The most unexpected new release this year has to be Ryan Adams’ song-for-song cover of Taylor Swift’s 1989. It’s such a delightfully random project, like a piece of fan fiction come to life.
It also turns out to be a very good album in its own right. Adams is faithful to the melodies and lyrics of Swift’s originals but gives each his own stylistic spin, mostly slowing them down and trading pop rock for folk rock.
Ryan Adams has averaged an album per year since his 2000 solo debut, Heartbreaker (before that, he released a trio of albums with Whiskeytown).
I’m only familiar with a handful of those records, and I definitely have a preference for his alt-country work, including Heartbreaker and the albums he recorded with The Cardinals.
I’m also a big fan of the more rock-focused Gold, probably his best album.
The Ryan Adams ‘Summer of ’69’ incident is not as storied as Bob Dylan’s “Judas!” moment, but in the annals of moderately famous alt-country singer-songwriters, it’s reasonably well-known.
Playing at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville 12 years ago, Ryan Adams was heckled by a concertgoer repeatedly asking him to play ‘Summer of ’69,’ which is of course a Bryan Adams song.
Pretty much every Ryan Adams song from his mellow, acoustic, alt-country phase is a good listen. They’re not all mind-blowing (though a few are) but you can’t go wrong putting them on in the background while you go about your daily life.
I feel the opposite about his harder-edged albums, which sound more like noise than music. Is it just that he’s really good at the one and not so good at the other? Or maybe it’s just my tastes.
The family is back from our 10 days in California, and this week’s songs will stick to that theme (sort of).
I have to start with a song that’s been running through my mind for almost a week now, ever since we drove into L.A. for the second half (or third third, if you count the drive from San Francisco south) of our trip.
Meet Me In Montauk 