Discography

Heartbreaker 2000

The singing/songwriting force behind the critically-hailed, country-rock trash brat romantics Whiskeytown lets loose with his first solo CD. That force is Ryan Adams, an artist whose voice, both physically and lyrically, is like a street poet’s coming out of a skate punk.

“Heartbreaker” is a disc to listen to when you’re home from a long night of drowning your sorrows, too drunk to sleep but too sober to face staying awake. You can’t stop the treadmill of despair that’s spinning in your brain. Maybe you should have another drink, and go sit on the back porch to torture yourself by thinking, thinking, thinking …. Better put on that cd, and try to stop your brain.

A sleepless dream ensues. Adams appears as a troubadour along the road, hair in his eyes. He sings in a voice whose ragged edges are worn smooth, like a stone polished in a river of sorrow. His melodies are spare, barren … his lyrics are confessions. The songs take you back in time: Washington Square Park in Manhattan, the troubadour playing an acoustic guitar, a harmonica … a Beatles-esque musical garden, where you float on a bed of stringed swells … The songs sure are sad, but the troubadour tells you there’s nothing wrong with being sad, nothing wrong with feeling old before your time. You come to wondering how feeling so sad can feel so damn good.

Ryan’s approach on this disc is simple: a stripped down band + killer songs + lots o’ soul-baring = a Dylanesque, raggedy folk-punk confessional. Themes of desperation, loss and hope are delivered via bleak and eerie country-tinged laments, Byrds-y country pop and a car/murder rocker/ballad. Top it all off with guest vocals from such estimable folks as the legendary Emmylou Harris (!!!), Gillian Welch and Kim Richey, and this record lives up to its title.

Lest you fear that you won’t hear from Whiskeytown again, rest assured they’ll be back. In the meantime, Ryan had some stories to tell and songs that just had to get out there, and he wanted to put them out on an independent label. So to our delight, he called Bloodshot, said (basically) “How ‘bout it?” and we said (exactly) “Hell yeah!”

The troubadour will be hitting the road again this fall. Be sure to catch him; he may need a back porch to sleep on or a drink to keep him company…

In addition to “Heartbreaker,” Ryan Adams has been a frequent contributor to the Bloodshot cause. Whiskeytown released a double 7” in 1997, and a split single with Neko Case in 1998. They also contributed tracks to our “Straight Outta Boone County” (1997 – a Moon Mullican song), and “Poor Little Knitter on the Road” (1999 – a Merle Haggard song) compilations. As a solo artist, Ryan released a song on our 5th Anniversary compilation earlier this year.