Ryan Adams – Heartbreaker (2000/2015) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

Ryan Adams – Heartbreaker (2000/2015)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 51:57 minutes | 1,05 GB | Genre: Folk Rock
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Pax Am Records

As Whiskeytown finally ground to a halt in the wake of an astonishing number of personal changes following Faithless Street (coupled with record company problems that kept their final album, Pneumonia, from reaching stores until two years after it was recorded), Ryan Adams ducked into a Nashville studio for two weeks of sessions with Gillian Welch and David Rawlings. While arch traditionalists Welch and Rawlings would hardly seem like a likely match for alt-country’s bad boy, the collaboration brought out the best in Adams; Heartbreaker is loose, open, and heartfelt in a way Whiskeytown’s admittedly fine albums never were, and makes as strong a case for Adams’ gifts as anything his band ever released. With the exception of the Stones-flavored “Shakedown on 9th Street” and the swaggering “To Be Young (Is to Be Sad, Is to Be High),” Heartbreaker leaves rock & roll on the shelf in favor of a sound that blends low-key folk-rock with a rootsy, bluegrass-accented undertow, and while the album’s production and arrangements are subtle and spare, they make up in emotional impact whatever they lack in volume. As a songwriter, Adams concerns himself with the ups and downs of romance rather than the post-teenage angst that dominated Whiskeytown’s work, and “My Winding Wheel” and “Damn, Sam (I Love a Woman That Rains)” are warmly optimistic in a way he’s rarely been before, while “Come Pick Me Up” shows he’s still eloquently in touch with heartbreak. Adams has always been a strong vocalist, but his duet with Emmylou Harris on “Oh My Sweet Carolina” may well be his finest hour as a singer, and the stripped-back sound of these sessions allows him to explore the nooks and crannies of his voice, and the results are pleasing. Whiskeytown fans who loved the “Replacements-go-twang” crunch of “Drank Like a River” and “Yesterday’s News” might have a hard time warming up to Heartbreaker, but the strength of the material and the performances suggest Adams is finally gaining some much-needed maturity, and his music is all the better for it. –Mark Deming

Tracklist:
01. Ryan Adams – (Argument with David Rawlings Concerning Morrissey) (00:36)
02. Ryan Adams – To Be Young (Is to Be Sad, Is to Be High) (03:04)
03. Ryan Adams – My Winding Wheel (03:12)
04. Ryan Adams – AMY (03:46)
05. Ryan Adams – Oh My Sweet Carolina (04:56)
06. Ryan Adams – Bartering Lines (03:59)
07. Ryan Adams – Call Me on Your Way Back Home (03:09)
08. Ryan Adams – Damn, Sam (I Love a Woman That Rains) (02:08)
09. Ryan Adams – Come Pick Me Up (05:18)
10. Ryan Adams – To Be the One (03:00)
11. Ryan Adams – Why Do They Leave? (03:38)
12. Ryan Adams – Shakedown on 9th Street (02:52)
13. Ryan Adams – Don’t Ask for the Water (02:55)
14. Ryan Adams – In My Time of Need (05:38)
15. Ryan Adams – Sweet Lil Gal (23rd/1st) (03:38)

Personnel:
Ryan Adams – vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, harmonica, piano, banjo
Ethan Johns – drums, bass, Chamberlain, glockenspiel, B-3, vibes, backing vocals (2)
David Rawlings – backing vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, banjo, tambourine
Gillian Welch – backing vocals, banjo, acoustic guitar, electric bass, “voice of Lucy”
Pat Sansone – piano (5, 9, 11), Chamberlin and organ (6), backing vocals (2)
Emmylou Harris – backing vocals (5)
Kim Richey – backing vocals (9)
Allison Pierce – backing vocals (11)

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