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I went into this album not wanting to like it. I first came
across it when Ryan Adams was being heralded as an alt-country savior. I figured his
music would be as entertaining as his antics. That is to say, not entertaining at
all.
Color me surprised when I was entranced from the first wail of the
harmonica in “The Ballad of Carol Lynn.” This is an album about leaving home and finding
your way back, about finding love and watching it slip through your fingers. This is an
album about life that anyone could easily relate to.
“Jacksonville
Skyline” and “Easy Hearts” are the best songs on the album. Something about their
nostalgia makes me ache. They’re beautiful, haunting and tug at my heart. It’s funny
how these songs can do what most popular music cannot.
As for the only
clunkers, the line “used to feel so much, now I just feel numb” pretty much sums up “Sit
and Listen to the Rain.” After hearing it a few times it becomes boring, repetitive, and
lacks any of the emotion that permeates the rest of the album. “What the Devil Wanted” is
one song I always skip. It sounds out of place and, to be honest, kind of creepy.
Making up for the sleepiness of “What the Devil Wanted” are “Mirror,
Mirror” and “Bar Lights,” a pair of rollicking, upbeat tunes that are easily the most
catchy and pop friendly on the album.
The music throughout has a
stripped-down, subtly arranged, almost acoustic feel to it. Nearly every song on this CD
is worth listening to over and over again.
