Album Review – Ryan Adams’ “1989”
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“Bullshit.”
I was going to leave this review at that, and have it be the succinct, poetic, and acurate summation of how I feel about this album, because in truth, no more should need to be said. In fact having to explain why this album is so terrible seems to me to be a sign of the tremendous backsliding of the music scene today. And if I wasn’t so angry and disillusioned over this matter, perhaps I could have stopped there, because of the many layers of wrongness about this entire idea and its execution, one principal concern is that it has sucked up so much attention from other more worthy endeavors. This music and the idea behind it is so bad, yet is being sold so hard as some alt-pop master work to the point of becoming the universal point of acclaim in music at this moment in time, I have fear for the neuroses that might emerge and eat away at my innards if I did not express my full-throated disdain.
Taylor Swift’s 1989 was a bad album to begin with. And when I say “bad,” we’re not talking about smearing lipstick on a pig in this re-interpretation by Ryan Adams, we’re talking about attempting to paint a picture with pig shit, only within this exercise, you are not only rewarding the creative malfeasance that occurred in the original 1989‘s production, principally the subordination of Swift’s expressions and songwriting credits to the masters of homogenization of music of our generation—Max Martin and Shellback—you are also directly channeling money to these men by your purchase of the Ryan Adams version.
1989 is Taylor Swift’s worst album to date, and this is coming from someone who once counted themselves within the ranks of Taylor Swift apologists. This has nothing to do with genre. Taylor Swift was never a country artist, and her honesty about 1989 being better categorized within the pop realm is one of the project’s few saving graces. But the music is computerized, soul-less garbage, and the songwriting is vapid pap for the majority of the project. Granted, there are some moments of decent expression here and there, but it is in spite of Swift being domineered by hit-making males fixated on money during the album making process. And this is the pile of manure Ryan Adams begins with.
Let’s rewind for a second to Taylor Swift’s 2010 record Speak Now. The release of that album was a monumental moment in popular music. At 20-years-old, Taylor Swift wrote the entire record by herself, and produced it primarily by herself, with only the help from multi-instrumentalist and long-time collaborator Nathan Chapman. The result was Swift’s most critically-acclaimed work to date, winning two Grammy awards, and multiple nominations from both country and multi-genre awards organizations.
During the recording process of Swift’s follow up album from 2012 called Red, Big Machine Records CEO Scott Borchetta insisted Swift’s songs weren’t good enough, and suggested bringing in Swedish hitmaker Max Martin into the songwriting and production process.
“I said, ‘You know, this song isn’t working yet.’ They both looked at me (Swift and Nathan Chapman) with a blank stare. The chorus isn’t elevating like it needs to. Where you’re wanting to take the song, it’s not going there. It needs a Max Martin type of lift.””¦ At that point BORCHETTA called Martin. Both Borchetta and Swift agree that it was a turning point for “Red.”
Swift acquiesced, and since then Max Martin, his Swedish buddy Shellback, and other high-profile hit songwriters and producers have absconded with Taylor Swift songwriting credits, and her unique approach. Scott Borchetta, the Country Music Antichrist, will likely see revenue from the sales of Ryan Adams’ version of 1989. And depending on the terms of Taylor Swift’s album and publishing contracts, so could Big Machine stakeholder Toby Keith.
But that’s just one of many unsavory wrinkles to this story. The original 1989 was Taylor Swift’s ideas being transmogrified into mega hits by executive producer Max Martin, whose only objective in life for the last 20 years has been making radio monsters to drive revenue to his coffers at the expense of the quality of American popular music.
Now let’s bring in Ryan Adams, and his idea to re-record this album in his own interpretation. Reading up on the backstory of this record, I will take Ryan Adams at his word that this idea came from pure inspiration, and it’s not meant to be taken as irony or an affront towards Taylor Swift whatsoever. Seeing Taylor Swift’s reaction, and hearing that the two have collaborated on songs in the past (which was likely the germination of not only their friendship, but of the idea of this Adams interpretation), you have to believe Ryan’s genuineness is true, at least to a certain extent.
But the music is terrible. Ryan Adams takes Taylor Swift’s flimsy, watered-down material, and does it one worse, if that’s even possible. I would much rather listen to Swift’s original 1989 album, and that version is grating on the ears, and worrisome to the concise when you consider how it was created.
Ryan Adams’ 1989 sounds completely lifeless and rushed. It sounds like something someone might make for themselves—like a weekend project that should have been released for free—and that’s because that is exactly what it is. In Ryan’s own words, this wasn’t supposed to hit the streets as a proper release. The problem occurred when so much attention flowed to Adams when Swift tweeted out her excitement for it, that now all of a sudden we have a full on album launch, and people otherwise intelligent on music matters singing its praises.
I’ve seen accolades for the album’s textures and diversity of mood and approach, and I’m dumbfounded. Ryan Adams’ 1989 sounds like a dirge; like a low, monotone groan cover to cover, or like the color grey interpreted into music by players purposely told to not put any life into the effort in the wrong-minded philosophy that somehow that approach is a form of creative expression. It’s boring, it’s droning, and its dry. And no, there is not life found in this contrast with Swift’s original work, because the original 1989 suffers from the same fate.
And the worst part sonically might be the audio quality. Ryan Adams’ 1989 sounds like it was recorded in a toilet. From Jack White, to Ryan Adams, to Dan Auerback, to even Dave Cobb, this completely wrong-minded idea that music has to sound like shit to be hip has cast a heavy, debilitating pall over this generation’s audio production. Just as we look back at the 80’s and wonder what the hell they were thinking with audio textures like gated drums, so will future generations wonder why the artists of our time insisted albums be recorded with dramatically inferior quality so that they sound “vintage” or “warm.” In the end it will be the ultimate dating of the material.
But none of these aforementioned gripes is the worst part about Ryan Adams’ 1989. The worst part is you, the consumer, and the music scene pundit singing the praises of this release. The worst part about Ryan Adams’ 1989 is not the music, it’s not the process of how Swift’s original album was recorded, or who may inadvertently profiteer off of it. It’s the fact that Ryan Adams has made Taylor Swift apologists out of tens, maybe hundreds of thousands of otherwise intelligent, well-meaning, and independently-minded music fans.
Everyone has a right to their opinions, but “Shake It Off” is not a good song, not matter who records it, and in what style. Blind Ryan Adams fandom has resulted in a ridiculous fervor over this record that makes me feel emotional fears about the plight of music in America I’m not sure how to process. All of a sudden intelligent Ryan Adams fans are not only defending Ryan Adams, they’re defending Taylor Swift, and songs like “Shake It Off.” This is coming from what is supposed to be the last bastion of taste in modern music.
I express all of this knowing it’s going to be a minority, unpopular viewpoint. I also express it as someone whose philosophies in music are very much influenced by Ryan Adams’ body of work. But this is awful, and shakes my very core, similar to like when Adams said, “I don’t like fucking country music.”
