You Like It Or You Don't

Two words dudes- Alternative Country.

Now, I bet you're thinking, what the hell is alternative country? Where did this genre come from and the biggest question of all- is it any good?

According to my sources (my sources being the same sources you have, the internet), alt-country became popular around the 1960s, with peeps like Gram Parsons and The Byrds. Artists like Neil Young and Wilco (who have an album on the countdown) have made the combination of country and experimental music/rock/indie successful. Some say a young man named Ryan Adams is also a trooper at making good alt-country, but I beg to differ.

The album in review, Heartbreaker, was the first solo album for Adams. It came out ten years ago when he decided to trek out on his own without his band, Whiskeytown. If you were to Google this album and then look at my review you'd probably be a little confused. All the reviews speak highly of Adams, saying this album is a masterpiece, great alternative country, blah blah blah blah blah. I'll tell you what it really is- it's boring!

Now, I'm not saying that compared to punk, rock, grunge, etc, it's boring. I'm simply saying this album is nothing to rave about. For a majority of the songs it felt like Adams didn't really put a whole lot of effort into his music.

Of course there were a couple of good tunes. I liked the song "To Be Young (Is To Be Sad, Is To Be High)" a song with just the right mixture of pop, twang and grit (no, that's not a genre) to create something worth recording. Songs like "My Winding Wheel", "Bartering Lines" and "Why Do You Leave" also throw some good stuff in there.

One song, "Oh My Sweet Carolina" started out all right. With just a guitar and Adams, it made you feel like you were sitting under a shade tree in Alabama. But then, it all came crashing down. Emmylou Harris just had to start singing, messing the whole thing up. If that name sounds familiar, it is! Harris also partnered up with Conor Oberst, the lead singer of Bright Eyes, who made the first album we reviewed on this blog. You can read that review at http://summermusicproject.blogspot.com/2010/06/and-countdown-begins.html

Listening to the album a second time around I could see a little bit more talent, a little bit more potential. You obviously hear Adams has a good voice, but this just wasn't his best album. Alternative and country aren't the easiest genres to mix and you've got to have a good sense of your musical self to do it well. I haven't listened to Adams more recent stuff other than a cover he did a of Oasis's "Wonderwall", which was good! Just listening to this cover made me confident that Adams is figuring out who he is, in a musical sense, and what kind of music he wants to make. That said, this cover, in my opinion, definitely does NOT top the Oasis version of the song, which is one of my favorite songs of all time.



But you can decide for yourself right here!



Overall, Ryan Adams has talent. It's just much harder to find in this particular album. Listen at your own risk.

-Whitni

Gram Parson, who was a country rock musician, said this of alternative country-
"It's music...either it's good or it's bad... either you like it or you don't!"