Day 0925 - Gold

Ryan Adams "Gold" (2001)

I have to admit that my earlier prejudice against Adams (as per my write-up for "Heartbreaker", day 902) was definitely unfounded.   This is another good album, this time in an alt-country vibe with more than a few nods to the rootsy folky rock of The Band.

Adams had wanted to make it a double album but his record company cut the last few songs and offered them up as a bonus disc on some versions of the album.   They would later refuse to release albums Adams had recorded and tore 3-4 potential albums to pieces in order to put together the next album they released... so much for artistic freedom.

"Gold" is at least a collection of songs that Adams wanted to present together.   It opens with the peppy "New York, New York" which got a lot of airplay after the September 11 attacks (which occurred just a few days after Adams filmed his music video in front of the NY skyline).   "Answering Bell" sounded familiar to me, and "When the Stars go Blue" is just lovely.   

 

The last track "Goodnight, Hollywood Boulevard" seems an appropriate closer with its piano and strings putting forward an 'end of night' feel.

Day 0684 - Nowhere

Ride "Nowhere" (1990)

The band had released a few EPs before settling in to record this, their debut full-length. 

I'm not usually a huge fan of shoegazer stuff, but this one actually tickled my fancy.  The melodies didn't seem quite as obscured by the wash of guitars etc. as is usually the case.  I found the grooves to be hypnotic and engaging, instead of boring and forgettable.

Day 0521 - A Walk Across the Rooftops

The Blue Nile "A Walk Across the Rooftops" (1983)

According to the book, being a fan of Blue Nile requires only patience.  The albums are all pretty similar but it takes them at least 5 years between releases.  Apparently even in being offered a recording deal it took them several months to come back with an answer for their record company.

There was a persistent story that the band had been commissioned to make an album by a company wanting to show off their hi-fi equipment and that the recording so impressed the company that they formed a record label to release the album.  Apparently though that is not true and the company had already released one or two things already; but it makes for a nice story.

The sound of this album is reminiscent of a few other artists of this era, in that these are essentially soulful pop songs but just steeped in instrumentation and production techniques of the 80s that maybe make them cleaner and colder than they want to be.  I liked it well enough.