If you find Ryan Adams’ 1989 entertaining, then hey, don’t let my corrosive words cloud your judgement. But I can’t share in that joy. In fact this album and the unbridled praise it is receiving makes me very, very afraid.
I want to hear Taylor Swift’s original artistic expressions, and Ryan Adams’ original artistic expressions. And neither version of 1989 includes that.
Apologies for the screed.
Two Guns Down (1/10)
September 21, 2015 @ 7:07 pm
On behalf of the SCM community, I offer you my condolences for having to review “1989” twice.
Taylor truly reached her artistic peak with “Speak Now”, and it has been downhill since then. I consider myself lucky that I experienced her “classic” era first-hand. I feel sorry for those who are being introduced to her right now.
September 21, 2015 @ 7:15 pm
One disagreement, though: I definitely consider “1989” as an original artistic expression from Taylor Swift. I think her musical tastes have fundamentally changed, especially she started hanging out with the New York and Hollywood celebrity crowds.
September 21, 2015 @ 7:32 pm
Not one ‘bro-country reference out in an SCM rant? Ryan Adams isn’t the only unpredictable one. : /
This review is 99% opposed to the idea of the album and 1% opposed to the actual music. Your album reviews are usually pretty good because they avoid this elitist bullshit.
Despite this bit of country music policing- this is a cool album. Everyone should listen to it.
September 21, 2015 @ 8:08 pm
Let me spell this out as plainly as I can because this is the same assumption I’ve seen in numerous places about my distaste for this album.
Nothing about this album has anything to do with genre. I repeat, NOTHING ABOUT THIS ALBUM REVIEW HAS TO DO WITH GENRE. None of my concern with either Taylor Swift’s or Ryan Adams’ version of ‘1989’ has anything to do whatsoever with the fact that they are not country. I’m not making that case, and I am not judging them whatsoever on their country-ness or non country-ness. This is not about “country music policing” in any way.
As I said in the review, “This has nothing to do with genre.”
Obviously both Taylor Swift and Ryan Adams have a history with country music and so there is a lot germane to country music with ‘1989.’ But my beef is with the music, which I did talk about specifically. The problem was (as I said in the review), there were so many layers to why this was wrong, some I didn’t even mention, so I guess that got buried.
September 21, 2015 @ 9:03 pm
10-4.
I do think though- look past layers of bullshit (which are admittedly overwhelming) and the social-media circle jerk, this is a fun album.
If I ever read you referencing “Wildest Dreams” in future posts, I’m gonna chalk one up for Ryan Adams…
September 21, 2015 @ 7:35 pm
So how many times did you have to listen to the new Turnpike Troubadours album to cleanse your soul after that?
September 21, 2015 @ 8:31 pm
Probably a lot , I’m listening to some Wade Bowen right now so I’ll definitely not listen to Ryan Adams at the moment. And by at the moment , I mean never.
September 22, 2015 @ 10:43 am
Yep, pretty much. I remember when commenter Applejack referred to Adams as a “first class giblet-head,” and that’s about the right of it. “Look at me! I am an artiste!”
Fuck him.
September 21, 2015 @ 7:41 pm
1989 is very memorable because that Taylor Swift went from country to pop and Ryan Adams who hates country music. How nice and un joyful.
September 21, 2015 @ 7:45 pm
I’m not crazy about it, but I admit I like his version of “Bad Blood”. Would I prefer that Ryan Adams record original music? Sure, but Adams is prolific enough that I’m not as annoyed by this as I would be if someone like Jamey Johnson did this (who hasnt released an album of original material in, what, 5 years?).
I don’t like Taylor Swift and I’m not a huge Ryan Adams fan either….but I would give it 3 or 4 out of 10. It’s a pretty forgettable album overall….perhaps the saddest thing is that this will likely be one of Adams best selling albums when all is said and done.
September 21, 2015 @ 7:51 pm
In an album with tons of bad tracks, “Bad Blood” is probably the single worst. There is no production choice that can possibly save the utterly garbage lyrics of that song.
September 22, 2015 @ 6:40 am
I don’t think any Swift song is lyrical genius, but then again I’m not a 13 year old girl so I have a hard time relating to her songs to start with.
“Bad Blood” is a song I never really listened to the Swift version, I tend to avoid radio at all costs across all formats at this point….but the Adams version is a decent enough song in my eyes. It’s a earworm/guilty pleasure. I would rather listen to that than whatever crap Luke Bryan is pumping out these days.
September 22, 2015 @ 6:27 am
Sorry, Mike W, you’re probably a nice enough fella, but mentioning Adams and Swift in the same post as Jamey Johnson is just heresy.
September 22, 2015 @ 6:38 am
I think Jamey is massively more talented than either and I am a HUGE Jamey Johnson fan.
That said, the lack of new material from him is becoming a bit of a joke. I usually don’t bitch and complain about artists not churning out albums….make it good first and foremost. But at this point it seems more and more likely we won’t see a new Johnson album until 2016. Considering the Guitar Song came out…what 5 years ago or so that is becoming a bit much. I know he did the Hank Cochran album which was nice and had the dispute with both his label and publishing company….but come on…..we really should see a new album at some point this year.
Just my 2 cents is all.
September 22, 2015 @ 6:58 am
Could not agree more. Just giving you crap. Jamey is waaay overdue for a new album. Hope sooner rather than later, but…
September 21, 2015 @ 7:50 pm
As far as I’m concerned any song titled “Red” is part of “Les Miserables.” Of course that would require Taylor Swift to actually be able to sing on pitch with broad range and great expression, and she’s no Frances Ruffelle. That said, Ryan Adams is a little screw-loosed, so who knows what he was going for in doing this in the first place.
September 21, 2015 @ 9:27 pm
Father John Misty (Josh Tillman) did a Lou Reed/Velvet Underground inspired cover of Blank Space and Welcome to New York. It’s a better take than Ryan Adams’s attempt, but maybe that’s because FJM sounds a lot like Lou Reed. I don’t even like Blank Space and he made it seem palatable.
https://soundcloud.com/fatherjohnmisty/blank-space
September 21, 2015 @ 9:38 pm
Ryan Adams is a good singer I know he hates country music but some of his music sounds little bit country anyway. 1989 is a little off center.
September 22, 2015 @ 11:26 am
Pete, I’m happy to say we have a website that actually sells country music made by Ryan Adams. You should give some of it a listen. You can pick any of the albums by Whiskeytown (fronted by a young Ryan Adams) or Ryan Adams solo “Heartbreaker” or “Jacksonville City Nights”. Sadly we don’t carry his VERY country “48 Hours” album which hasn’t been released but is available online through careful searching. Not sure where you got the idea that he hates country music, but it’s misguided at best.
September 24, 2015 @ 10:17 am
No he’s right Ryan said it himself: https://savingcountrymusic.com/ryan-adams-i-do-not-like-fuing-country-music
September 21, 2015 @ 9:58 pm
I think this is a cool artistic expression. Frankly, if Ryan Adams is happy then nothing else should really matter to him personally. As for myself, there are a few songs I like (Style and Wildest Dreams) but the rest is just meh. I listened to it twice, went back to the Turnpike Troubadours, and got on with my life.
