Home Arts & Lifestyle Ryan Adams, A New Tom Petty?

Ryan Adams, A New Tom Petty?

by Noah Daum

Early this year, Ryan Adams released his 16th studio album titled “Prisoner,” his first record of original music since his 2014 self-titled album.

Adams has been making music for quite some time now. His career began in the 1990s with Whiskeytown, an alternative country band. He continued after the band’s breakup with the solo album, “Heartbreaker” in 2000. Since then, Adams has stayed busy writing, recording and touring. Although he has retained his signature alt-country sound throughout the years, some of his other influences have been apparent as he explored hard rock, punk and folk on many of his albums.20

Since starting his own record label PAX-AM, Adams’ style has changed slightly, as he gained more creative control over his music. “Prisoner” is a great follow-up to his two previous albums, “Ryan Adams” (2014) and “1989” (2015) – a cover of Taylor Swift’s entire album of the same name. The recording style and techniques used on “Prisoner” are very similar to the previous records. But, if anything, Adams goes deeper into the ambient 1980s sound he was aiming for, with chorused-out guitar amps, lo-fi drums and “bottom of the well” reverb on almost every track. Additionally, Adams recorded almost all of the instruments on the record, including guitars, bass and harmonica.

“Prisoner” is definitively a rock album, as far as Ryan Adams’ records go. The opener, “Do You Still Love Me,” is a hard-hitting rocker with a guitar solo that will stop you in your tracks. The title track “Prisoner” is reminiscent of The Smiths, with jangly guitars, stereo fade-ins and a Britpop drum beat. “Doomsday” is another great cut and possibly one of the best on the record, returning with the signature harmonica fills that were absent on the last two records. While the songs intended to be hits are great, the last half of the album really shines with the ambient, synth-droned “Anything I Say to You Now” and “Broken Anyway” which build up to an arena-sized rock ballad.

 

As many of the song titles suggest, it is not a feel-good album, and it’s probably not the CD that you’ll pop into the stereo of your convertible this summer. But Adams’ niche has never been that, and fans of his other albums will enjoy this record. With a perfect blend of midwestern-rock and a hint of country, Adams is defining his own cool sound, and might just be the Tom Petty of this generation.

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