Ryan Adams' new sound is like his haircut -- it's not quite what you would expect. It's not as rebellious, not as angry, and frankly, not quite as cool. The prolific prince's abdication from the alt-country throne has created increasingly towering expectations that his new album "Rock N Roll" fails to quench. With a new clean-cut look and lyrics, it's possible that the heartbroken Adams has finally found redemption, saving his soul at the cost of his lyrical prowess.
After drifting in and out of the studio for three years only to leave a sea of demos in his wake, Adams finally recorded and mixed a broody collection of wounded laments that drew scowls from the faces of his Lost Highway execs, who, chewing fat on the lard of the rollicking success of "New York, New York," sent him back to the drawing room to record an album with more "rock and roll" songs. So that's just what he did, reentering the studio to produce the aptly named "Rock N Roll."He recording the album in just under two weeks, while relegating his tortured, gloomier output for two "Love is Hell" EPs.
Following the breakup of Whiskeytown, Adams has enjyed a solo career that stemmed from the highly acclaimed ode to loneliness "Heartbreaker." On "Rock N Roll," his third proper offering, Adams' "sound" seems to have made the final jump from the twang of Jacksonville, North Carolina to the over-electrified echo of New York, New York.
Clearly Adams has not left all of his influences behind. Produced by Courtney's Love's former beau James Barber, the new sound of "Rock N Roll" has Adams, ever sifting through late 70s and early 80s FM, channeling early U2, Bruce Springsteen and Elton John. Not all his references stem from the canon of classic rock -- evidence of a late Smiths influence is more than evident (the lovelorn "Anybody Want to Take Me Home") while the mediocre opener "This Is It" answers the Strokes' debut.
A songwriting ease once glorified on albums like Whiskeytown's "Pneumonia" and Adams' "Heartbreaker" has seemingly coasted to the bitter end. Lyrically the album seems to falter; his once uncanny storytelling ability is seemingly lost in favor of a penchant for killer hooks. "1974" and "Do Miss America" don't shine like the lyrical gems fans once flocked to, but instead buzz with downright infectious catchiness. With lighthearted lyrics like these, who needs heartache, heartbreak and despair?
Songwriting credits may illustrate the source of some of the problems -- Adams only wrote seven of the fourteen songs on the album by himself. In fact Parker Posey, indie film star and one time girlfriend, appears as a co-writer and background vocals on the trash rock "Note to Self: Don't Die." Even Billie Joe Armstrong makes a cameo. Adams has indeed come full circle, creating a new style based on record sales and his label's orders. It seems he has long since left the days of the lonely hammer-on, opting instead today for the originality of the power chord.
Though the album has "average" written all over it, it does have redeeming qualities. It is garage rock through and through. The credentials in the cover booklet ache with a poser's cry for acceptance: The "New York Hardcore Tattoo" pass discretely hidden in his wallet, the cobra tattoo running the length of his left forearm and the chain wrapped wrist are clearly markers of success.
While "Rock N Roll" may not be Adam's finest work, he undoubtedly still has the potential to make another great album. Unfortunately, this attempt may not get him the attention he deserves. Contrary to the first two lines on the album, Adams clearly isn't singing "a song for you that's never been sung before."
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