September 21, 2015 @ 11:40 pm
What’s kinda nice about Ryan Adams is how he longer takes himself so seriously these days, and neither should we. This is a fun little exercise, he’s done this before, like when he covered the Strokes’ “Is This It” in its entirety. It’s just that Swiftmania gave this album a status it should not have.
I really like Ryan Adams and I have every one of his records with Whiskeytown, solo and the Cardinals in my collection, but I wouldn’t download this even if it was free, knowing it’s off-the-cuff nature. Adams does that, like with his jokey little metal records. These are his sketches, not his oil paintings. It’s meant to be listened to as a funny little aside. It’s like: Listen to it once (if ever), ok, i get it, move on.
Here’s where my one gripe is then: It’s on PAX AM. If this was not supposed to be a “proper” release that people pay for, why make it one then? This is Ryan’s own label, not some huge industry behemoth insisting on their contract. (Or was it Borchetta’s people not allowing a free release maybe?)
But still, this is nothing to get worked up about. It was never meant to be more than a waste of time – and it has succeeded, it really is a waste of time. Anyone who elevates to anything else, well, it’s their own fault. That includes ranting condemnations.
September 22, 2015 @ 1:42 pm
It was never meant to be more than a waste of time ”“ and it has succeeded, it really is a waste of time. Anyone who elevates to anything else, well, it”™s their own fault.
I’m gonna have to beg to differ here. I mean, sure, we all thought this was gonna be a vanity project, but that’s always a mistake with situations like this. With where he has positioned himself, Ryan Adams has automatically set certain expectations and is going to be judged by a certain standard by a lot of people, i.e., that no matter what he releases (hipster bullshit or not) it’s going to be a big deal and it will perceived as genius by those people solely because of where he has positioned himself on the musical spectrum. It may not be entirely fair ”” to an extent it’s unmitigated bullshit ”” but it is what it is, and the standard has to be kept up somehow.
To put it a different way ”” what if this had been done by Jason Isbell? Or Aaron Watson, or the Turnpike Troubadours? Would anyone be singing its praises then? Would we be saying to not take it so seriously? Or would we be saying, “WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS SHIT? YOU ARE BETTER THAN THIS, GUY!”
If it is the latter ”” and don’t bullshit, we all know it damned well is ”” then why should we give Ryan Adams any leeway?
September 23, 2015 @ 9:30 am
I wouldn’t put it by Isbell do something similar to this in the future. He shares the songwriting drive that Adams has and he absolutely despises being labeled anything other than a songwriter. He’d do it just to shake things up.
September 23, 2015 @ 11:57 am
Well, it can be done. I’m not against one artist covering an album by another artist per se. But this isn’t Merle Haggard making an entire album of Bob Wills songs, or Dream Theater covering Metallica’s Master of Puppets. This whole thing strikes me as Ryan Adams being what seems to be his insufferable artiste hipster self, and undermining an entire musical movement ”” the very movement that he helped create ”” in the process. I know Ryan Adams doesn’t give a shit about that movement, but there are a lot of people who do, and I can sympathize with them feeling stabbed in the back because of this ”” not to mention because of Adams’ saying repeatedly that he does not like country music.
September 22, 2015 @ 1:54 am
Given my own tastes in music lean heavily on the “alt” side of country, on paper Ryan Adams should be one of my favorite artists. But I’ve just never been able to get into it.
September 22, 2015 @ 4:08 am
Anybody who would listen to Taylor Swift or Ryan Adams is not the type of person for whom Country Music needs to be Saved.
Saved FROM? Maybe. Saved FOR? No way.
September 23, 2015 @ 8:38 am
Ryan Adams. The frontman for Whiskeytown. The frontman for the Cardinals, the guy who has put out tons of good americana and twang for nearly 20 years. He’s not “country” now?
September 22, 2015 @ 5:37 am
Hate to say it, but I look forward to enjoying this album.
Should I shoot myself with a Beretta?
September 22, 2015 @ 5:46 am
This was actually pretty tame compared to some of your reviews, lol. Which is a shame, cause I think this album deserves your full wrath.
I’ve been a fan of Ryan Adams for years. (I don’t say that for any kind of “street cred,” because honestly he was just touring behind his Heartbreaker album and a friend of mine had tickets. I had no idea who he was but really enjoyed the show.) But Slate.com has been posting these fawning reviews every time he releases a preview for a song, and I can’t help but think every time, “If this is supposed to be so genius then how come I can’t get through a single song?”
September 22, 2015 @ 5:59 am
I only heard Whiskeytown for the first time within the last year and was really excited to find new music from a young band, I was really disappointed to learn what I heard was over 15 years old and that Ryan Adams had turned into 1989 Ryan Adams. What a waste. His version of “Blank Space” is great though, reminds me this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmy9CTn6xMs
September 22, 2015 @ 7:17 am
From the perspective of a dad who has 10 and 12 YO girls, Swift’s song, Shake it Off, resonated with them and helped them get through some tough times at school. Yep, it’s pop, but it has a positive message.
I was a fan of Ryan Adams from his Whiskeytown days, but lost track of him after Heartbreaker, so when I heard about this, I saw an opportunity.
Yesterday, when we were chilling after school, I popped Ryan’s version in the player with no preface and watched them stop what they were doing (playing on their phones) and listen to the song. They both commented that they liked it, maybe even more than the original.
To me, if Ryan’s 1989 can be a vehicle to get them to explore music that’s not in heavy rotation on the radio, then I’m OK with it. Maybe it’ll be a “gateway” album for them. . .
September 22, 2015 @ 8:17 am
Hey, I’ve got no problem with 10-12 year-old girls listening to “Shake It Off.” That’s what they’re supposed to do. I got a problem with Ryan Adams covering it, and the collective music community tripping over themselves to crown it as a career achievement for Adams, and one of the most creative releases of 2015.
If it makes some Swift fans into Ryan Adams fans, I guess that’s great … unless all Ryan Adams does here on out is projects like covering Taylor Swift’s “1989.” I have no doubt it’s helping the name recognition of Ryan Adams. That’s why it became an actual release instead of a side project. Whether it truly coverts some fans off of pop music, I remain speculative. The theory of osmosis in music rarely holds up in practical application. There was a study released about this last month:
https://savingcountrymusic.com/study-pop-fans-the-most-closed-minded-of-all-genres-dont-reciprocate-love-for-country
September 23, 2015 @ 9:56 am
There’s a very cogent point at the end of that post that I’d like to expand on. When we hire new clerks for our physical record store in San Marcos -all genres but a specialty in Americana/Underground Country/Real Country – an alarming number of college student applicants say “I’m really open and like all genres of music except country”. My first inclination is to say “Great, you’ve made my decision to not hire you much easier. Adios!” But I do think that so many of these college kids who just stream music via Spotify and treat music as a throw-away property have absolutely no idea what country music and its associated sub-genres are all about. Everything is viewed through the prism of the pop-country that infects every medium of music delivery. Shit, I can’t watch a damn football game without being peppered with Easton Corbin trying to sell me trucks 27 times a quarter. It takes a bit of exposure for kids to realize their misconceptions about country music were so broad that they mistook pop music for country music. As it relates to this project, who knows if this opens any eyes, but if a couple college students take a stroll through Adams discography and have Whiskeytown or JCN shatter their notion of what country music is, then great. We’ve had clerks that didn’t think they liked country until we threw on Townes or Guy or Marty Robbins and their eyes opened. We had a hip-hop kid that really, really got into Boland. It happens but there is definitely that main pop-country obstacle standing in the way.
