Prisoner
Ryan Adams
(PAX-AM/Blue Note Records)
Four stars
From the days when he emerged from North Carolina with alt-country band Whiskeytown to his steady growth into one of America’s great songwriters, Ryan Adams has always lurked just below superstar status. If it is possible to be underrated through years of sustained excellence, he has pulled it off.
The quality continues on Prisoner, a fine collection of fresh songs and new takes on heartache that demonstrate as much mastery as anything Adams has done. It combines surprising melodies with brilliant arrangements and affecting, urgent lyrics, reminding listeners this is a craftsman who can turn just about everything he touches into gold.
Adams fans will recognise the vibe. Fingerpicked electric guitar trills are set against a backdrop of jangly acoustic power-chord strumming. There is the same harmonica he has been carrying around at least since Cold Roses, now more than a decade old.
His familiar blend of muscle and vulnerability sparkles on Do You Still Love Me? And when on Shiver and Shake he sings, "I reach out for your hand but I know it isn't there," it feels like he is practically bleeding. If there is a flaw here, it lies in familiarity – Adams is hardly venturing beyond his comfort zone. But when you are this good, this is not a significant problem.
Better to sit back and appreciate a songwriter at the peak of his powers, with plenty to sing about and also the command to bring it home with authority.
* Associated Press
