Music > Styles > Alternative Rock > General

	buying more than one thing? add to bookbag(uses Multi-Item Price Optimization™) ...or intereact!

Heartbreaker
Ryan Adams
Retail Price (not our price): $15.98
Release Date: 2000-09-05
Manufacturer: Bloodshot Records
Format: Audio CD
Discs: 1

Track List
Now here, for your listening pleasure, the tracks...

Disc 1

Editorial Reviews (supplied by Amazon.com):

1) Amazon.com's Best of 2000
Heartbreaker opens with an argument about a Morrissey song before the band kicks into the sloppy and rollicking "To Be Young (Is to Be Sad, Is to Be High)," and certainly the gloomster's self-referential sadness hangs over Ryan Adams's songs. But Adams, the notoriously raucous frontman for the defunct Whiskeytown, is a country boy at heart if not in attitude, so there is a lingering pastoral beauty that imbues the album with a happy sweetness as well. That, along with Ryan's expressive, gravelly voice (equal parts Paul Westerberg and Merle Haggard), gives Heartbreaker enduring power. --Tod Nelson

2) Amazon.com
With a touch of Robyn Hitchcock in his vocal timbre, a smidgen of Steve Earle in his narratives and instrumental writing, and a heap of Gram Parsons in the fullness of his overall sound and structure, Ryan Adams steps well above Whiskeytown with Heartbreaker, his solo debut. By turns raucous, wistful, raspy, and simply sweet, Adams makes the most of a top-shelf acoustic band, including Gillian Welch and David Rawlings and even a guest spot from Emmylou Harris on the tenderly yearning "Oh My Sweet Caroline." There's little dependence on the usual alt-country twang and a far more rounded sense of textures here (the multiple vocal tracks on "Amy," for example, sound Beatles-esque), with glockenspiel, organ, and more signaling a sonic field of extensive depth. His spare guitar and stretched-thin vocal delivery alternate smartly with a bigger-shouldered guitar and throaty voice, never leaving behind a band conception straight out of Parsons's oeuvre. Adams signals occupancy of the post-alt-country vanguard--if there is such a thing. --Andy Bartlett

Customer Reviews (supplied by Amazon.com):
Average Customer Rating: 4.0 out of 5

1) It's a grower!   [Rating: 5 out of 5]
Give this album time and you'll never regret it. A quiet night in with a bottle of wine and you'll be hooked. You don't even need to be going through a tough break-up to appreciate it - although it helps! The melodies, the lyrics, even the album cover - everything is perfect. Enjoy!

2) it's okay...growing on me   [Rating: 4 out of 5]
I like to give the entire album a chance before I skip to more popular song; however, I found myself ready to move on very quickly. I started listening at track one...skip...track two...skip... etc. I think there are about 4 really good songs on here, but I'm kinda disappointed that the first actual CD I've bought in a LONG time since iTunes and Yahoo music have come along did not live up to my impression of it. The harmonica is bland. I dislike that aspect the most. Other than that, I guess it was pretty good for the amazon price. WOULD NOT pay anything more than $12 for this CD.

3) Outstanding   [Rating: 5 out of 5]
This is by far one of the greatest diplays of songwriting in an age where creativity is lost. Heartbreaker reveals Adam's amazing capability of being so musically diverse. Yes, it mostly has an alt-country feel, but I personally hate the use of that word for a genre. It comes down to songwriting for me, country-feel or not. This album truly is the product of a passion-fueled musical genius. Buy it!

4) life is hell   [Rating: 5 out of 5]
Ryan Adams/GillianWelch/David Rawlings.....What more do you want???? i still reach for this CD for OH MY SWEET CAROLINA....i'm a lousy guitar player but that one i can do....in my opinion Ryan Adams is our premier DIAMOND IN THE ROUGH...and should be honored as such....even his crapwork is better than most....mea culpa if i am wrong

5) A damn near perfect album   [Rating: 5 out of 5]
When I was just discovering Ryan Adams several years ago, a friend bought me this album, claiming it was his best. Not only is it Adams' best, it's one of the most consistent, timeless, ageless albums in the past 25 years. There's truly not a weak track on it and the pacing is perfect. It never gets too twangy, yet has the down-to-earth, dusty lyrics that define the country genre (ie. "Be My Winding Wheel" and "Oh My Sweet Carolina", where Adams knows exactly where to use Emmilou Harris' haunting voice). "Bartering Lines" channels a young Neil Young and "Come Pick Me Up"'s drunken, almost-too-simple lyrics are made perfectly bittersweet with the catchiest harmonica melody imaginable. "Damn Sam" is a track that longing, scorned boyfriends will listen to on repeat. Rare, relaxed, pop/country/bluegrass sublimity.