September 23, 2015 @ 10:36 am
Really, I could delve into a much deeper discussion here, but I’ll just say I believe that genres are healthy and important to music, and the death of genre is the death of contrast and diversity in expression and the ushering in of homogenization of culture and the death of regional taste and distinction.
I also tend to think that the “Theory of Osmosis in Music” (which has bee discussed on this site many times) rarely holds up. I think that Ryan Adams just made way more fans for Taylor Swift, than Taylor Swift will ever make for Ryan Adams.
September 23, 2015 @ 3:48 pm
Taylor has helped launch a few careers, often by just tweeting about a new artist’s music, as she did with FGL and Kelsea Ballerini. Objectively speaking, I think that this album, with all of the hoopla surrounding it, will win Ryan Adams an entire new fan base.
September 22, 2015 @ 7:27 am
I typically love Ryan Adams’ covers, but his good ones rely on great base material. Which “1989” is not. My 14-year-old daughter loves Taylor Swift. And loves Wade Bowen and Reckless Kelly and Turnpike Troubadours. I had her listen to this last night. “I don’t get it,” was her response.
BTW, saw Whiskeytown on the “Strangers Almanac” tour in Santa Cruz, CA. I don’t think anyone was at the show other than the band, the crew, and me. But it was wonderful. Too bad Adams now disses on that great band.
September 22, 2015 @ 7:35 am
Sadly this is better than Ryan’s last album….He’s been on a steady decline since he broke up the cardinals
September 22, 2015 @ 7:34 pm
He’s been on the decline since Stranger’s Almanac (although 1984 is his best solo effort & it’s pretty recent).
September 23, 2015 @ 4:23 am
Total nonsense.
September 22, 2015 @ 7:36 am
Sadly this is better than his last album..He’s been on a steady decline since breaking up the cardinals.
September 22, 2015 @ 7:55 am
“In Ryan”™s own words, this wasn”™t supposed to hit the streets as a proper release”
I think this is the whole point. Ryan Adams thought it would be a fun distraction to rerecord big pop album as something darker. I think that’s great and as a Ryan Adams fan I’m glad I get to listen to his pet project.
Covering 1989 and sharing teasers on Twitter (where Taylor is very active) was obviously calculated. If the completed project had gone straight up on Soundcloud or somewhere free like that we’d smile and think it was a genius marketing ploy to get followers and be introduced to Taylor Swifts massive fan base who have likely never heard of Ryan Adams before now. But then someone (Maybe Ryan or maybe someone on his team) realized the amount of money that could be made and what started out as a fun idea got blown way out of proportion.
This album shouldn’t require a review any more than when Justin Timberlake covered Friends in Low Places. I can enjoy Ryan’s 1989 for what it is rather than what it’s been hyped to be.
September 24, 2015 @ 8:37 am
Bingo.
I think what Trigger and a lot of people are failing to see with the lack of critical outrage here, is that for those of us that like Ryan Adams, we’ve come to expect about an album’s worth of good material a year. He just releases it over about 4 records. Definitely a “quantity over quality” mentality with the guy, which he’s always done.
September 24, 2015 @ 9:35 am
Exactly. There was an artists who worked with Ryan (I can’t remember who right now) that mentioned in an interview how Ryan churns out songs like nobodies business. It’s the volume of songs that leads to both his hits and his misses.
September 22, 2015 @ 8:28 am
Interesting development …one artist re-recording another’s entire album – one which happens to be one of the most successful pop records ever- to feed to his own fan base . I hear cash registers .
I mean …why couldn’t the Lumineers re-record Abbey Road with banjos and djembe ? How’ bout the Cleveland Kazoo Orchestra covering KC and the Sunshine Band ? There’s really no end to the possibilities for second and third tier barely- known artists covering the most successful album releases of all time in their entirety with a different vision ….ESPECIALLY if the original versions were so bad that they couldn’t be hurt by this ‘ tribute ‘ . How bout my guitar -picking neighbor whatsisname (who can play Chet like nobody ) re-recording the Sound Of Music in the style of Merle Travis …that was a pretty successful soundtrack , as I recall . In fact …I ‘ve gotta go . I’m getting inspired by this whole ” ripoff the tried and true ” idea and I’m pretty sure the Monkees had some huge albums . I hope Brian Adams does real good with this . …..What’s that ….? …oh …..its RYAN Adams ? Sorry …..never mind .
September 22, 2015 @ 8:39 am
The worst part about this album is that it proves that music has become sport, not art. Ryan Adams fans should be offended that “1989” is the biggest album of the last decade, and they would have been a few years ago, and probably were until Ryan Adams covered it. “1989” has become the “Abbey Road” of our generation, and educated music fans should be ashamed of that.
September 22, 2015 @ 9:32 am
Once we heard his radio friendly rock self-titled album, which was a blatant homage to the cheese of Bryan Adams, we realized that he’d completely lost his mind and gave up hope to ever hear another Whiskeytown album. He hasn’t been an “artist” in a few years. Maybe being married to pop artist Mandy Moore wrecked him?
September 22, 2015 @ 9:16 am
Sorry man, I love it. And I’m not a Ryan Adams fanboy. But this is really interesting. Might just be the ever curious musician in me, but I really dig it. I think my kid, who has kind of fallen off the TS wagon, is going to dig it too.
September 22, 2015 @ 9:27 am
Adams was clear that this was always intended to be a novelty project, something he was doing for fun. It spiralled out of control & now it’s been released before physical copies are even available simply because it was never supposed to be an official release. But he has never been one to do what was expected, so he ran with it. Swift’s version is excessively produced while Adams does indeed sound like it was recorded in the toilet. I imagine using 0.1% of Swift’s budget has something to do with that, as does the fact that this was intended to be a giveaway novelty, so why spend too much time or money? I think that Swift made a catchy pop album, but this release is garbage, stripping what was likeable from the original.
Adams’ fans understand that he does whatever he wants and he has a massive discography full of numerous clunkers, 1989 being the latest. But he has moments of brilliance, such as 1984 or Jacksonville City Nights which make up for it. I don’t think he intended for the hype for this release, simply chose to capitalize on it. Now we wait a couple of weeks for his next EP of new songs.
