Country singer aims for more angst (Rock N Roll - Ryan Adams)

Member Name: navidson

Product:	Rock N Roll - Ryan Adams
Date:	09/02/09 (9 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: So Alive, This Is It

Disadvantages: Needless profanity, weak in parts

Alt-country's answer to Prince (in desperate need of somebody to censor his material) returns with a very patchy collection, only showing glimpses of the greatness of his previous work

Rock N Roll seems to have been created to show Ryan Adams in a more aggressive, upbeat mode, belying the brittle country his made his name with as leader of Whiskeytown. After the effective opener, 'This Is It', Adams loses his way for a few songs, padding the album out with ineffective, tuneless ditties - The arrival of 'So Alive' signals an upturn, and is clearly the most accessible song on the album (And was the first single)

Adams decides to litter his tunes here with various profanities, none of which seem to fit (And actually come across as a desperate attept to appear more edgy)

Adams' career got back onto the straight and narrow after this, suggesting a mere blip in his recording output, rather than a weakening of his songwriting prowess

Summary: Dissapointing return for modern songwriting legend