When Elvis Costello released 'Almost Blue' in 1981, it was with a warning sticker on the cover, alerting buyers to the fact that therein lay country music. Of course, anyone familiar with the music of say, Flatt & Scruggs, would have wondered what the hell he was on about, since Costello's country was very much of the palatable, Gram Parsons-influenced kind. The singer recognised, however, that the less than catholic ears of dedicated fans might well freak out were they not forewarned.
Ryan Adams turns a similar trick in reverse with his latest album. After making his name as the brawling, boozing, bad boy fronting American alt.country band Whiskeytown, the undeniably gifted but volatile Adams went solo in 2000 with 'Heartbreaker', which had him hailed a songwriting wunderkind. A year later, 'Gold' represented a major creative shift while simultaneously cementing his reputation. Here, Adams jettisoned all country ballast and reinvented himself as an unapologetic rocker, with Bruce Springsteen his hero (the record sleeve was a blatant reference to the cover of 'Born In The USA'). Having his back publicly patted by the likes of Elton John and dating Winona Ryder helped ensure entry to the big league. There was no longer much 'alterno' in Adams' rock.
And so to 'Rock 'N' Roll'. There's no warning sticker, but then, we don't need one - we're now all well versed in Adams' naggingly familar, bruising rock riffs, electrically charged dynamics and impassioned, full-throated holler. There's nothing at all remaining of his early Gram Parson's obsession; instead, there's what sounds like an effortless run through the history of rock, 1971-2001.
Adams can undoubtedly pen this classic rawk stuff with his ears closed and, as a result, the 15 tracks here lack heart. It's as if he's sacrificed that for smarty-pants technique, knocking out Nirvana by way of Cheap Trick on 'Luminol' (his own 'Lithium', certainly), replicating Tom Petty with 'Do Miss America', Neil Young with '1974', again acknowledging his debt to Springsteen on 'Wish You Were Here' and bonus track 'Hypnotixed' and even slyly referencing The Strokes with opening (and best) track, 'This Is It'. Frustratingly, Adams invites such train spotting because of his flash and show.
That he's an extraordinarily talented songwriter, there's no question; it's just that somewhere along the way, Ryan Adams seems to have set down his soul - and can't for the life of him remember where.