I do however disagree with your assertion about “this completely wrong-minded idea that music has to sound like shit to be hip.” I think Cobb is revered because he actually insists on the opposite of that idea (we are talking about his country/roots/Americana work here, not the snooze fest mainstream rock groups that he works with). There’s a huge difference between sounding like shit (as 1989 does) and sounding organic and warm. Jack White does what he does, but he knows music and gets the sounds that he wants from it. Again, that doesn’t mean that he uses lack of production as a gimmick. Your statement comes off like someone chastising Waylon Jennings in the 70s for not going countrypolitan and I know that doesn’t at all reflect your musical tastes. Perhaps I am misunderstanding your intent with that off-hand remark?
September 22, 2015 @ 9:50 am
I’ve been on the warpath about this audio quality issue with recordings for years now. I think my initial broaching of the subject came way back when Jack White screwed up his album with Wanda Jackson because of it. I’m all for warmth, but you don’t need fuzzy recordings to make it happen. It’s now grown into one of my biggest pet peeves and it’s an anchor on this project.
September 22, 2015 @ 10:25 pm
Dusty,
Are you sure you want to go on record as saying “1984” is one of Adams’ “moments of brilliance”? Look, I’m a punk fan, through and through, and that’s an enjoyable little 8 minutes of ok’ish punk, but doesn’t stand up to Adams true strokes of genius. I’d argue that Jacksonville City Nights doesn’t either, but that’s beside the point. “Stranger’s Almanac” is a masterpiece. “Heartbreaker” – masterpiece. “Love is Hell” – probably Ryan’s favorite album he’s recorded and one that a number of longtime fans (particularly those that were experiencing any kind of heartbreak when they first heard it) gravitate toward is gorgeous. “Cold Roses” and “Gold” are exceptional collections of songs. The unreleased “48 Hours” (Adams at his MOST country) is positively breathtaking. The “Live at Carnegie Hall” album – which features a number of ‘re-imaginings’ of Adams’ own songs (check the piano-only version of “New York, New York” that also appeared on the Live After Deaf recordings) was fantastic. But I can’t really say that anything since Easy Tiger has been above-replacement-Adams level. At least the much maligned III/IV exercised some addiction demons, but Cardinology, Ashes & Fire and the eponymous releases are all uneven at best. I guess my point is that while I enjoyed 1984 for the novelty act it was, I equally enjoy 1989 for the semi-novelty act it is. I do believe that his divorce and the strain of going from a stable life with a person who helped him conquer addiction into an unknown future put him in a dark place and I think the resulting effort is as personal to Ryan as anything since III/IV and Love is Hell before that.
September 23, 2015 @ 5:04 am
Finally, someone who has a grasp of Ryan’s discography. I think this about as fair of a characterization of his body of work someone can put into a comments section. There isn’t a single Ryan Adams fan who would put 1989 in the same echelon as Love is Hell, Heartbreaker, Cold Roses, 29, or his other side projects which include the Suicide Handbook, the Pinkheart Sessions, or the Swedish Sessions. You and I might disagree on Jacksonville City Nights’ place within the discography; it would go toe to toe with anything else reviewed on this site, or produced in the world of country. My opinion, obviously, but that album is a Faulkner story set in 2005.Jacksonville City Nights is what Whiskeytown would have been had they survived another 8 years.
As a long time Ryan Adams fan, the things that drive most people (reviewers and the casual listener) crazy about his work is what we thrive on, and that is his high volume releases. When he was signed to Lost Highway, we were lucky to see an album per year. Love is Hell saw the light of day basically through a drug deal with his label which brought us Rock N’ Roll. But close followers want as much as possible. Ryan has stated that he writes and records for up to 8 hours a day, and because we’ve seen the genius of his previous side projects (mentioned above to some extent), we want to hear it all. This past year has actually been a very good year to be a Ryan Adams fan. The S/T album was fine, not his best work, but the album has moments of very good material, but we’ve also gotten a 7″ series which has been fantastic. And now we’ve gotten the 1989 re-record, which was basically finished and mastered within 3 weeks or so. So I’d say Ryan’s previous 365 days have been as productive as anyone in music.
I take him at his word that this started out as a side project, and he recently said he did it after he finished his most recent album, a double LP followup to Love is Hell (we’ll see, but holy shit that would be awesome.) If this 1989 project really started as a head clearing moment after finishing an entire album of original material, then the (relative) production issues can be forgiven, and I assume most of the issues will be addressed when it’s fully mastered for cd and vinyl release. No serious reviewer is going to take this album as some age-defining cut that will be remembered as “changing the game.” It will very likely be remembered as a solid take on one of the most popular albums on the planet. It wasn’t done to mock anyone, or to line Scott Borchetta’s pockets (though I take Trigger’s unintended consequence argument), it was done merely to see if it could be successful.
The above review covers exactly one track off the album, “Shake it Off”, which was an interesting take on the track, reminds me a bit of “Shadows” off of the S/T album, but didn’t do much for me. Had you never been told a number of the other tracks were associated with Taylor Swift, they would have fit perfectly fine on any other Ryan Adams Albums. One is not giving a fair assessment if they can’t see how well done tracks like This Love were interpreted, which have fit perfectly well on 29 or Love is Hell. It’s actually the “recording imperfections” that make that retake so good. You can hear his chair shifting, foot hitting the pedals of the piano. It sounds great. Where the recording style suffers most are on tracks like “Style”, which do feel rushed
As a final word: III/IV fucking rules, and I’ll have words with anyone who says differently.
September 23, 2015 @ 6:08 am
As a long time Ryan Adams fan, the things that drive most people (reviewers and the casual listener) crazy about his work is what we thrive on, and that is his high volume releases.
Also, old Whiskeytown fans who would rather not spend their hard earned money on some half assed project by someone they have come to see as a preening, self-absorbed jerk.
September 23, 2015 @ 9:25 am
AG – Now THAT was a solid post and I agree wholeheartedly with pretty much every point made in it. Ryan’s got an entire unreleased discography that would put most artists’ released works to shame.
As for JCN – I love it and not sure why I really intimated otherwise. There are at least 5-6 all-timers on that album (September, A Kiss Before I Go, Hard Way To Fall, Don’t Fail Me Now, Peaceful Valley, Trains) come to think of it, it’s a masterpiece as well as in my haste, I pushed it aside.
You and I seem to be in the minority about III/IV but I think it’s probably Ryan’s most confessional album, while still managing to have the facade of ONLY being a fun rock record. It’s both and it’s insanely addicting.
That was such an on-point post that I’m not going to even attempt to add much else only than to say what I posted about JCN was in the heat of the moment and failed to take into account how well that album has aged. The way he’s turned some of those songs into haunting acoustic crackers on Live After Deaf and Live at Carnegie Hall is nothing short of astounding, as well.
