, alone with his piano and subdued strings, pines after the tragic poet who would "... take me to France, or maybe to Spain, she'd ask me to dance..."

'Harder Now That It's Over' describes a scene of domestic violence, where a young man explains to his distraught lover, ".... you're free with the history...." as the cops handcuff her. He wryly observes "...I heard your wrists got bruised, must have felt just like old times...". As the elegiac guitar fades, Adams murmurs "I'm sorry" over and over...

Sixteen songs, and not a clunker amongst them, really is an embarrassment of riches and will surely bring this gifted singer songwriter the audience he deserves. Dylan, The Beatles, The Stones, Bowie have all enjoyed such periods of intense productivity. Let's enjoy Ryan Adams, he now truly belongs to the gold league.