Terrible narratives about Ryan Adams Pt. 3
Stereogum:
All those tracks seem to promise a return to form, and now the entire new album Ashes & Fire is out there, streaming in full at NPR’s website. So: What do you guys think? Are we back in Heartbreaker territory now?
Me, yesterday:
9 out of 10 reviews for this album are going to call it a comeback, name-drop Heartbreaker, etc., as if albums like Love is Hell and 29 never happened.
TRUTH TO POWER
Stereogum, sorry, is for morons these days. And yes, there seems to be some kind of weird critical aversion to any Ryan Adams that doesn’t allow critics to talk about how great Heartbreaker was. Jacksonville City Nights, Cold Roses, Love Is Hell: these were all incredible albums not given the time of day. Same with the it-came-after-Heartbreaker-so-it-can’t-be-good Gold, ever underrated (even its B-Sides were spectacular). I’m glad people are going to listen to Ryan Adams again, but the same critics who weren’t smart enough to do anything but dismiss him as too-prolific, fuck those guys.
