It can never be said that Ryan Adams is lazy. He has recorded the equivalent of five or six albums in the past two years with only two of these albums released.
The two albums, 2000’s Heartbreaker and 2001’s Gold, show Adams’ ability to change the style of music he plays as easily as one changes a pair of pants. It is no surprise that his latest album, Demolition, cannot be classified in only one genre.
The album itself is a collection of demos from those many, many unreleased recording sessions from the past two years. Each track is simply a live take, with no overdubs or serious production. Still, each song has just as much power and emotion in its sheer simplicity.
Throughout the album, it is not hard to tell which songs were recorded in the same recording session. The opening track, “Nuclear,” has Adams with a full rock band playing against a throbbing beat and electric guitar-driven melodies.
The same could be said of “Gimme a Sign” and “Starting to Hurt,” which have the same elements, but have more of a pop feel and rhythm. These are departures for Adams, who in the past has stuck more toward alt-country.
On other songs, such as “Desire” and “Chin Up, Cheer Up,” Adams regains the soft country balladry he displayed so well on Heartbreaker. These songs are mainly driven by Adams’ acoustic guitar, with cellos and pedal steels in the background to add tinges of melody.
Actually, most of the album is just Adams and his acoustic guitar. Because of this, most of his songs are dark and sparse. “She Wants to Play Hearts” is a slow acoustic number that is played in almost a whisper rather than a singing voice. In such songs as “Dear Chicago,” this low-key feel adds a beautiful intimacy to the song that would be lost if there were other instruments mucking it up.
Fans of Ryan Adams will find this album to be a great look at how complete his songs are, even in demo form. However, this is probably not the best introduction to Adams’ music.
For that, the aforementioned Heartbreaker and Gold are better choices, along with his swan-song with his band Whiskeytown, Pneumonia.
It is too bad he only released 13 songs instead the hundreds he supposedly has recorded. Does anyone else smell a box-set?
