WhatzUp

Gold
Ryan Adams
by Ginny LaRue
Gold

Maybe the problem with Ryan Adams’ new album, Gold, is that expectations were so high. After the success of his now defunct alt-country band Whiskeytown, and the release of his critically embraced solo album, Heartbreaker, the young songwriter became the darling of the music industry.

Critics, fans and accomplished musicians agree that Adams is an exceptional talent, and some are so bold as to say he just might this generation’s answer to Gram Parsons. Unfortunately, Gold isn’t quite Adams’ Grievous Angel.

The slick arrangements, pop overtones and general scattered nature of Gold travel far away from the rugged roots-based stylings we’ve come to love from this writer and land perfectly in the middle of the road.

Part of the appeal of Adams’ previous work was the refreshing raw nature. Heartbreaker, with all its jagged edges, had an endearing honesty to it. Much like the writer himself. The beauty of the album, and of Adams as a performer, lies not only in his tender and sometimes excruciatingly vulnerable vocal performances, but in those rough edges. Gold misses the mark completely in those regards.

Despite contributions from Ethan Johns (son of legendary producer Glyn Johns), Chris Stills (song of Stephen Stills) and Adam Duritz (Counting Crows), the songs on the new record lack a real cohesive feel.

This can probably be attributed to the fact that it was supposed to be released as a two-disk set. Unfortunately, the final product is a mess of 21 songs that don’t seem to have any central theme or stylistic feeling.

This isn’t to say that Gold doesn’t have its moments. The gut-wrenching ballad “La Cienega Just Smiled” is one Adams’ finest songs (“Now I hold you close in the back of my mind/I raise my glass — cuz either way I’m dead/One breaks my body and the other breaks my soul”). But this, as well as the few other gems, “Harder Now That It’s Over” and “When The Stars Go Blue,” gets lost in the rubble.

Gold should help Adams land some Matchbox Twenty-type fans, and that’s probably OK by this self-proclaimed pop-culture sponge. But with the quick and sharp U-turns he takes from album to album, these antecedent fans probably won’t stick around for the duration of the ride. Music aficionados and long-time followers, however, will most likely hang on until Adams does finally strike gold.