Ryan Adams – Gold – 16 song CD (Lost Highway Records)
Produced by Ethan Johns
He’s not a pretty boy. He plays acoustic guitar a lot. He makes references about Greenwich Village. He thanks the Grateful Dead and Black Flag in the liner notes. He writes his own songs. He used to be in a group called Whiskeytown and it sounds like he’s a Neil Young fan. He wears black Chuck Taylors, has an old turntable as part of the picture on the back of his CD, and he smokes pot. He’s opened for John Fogerty. He’s been associated with the “alt-country” sound defined by Uncle Tupelo and their spawn Son Volt and Wilco. Everyone seems to love him including Elton John who got in touch with him after hearing his debut solo album Heartbreaker. I figured I would probably like his second album Gold but I just can’t sink my teeth into it. It feels safe. It feels like it’s trying to get on the radio (and it is getting on the radio). It’s very competent and pleasant enough but it doesn’t move me. (contact: www.ryan-adams.com) -Eric Holland