THE BARGAIN BUY: Ryan Adams, Gold and Demolition (Universal)

 |   |  1 min read

Ryan Adams: Dear Chicago (from Demolition)
THE BARGAIN BUY: Ryan Adams, Gold and Demolition (Universal)

With a new album by Ryan Adams due in a month (Ashes and Fire) some might wonder why this guy holds such a powerful place in many people's affections. After all he -- Prince-like -- became so prolific for a while he was impossible to keep up with a pain for record company. Many lost track of him.

But the five star Gold from exactly a decade ago is perhaps all the convincing any doubters might need that any new Adams album is going to be worth hearing.

It is chock full of affecting pop rock with a slight country-rock tweek and picked up three Grammys. And they were deserving Grammys too.

220px_Ryan_Adams_DemolitionLike a countryfied Springsteen fed on acoustic Neil Young and the Paul Simon songbook, Ryan's songs were literate and interesting, had a down home feel in places and a tougher urban sounds in others.

It's follow-up Demolition was unfortunately a patched-together job with tracks taken from three other albums he had worked on and wanted to release.

So the career momentum was broken, although you can't argue with quiet songs like You Will Alway Be the Same, Desire, Cry on Demand, Dear Chicago and others on Demolition.

So what would expect to pay for a classic and its lesser cousin?

JB_HZ_CHEAP_longAt just $9.99 at JB Hi-Fi stores here it seems a steal.

And that is why this two-fer-less-than-one is this week's recommended Bargain Buy.

Share It

Your Comments

post a comment

More from this section   The Bargain Buy articles index

THE BARGAIN BUY: Bootsy's Rubber Band; Original Album Series (Rhino)

THE BARGAIN BUY: Bootsy's Rubber Band; Original Album Series (Rhino)

With a more wobbly funk bass than his former boss James Brown, some psychedelic humour, Brown's horn players, Bernie Worrell on keyboards and George Clinton producing, it was almost impossible for... > Read more

THE BARGAIN BUY: Bruce Springsteen; Nebraska/The Ghost of Tom Joad

THE BARGAIN BUY: Bruce Springsteen; Nebraska/The Ghost of Tom Joad

Elsewhere has already made the case for Bruce Springsteen's 1982 Nebraska as an Essential Elsewhere album. It was not only a great album but a turning point in his career: it allowed him to step... > Read more

Elsewhere at Elsewhere

Mavis Staples; We'll Never Turn Back (2007)

Mavis Staples; We'll Never Turn Back (2007)

The great gospel-soul singer Mavis Staples -- now in her Eighties -- was a member of the legendary Staples Singers founded by her father Pops Staples, a close personal friend of Dr Martin Luther... > Read more

PAUL DIBBLE, X: A DECADE OF SCULPTURE 2010-2020 by FRAN DIBBLE

PAUL DIBBLE, X: A DECADE OF SCULPTURE 2010-2020 by FRAN DIBBLE

This large format paperback with short explanatory text by the famed sculptor's artist wife and sometime collaborator is largely a photo collection of Paul Dibble at work in the studio and his... > Read more