One last point about the 1989 discussion and then I’m banning myself from this entire conversation and getting back to work: if viewed simply as a country artist with all merit being derived from his country output, then I can understand how someone would not like Ryan Adams in 2015. He’s released a metal album, a punk mini-album, covered Vampire Weekend, The Strokes (allegedly, wink), Iron Maiden, the Foo Fighters and now Taylor Swift. He’s released a hazy, Smiths-infused album that almost refuses to be characterized as any specific genre (the sublime Love is Hell) and the aforementioned and sorely misunderstood III/IV. So yeah, he’s branched out and the folks expecting 30 years worth of Whiskeytown/Heartbreaker type releases can rightfully dismiss him IF that’s the only thing they saw merit in from Ryan’s output.
But that seems to be more a reflection of certain listeners and their expectations and tastes than it does about Adams. I think it would astound the average fan of “Underground Country” how diverse the tastes of most of these artists are. So many “true country” artists would kill to be able to make a metal album for fun or reimagine pop albums, as you so perfectly stated, “to see if it can be successful”. That Ryan started his own label and actually did it is incredibly bold and courageous. That he has had his share of flops among his experiments doesn’t detract from the overall body of work. That he doesn’t shy away from risky projects is one of the major reasons why I’ll likely always go to bat for the guy. I won’t nick Adams for bouncing all over the genre spectrum because that’s what drives him: a seemingly endless need to create. Some stick, some miss, but he doesn’t let fear of failure or of being unaccepted by his fans hold him back.
Oh, and finally AG – I’m drooling at the thought of that double LP follow-up to Love is Hell!
September 23, 2015 @ 1:53 pm
I’ll write a fuller post geeking out on Adams’ stuff more, but the TL;DR response, damn straight man.
And I might as well ask (sorry if this is against the rules, Trigger), you guys have the ability to snag a copy of III/IV on vinyl? I’m on a mission to find one.
September 23, 2015 @ 2:13 pm
You know what’s funny? When III/IV came out, I wrote a review of it for our magazine and fell in love with it on repeated listenings. I ended up ordering maybe 60 copies thinking they would blow out. And then, crickets… Ryan Adams fans weren’t really that interested in it after the diehards got their copies and we were sitting on 30 or so for a year or so. Then, when the supply ran out, we just plowed through the remainder before we could see how jacked the prices got. I’m actually going through records at home tonight and will check to see if I have any extras. From what I remember, I may have 2 or 3 at the house and would be happy to send one your way if I do.
September 23, 2015 @ 2:32 pm
Holy hell, talk about never hurting to ask. That would be so excellent.
It’s definitely true that we’re in the minority on that album. Love the full realized take on Sewers at the Bottom of the Wishing Well (which, btw, spawned from another side project for Elizabethtown). Can hit you up on Facebook or something if you’d like, or just wait for a reply here.
September 25, 2015 @ 5:41 pm
Well my man, you’re in luck. I have two copies of III/IV. Email me at zach@lonestarmusic.com and we’ll work out getting you one of them. Both are opened but barely played… But I’d happily donate one to a fan. Such an amazing record. I listened to it start to finish while organizing vinyl last night (until about 4AM) and damn, that’s just a beautiful slab of music.
September 25, 2015 @ 5:43 pm
Oh, and I enjoy the Sad Dracula version of The Sewers at the Bottom of the Wishing Well. Also, “On Fire” is an amazing track. So much good unreleased DRA. So much…
September 26, 2015 @ 3:54 pm
Just sent you an email!
September 22, 2015 @ 9:42 am
Hey y’all it’s reverb OK? It was a conscious production choice. Adams loves 80’s era reverb. He always has. It’s not a budget issue. In the era of LOGIC, nobody needs a million dollars to produce chromey, shiney, music. He could have overproduced this on his laptop for free if that was the goal.
I’ve spent a lot of time at a mixing board and while this isn’t my idea of a perfect sound, it’s not sloppily mixed, or sloppily produced for that matter. And I’m pretty sure Adams didn’t want it to sound like this to be hip. I’m guessing I could bring in a line of unhappy past producers who could testify that he doesn’t give a shit for ‘hip’.
September 22, 2015 @ 11:11 am
Nobody is asking for overproduced and polished either. This seems to be the default argument when you complain about poor production on an album. Ideally, you don’t notice the production on the album, you just listen to the music. Both versions of “1989” missed that mark on opposite sides for the spectrum. There is a happy medium.
September 22, 2015 @ 1:16 pm
‘Ideally you don’t notice the production, you just listen to the music’ – oh man there’s a lot to work with there. Ideally you just hear the notes, not the guitar? Or amp? Or you just hear the vocals not the mic? A song will carry a different emotional vibe if you’re sitting around a camp fire, or in a living room, or playing live in a studio. There are music shops dedicated to all manner of instruments because each one sounds different. I think you’re taking Adams to task over his production choices rather than ‘poor’ production. If you complain about poor production then you have to be specific – the vocals are muddy, or the rhythm guitar overrides the lead, or the bass disappears on the chorus – that kind of thing. Or the structure of the tune is bad – you don’t like the piano sound, the strings are tinny, etc. And you’ve got to make that criticism song by song, since every tune is produced and mixed individually. I’m not trying to pick a fight, but it burns me when reviewers talk about poor production, since that means essentially that the reviewer is stating that the producer doesn’t know his business. If you’re making that claim, you better sell it!
September 22, 2015 @ 2:09 pm
Craig,
I made very specific mention in this review of why I did not like the production.
“And you”™ve got to make that criticism song by song, since every tune is produced and mixed individually.”
No I don’t. Try pulling up another website whose reviews stretch to 19 paragraphs, especially one that posts multiple reviews a week. Run by one person. I have no obligation to speak on the production of each individual song, but like I said in the review, it is quizzical to me the folks that hear texture in this record, or that can even discern each track from another, specifically because of the production shortcomings.
I never said the producer doesn’t know his business. I said that the production was bad, which is my opinion, and is nether right nor wrong, it’s just my perspective.
September 22, 2015 @ 9:45 am
You’re thinking about this way to hard, Trigger.
Having listened to Taylor’s version way too many times courtesy of by 9 year old, I appreciated hearing Ryan’s version. Ryan took Taylor’s songs, stripped away the Max Martin/Shellback/Ryan Tedder production, and added a Smiths/Springsteen vibe. I dig it. Taylor’s 1989 was packed with some well crafted pop songs. I enjoyed hearing them translated into something that i consider a bit more palatable, production-wise.
Is Ryan’s version a masterpiece? No. But Ryan Adams does whatever the hell he wants, and I enjoyed it.
September 22, 2015 @ 11:09 am
I may be thinking too much about it, but I think that’s because people are making too much of it. To hear some talk about this album, you would have though Ryan Adams just saved American music.
September 22, 2015 @ 11:32 am
Fully agree, ManBearPig. As the father of two girls that are 8 and 6 and having heard Swift’s 1989 (a pretty perfect pop record, as those things go) no fewer than 10,000 times, I see the beauty of Ryan’s version. Of course, I’m also a huge fan of Adams and his “Love is Hell” record, of which this is a sonic companion of sorts, so maybe I’m not the most objective person. I do know that this is fun at a time when there’s not a ton of “fun” projects being tossed out in the pop/rock scene.
