| "Der Plattentitel ist ein Warnsignal. Wer dieses Album
auflegt und seine verzweifelten, abgewrackten Songs hört, wird nicht
ohne Schaden davonkommen. Eine Platte wie ein singendes Gemälde von
Edward Hopper, ein tanzender Roman von Jack Kerouac oder ein gitarrespielender
Film von Robert Altman. Rein vom Klangbild her erinnert vieles an Bob Dylan
in seiner 'Blonde On Blonde'-Phase. Aber auch der Geist der Stones von 'Exile
On Mainstream' schleicht durch manche Stücke, anderswo wird man an
den psychedelischen Folk von Nick Drake oder Mark Eitzel erinnert, während
manche Balladen von Big Stars 'Third' stammen könnten. Downer-Rock,
der Höllenfreuden verursacht." ("Uncut", UK) |
|
As Whiskeytown finally ground to a halt in the wake of an astonishing
number of personal changes following Faithless Street (coupled with record
company problems that kept their final album, Pneumonia, from reaching
stores until two years after it was recorded), Ryan Adams ducked into
a Nashville studio for two weeks of sessions with Gillian Welch and David
Rawlings. While arch traditionalists Welch and Rawlings would hardly seem
like a likely match for alt-country's bad boy, the collaboration brought
out the best in Adams; Heartbreaker is loose, open, and heartfelt in a
way Whiskeytown's admittedly fine albums never were, and makes as strong
a case for Adams' gifts as anything his band ever released. With the exception
of the Stones-flavored "Shakedown on 9th Street" and the swaggering
"To Be Young (Is to Be Sad, Is to Be High)," Heartbreaker leaves
rock & roll on the shelf in favor of a sound that blends low-key folk-rock
with a rootsy, bluegrass-accented undertow, and while the album's production
and arrangements are subtle and spare, they make up in emotional impact
whatever they lack in volume. As a songwriter, Adams concerns himself
with the ups and downs of romance rather than the post-teenage angst that
dominated Whiskeytown's work, and "My Winding Wheel" and "Damn,
Sam (I Love a Woman That Rains)" are warmly optimistic in a way he's
rarely been before, while "Come Pick Me Up" shows he's still
eloquently in touch with heartbreak. Adams has always been a strong vocalist,
but his duet with Emmylou Harris on "Oh My Sweet Carolina" may
well be his finest hour as a singer, and the stripped-back sound of these
sessions allows him to explore the nooks and crannies of his voice, and
the results are pleasing. Whiskeytown fans who loved the "Replacements-go-twang"
crunch of "Drank Like a River" and "Yesterday's News"
might have a hard time warming up to Heartbreaker, but the strength of
the material and the performances suggest Adams is finally gaining some
much-needed maturity, and his music is all the better for it. (by Mark
Deming , AMG)
|
Inselplatte #3 in Jahresliste 
Plattentipp 
#41 Sounds(2009)
eins von 1001 Alben, die Ihr hören solltet, bevor das Leben vorbei ist! (2008)
eins von 100 Insel-Alben von Günter Ramsauer (1961-2002)