September 22, 2015 @ 11:25 am
Ryan Adams should record an album of all Mike McClure songs. THAT I would buy!!!!
September 22, 2015 @ 1:04 pm
I don’t like Ryan Adams
I ain’t even entirely sure if his marriage to Mandy Moore was serious
That’s the problem with him. He’s a hipster and hipsters only take themselves seriously. Nothing else and no one else. I just don’t trust him. He makes country albums and then turns around and says he “fucking hates country music.” And notice how that happens after the underground country world started to gain more followers. Hipsters are always doing shit like that. Find either the least popular thing or the most popular thing and run with it.. Ironically of course. Fuck that arrogant mop headed son of a bitch. Even if he did do this album for fun, how could he in good conscience record something that’s gonna bring in revenue for people responsible for the decline of real talent in the industry?
September 22, 2015 @ 1:50 pm
Fuck that arrogant mop headed son of a bitch.
Now that made me laugh. Just perfect. Thanks.
September 22, 2015 @ 10:36 pm
Courtney, I think you may be getting overly agitated and losing site of the real “enemy” because it sure as shit isn’t Ryan Adams or Taylor Swift. And I do mean that with all due respect as somebody who has devoted the better part of many years to the “underground country” scene. Taylor Swift, as an idea, used to make my head hurt. But you know who’s taken a stand against Spotify and the basic reduction of artists’ work to mere pennies-per-1000 spins? Taylor Swift. There’s a lot of bullshit hucksters, labels and artists out there to get riled up about, but to paraphrase Bob Dylan “It ain’t (them), babe”.
And this insistence on falling back to that one time that Ryan Adams said he didn’t like country music on Buzzfeed or AOLChat, Twitter or whatever – you say he doesn’t take anything serious and you take THAT quote serious? Could he have been commenting on the exact type of Country music that you also hate? You think he and Isbell get together to record because Ryan “hates” country music? You think he covers this Taylor Swift album in a more singer-songwriter way because he “hates” country music? Man, I know the guy can be difficult, but channel your anger into something more deserving of it than a guy who helped pioneer the “underground country” movement you so cherish.
September 23, 2015 @ 7:22 am
I truly don’t know how you can continue to defend him on the fact that he blatantly said he didn’t know why he was labeled as country and that he hates it. It’s pretty black and white. He didn’t seem like he was joking in that interview and I doubt it’s because he didn’t want to be lumped together with the likes of the bros; he knew they meant underground. The problem here is that Ryan Adams not only chose a terrible album to cover, a pop album that has no real artistic talent behind it, he chose one that would bring in revenue to the corruption in music row. For that, he is the enemy. Whether he put out good solid albums that championed our cause in the past (which even that is debatable because his music ain’t all that great), or not. This project is bullshit and the Ryan Adams fandom is just being led around by their noses. It’s hipster mischief. Everytime this guy opens his mouth that’s what happens. He’s probably laughing that we’ve all analyzed it this far anyway
September 23, 2015 @ 7:52 am
I don’t disagree with you that he’s probably astounded by the amount of coverage this is generating. I don’t believe that was even in his thought process. He’s cut far better albums that have never seen the light of day “48 Hours” and the fabled “Black Hole” album that he goes on and on about, among others. I do, however, disagree with you and Trigger that Swift’s 1989 is a “terrible album”. As far as pure “pop” records go, 1989 is pretty unfuckwithable. I say that as somebody who doesn’t have much tolerance for most pure pop records. Regardless, I’m sure you’re as sick as I am of talking about the project. I’m plenty angry with the state of the music scene overall, but Ryan Adams isn’t on my personal list of offenders. At least, not with this project…
September 23, 2015 @ 8:54 am
I just want to point out that there’s a very good chance that in the future, Ryan Adams will come out and say his “1989” record was complete bullshit and totally ironic and a mistake and stupid, just like how he turned coat on his country material. It may not happen, but that’s Ryan’s pattern.
September 23, 2015 @ 7:47 am
Here’s Ryan Adams in 2008:
I hate HATE country music. I always have. I ‘reference’ it when I make music that sounds like that, the way a director would use water as a backdrop for a scene with a shark in it. But I cannot stand country music one bit. Unless The Grateful Dead are messin round with it. Then it is tolerable.
http://www.nme.com/news/ryan-adams/35990
I remember reading an interview with him where the interviewer agreed that “bad country music” was awful, after which Ryan Adams made sure the interviewer knew that he hated the “good stuff,” too.
My opinion of Ryan Adams started going south after reading an article on his former bandmate Caitlin Cary in No Depression in the early oughts. She described how he would ruin about every third Whiskeytown show with some self indulgent silly behavior that he thought was so “punk rock.” She and other band members would try to reason with him that the people who paid to see them deserved a real music show. The “artist” apparently didn’t see it that way.
September 23, 2015 @ 8:06 am
You know who else ruined a lot of shows by either no-showing or being so stinking drunk/high that he couldn’t perform? Townes Van Zandt. Repeatedly. You want another one? George Jones. Yet another? Johnny Cash. That is less about “indulgent silly behavior” than it is about addiction and substance abuse.
September 23, 2015 @ 8:27 am
That is less about “indulgent silly behavior” than it is about addiction and substance abuse.
Thank you, professor, but I’m not quite convinced. I know what I read. Besides, he’s sober now and I still think he’s a jerk.
The one thing that makes me think of him in a positive light is that he apparently played a role in convincing Jason Isbell to go to rehab. And that’s significant.
September 23, 2015 @ 7:59 am
Was it just that one time? Or was it several times over the years, with the latest occurrence being the most full-throated one?
(Love Lone Star Music, BTW. It was always a must-stop destination on day trips to New Braunfels from our home in San Antonio.)
September 23, 2015 @ 8:20 am
Pistolero, Thanks for the kind words. LSM lives on and will continue to try to fight the good fight. There’s just so much bullshit out there, that it’s hard to know where to direct the anger-cannon.
September 22, 2015 @ 2:11 pm
Here’s a perfect example of what I’m talking about with the ridiculous hype surrounding this release. Someone actually wrote an article called:
“Taylor Swift”™s “1989” may be the best thing that happened to indie artists”
http://qz.com/508106/taylor-swifts-1989-may-be-the-best-thing-that-happened-to-indie-artists/
Blind absurdity.
September 22, 2015 @ 2:44 pm
Yep.
September 22, 2015 @ 3:46 pm
Sweet zombie jeebus. Hipster bullshit out of every goddamned orifice. If ever there was anything that would make a real music fan want to go shopping for a deer rifle and a woodchipper, that would be it, right fucking there.
September 22, 2015 @ 5:56 pm
Thank you. I would sooner listen to Florida -Georgia Line yodel the alphabet backwards than this shit.
September 22, 2015 @ 3:32 pm
You can put mustache on a pig… or something. You can’t take bad lyrics and make them better no matter how you spin them. BAd Blood was just wretched. Hearing a grown man moan out “mad love” and “hater gonna hate” was just awful.
Oh Hey, Ryan… and Taylor for that matter. Just cause’ “haters gonna hate” doesn’t mean that they are wrong maybe you’re just not that great.
September 22, 2015 @ 3:32 pm
Not to be outdone as an “indie” rock artist, Jack White has announced he will cover Katy Perry’s Prism.
September 22, 2015 @ 6:54 pm
Ur a bad righter
September 24, 2015 @ 11:57 am
Ur a bad speller
September 23, 2015 @ 8:12 am
This is a pop album being covered by a rock/folk rock artist. I’m not sure why this needed to be reviewed on this site at all?
September 23, 2015 @ 8:49 am
Obviously both Taylor Swift and Ryan Adams have significant histories with country music (and I don’t want to argue if their music was actually country music, because that’s not the point). But in the end, if I have a strong opinion about something and feel passionate about it, I’m probably going to express it. As I said in the review, I don’t think I could have lived with myself without expressing my opinion about this, especially as we now have people out there saying Taylor Swift “saved” independent music with the release of “1989.”
I have no idea where this curiosity in me covering albums that aren’t right on the bulls-eye of country music is coming from all of a sudden. I’ve been doing this for eight years, and I’ve always covered this type of stuff, and it seems to have never been an issue until recently. I guess I will have to cover more non-country albums until folks understand this is part of the flora and fauna of the site.
September 23, 2015 @ 10:17 am
Trigger, you make a great point about the “bad production is cool” trend going on. I thought I was the only 1 who hated Dave Cobb’s production, but you called the elephant in the room finally. I’m not someone who prefers glassy, slick production either, but it’s like he’s afraid to bring anything too much to life. I get it’s live and real and all that but still. Better production doesn’t negate a good recorded performance.
September 23, 2015 @ 10:20 am
This album is pure rubbish. I listened to it several times with the genuine hope it was good. But it was a let down. From the production to the way he imitates Bruce Springsteen. Sounds like a recording by a karaoke enthusiast. Do yourself a favor get Lucero’s album instead. You wont be disappointed.
September 24, 2015 @ 5:50 am
Now this is interesting…..
http://www.vox.com/2015/9/23/9384571/ryan-adams-1989-taylor-swift-review
September 26, 2015 @ 5:15 am
Can you believe this? Ryan’s 1989 cover could be nominated for album of the year come grammy http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2015/09/25/ryan_adams_1989_reviewed_by_pitchfork_why_are_taylor_swift_s_albums_only.html
September 26, 2015 @ 9:23 am
There’s nothing that’s made me feel more foreign to my time, more alone in the world, and more afraid for the future of independent music than the hype surrounding this album. I understand many people like it, but it is truly like watching a zombie apocalypse transpire for me. Making it even worse, I’m getting attacked and ostracized in numerous sectors for this opinion. It has shaken my very will.
September 27, 2015 @ 5:31 pm
So Slate sees no problem with Pitchfork reviewing Ryan Adams’ cover of this, just a problem with the Taylor Swift original not being reviewed, because of course SEXISM.
Look. I don’t mean to say that gender discrimination is not a thing anymore or even that it isn’t important, but if there’s a problem with the music itself, then maybe the music should be the main focus as opposed to the artists’ genitalia. Maybe that’s too much to ask from Slate, considering the fact that Slate is a slightly-less-deranged version of Salon, but it’s still something to strive for if we’re going to get anywhere with saving country music, or with retaining any shred of integrity with music in general.
September 27, 2015 @ 6:29 pm
For the record, I was also accused of being sexist on Twitter for my Ryan Adams ‘1989’ review. Don’t tell me how, because it really didn’t make any sense to me. Maybe because I didn’t like it, and Taylor Swift’s material was involved. And I reviewed Taylor Swift’s ‘1989’ as well.
The discourse around Ryan’s “1989” has been the most shocking, and most jarring thing I’ve ever experienced as a music fan.
September 27, 2015 @ 8:51 pm
For the record, I was also accused of being sexist on Twitter for my Ryan Adams ”˜1989”™ review.
Yeah, that was bullshit too.
September 28, 2015 @ 7:21 am
So, I went and listened to some Whiskeytown, as I had never actually heard any of their stuff. 2 or 3 cuts off their debut album.
Holy SHIT that is good stuff. I now understand how you folks feel, in a way I did not before….
October 1, 2015 @ 6:03 am
Maybe this article will make more sense….. http://www.forbes.com/sites/nickmessitte/2015/09/30/1989-its-not-a-victory-for-ryan-adams-its-a-victory-for-taylor-swift/
October 4, 2015 @ 9:57 am
Hate to use this reference again, but is it me? Or does Ryan Adams seem like the alt-country version of Euronymous from Mayhem? Just an all around, self centered dickhead that has a personality that makes you want to simply tell him to go screw off?
November 25, 2015 @ 9:10 pm
Late to the party here, but I thought I’d put in my two cents.
I agree with the comments on over-hype, but there are positive features to Adams’ 1989 if you don’t listen to the hype. There is bad production in both cases, both on the Ryan Adams version and the Taylor Swift (though clearly bad in very different ways). But if you look at a few of Ryan Adams’ tracks, he un-Max-Martins the parts that need it. Out Of The Woods and Wildest Dreams are basically the same arrangement as Taylor Swift’s on the verses, and he gives them a chorus melody that is much more consistent with the song than the stilted and jarring original chorus arrangement. The Out of the Woods sentiment is basically a classic Ryan Adams song; Wildest Dreams sounds musically like a more recent Ryan Adams song (which have generally been weaker than his older stuff), though apparently a pretty decent one.
I think he could have done a better job on some of the songs if he had put more time into it. I hate the full cessation of the audio in the chorus of Welcome To New York. The vocals on Blank Space are too high, and though I generally like his arrangement, it sounds a bit melo/over-dramatic with that vocal sound. Shake It Off is OK, I see what he’s going for, but the lyrics are either not appropriate for Ryan Adams and this type of arrangement (pretty likely), or else he didn’t put enough time into it (maybe equally likely). (Shake it Off is one I’ve seem compared to Springsteen, though I think that is only minimally the case; you could say it has similar features to I’m On Fire, but it has a totally different vocal sound and feel, so I don’t get it, really.)
I think the best songs are the first four, and Wish You Would, Wildest Dreams, How You Get the Girl, and This Love. This Love is pretty much a Love Is Hell arrangement, and though I don’t seem to love that album as much as everyone else does, I’m not sure how you could overlook the similarity on this song.
Bad Blood is pretty bad, though I think that Bad Blood is criticized for the theme and lyrical content in the Taylor Swift incarnation. The last two songs are pretty meh. In some ways it has a good deal in common, musically, with the s/t album, not so surprisingly, but maybe the writing on this is actually better? (Not sure how to explain it otherwise, unless he put more effort into the arrangements on 1989 or used the already decent parts of the Taylor Swift ones as mentioned above.)
So I say ignore the hype, listen to it as a Ryan Adams “fun” project, as other people have suggested, and you can get a few pretty good new Ryan Adams songs out of it.