Rock N Roll [Explicit Lyrics]

( 7 )

Editorial Reviews

Barnes & Noble - Lydia Vanderloo
"Let me sing a song for you / That's never been sung before," pleads Ryan Adams at the start of Rock N Roll, named for the guiding passion of his fourth solo album. With an artist as indebted to his influences as Adams, it's hard not to read these lyrics ironically, but there's no faking the earnestness of his love affair this time out. Never content to be just an alt-country poster-boy -- a label he carried with his band Whiskeytown and his strum-and-twang solo debut, Heartbreaker -- Adams here finds his explosive musical talent doing the dirty with the sizzling sounds of the Stones, Paul Westerberg, Nirvana, Sonic Youth...you get the picture. And in case you don't,...
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Editorial Reviews

Barnes & Noble - Lydia Vanderloo
"Let me sing a song for you / That's never been sung before," pleads Ryan Adams at the start of Rock N Roll, named for the guiding passion of his fourth solo album. With an artist as indebted to his influences as Adams, it's hard not to read these lyrics ironically, but there's no faking the earnestness of his love affair this time out. Never content to be just an alt-country poster-boy -- a label he carried with his band Whiskeytown and his strum-and-twang solo debut, Heartbreaker -- Adams here finds his explosive musical talent doing the dirty with the sizzling sounds of the Stones, Paul Westerberg, Nirvana, Sonic Youth...you get the picture. And in case you don't, Adams sings certifiable rock lines such as "It's 1974 / Just like the day I was born," on the beefy hard-rock paean "1974," just to set the scene. Lyrically, he treads the border of rock clichés, singing about junkies "The Drugs Not Working", heartache "Wish You Were Here", and generally being lonely and f**ked up insert any track here. But just when you're beginning to wonder whether he's shooting from the hip or the heart, he tosses in a soul-baring ballad like the spare title cut, where he reveals, "I don't feel cool at all." On the melancholy jangle of "Anybody Wanna Take Me Home," Adams divulges his Smiths fandom as much as a deep insecurity. If Ryan Adams is trying on different guises, it's more a matter of a musical soul not resting in one place for too long than any cold calculation. And Rock N Roll -- which finds him playing nearly all the instruments, alongside barely noticeable cameos from Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong, ex-Hole bassist Melissa Auf Der Maur, and Adams's current sweetie, Parker Posey -- is a page in his musical diary, a 2003 state-of-the-nation paper. That said, it's a must-read.
All Music Guide - Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Ryan Adams is the male Courtney Love -- a hard-working hustler with impeccable taste who talks such a good game that it deliberately overshadows his music. Of course, Adams differs from Courtney in many crucial ways. For one, he's a workaholic, recording and releasing more albums than he should, which also points out that, unlike Love, he doesn't need a collaborator to help shove his songs over the goal. But the crucial similarity is that they're both students of rock history, conscious of what accounts for good taste within rock crit land, from 1973 to 2003. They don't just know the canon -- they want to be part of the canon, to the extent that it seems that they want to be the artist that all rock history has inextricably pointed to (or to paraphrase the far more eloquent Morrissey, they want to be the end of the family line). Which is why it rankles Adams when he's pigeonholed as an alt-country singer/songwriter (he's right -- he hasn't been alt-country since he left Whiskeytown) when Jack White steals his spotlight by doing a related, but not similar, spin on roots rock: he's so clearly the Important Artist of the Decade that he needs to pull the spotlight back on himself whenever it's shining somewhere else. With Gold in the fall of 2001, the wind was at his back -- his enfant terrible schtick was still relatively fresh, "New York, New York" became a post-9/11 anthem, and the music was eclectic enough to break him out of the alt-country ghetto, even as it was rootsy enough to still play to that core audience. By 2003, things were getting a little dicey for Adams, partially because he wouldn't shut up -- either to the press or on his online blog; he said many things to both, the most noteworthy being a bizarre pseudo-feud with the White Stripes, where he yo-yoed between calling Jack White a genius and kid's stuff -- and partially because he had diarrhea of the recording studio, cutting more stuff than Lost Highway could possibly release, particularly because he was moving further away from the label's core alt-country audience. They released the demos collection Demolition in 2002 but balked at Love Is Hell, his mope-rock tribute recorded with Smiths producer John Porter, but after some discussion, it was decided that Love Is Hell would surface as a pair of EPs, while Lost Highway would get a big, shiny new rock & roll record. Wearing his intentions on his sleeve in a nearly cynical manner, Adams called the album Rock N Roll, though in a fit of rebellious piss and vinegar, the artwork has it displayed as a mirror image: Llor n Kcor, which isn't quite Efil4zaggin, but the spirit is nonetheless appreciated. The title is so simple it belies the fact that this is a bit of a concept album on Adams' part, a conscious attempt to better the Strokes and the White Stripes at their own game while he performs a similar synthesis of glam rock and Paul Westerberg while dabbling in the new new wave of new wave spearheaded by Interpol to prove that he can do the arty thing too (though that proof is reserved for the Jeff Buckley-aping Love Is Hell). It's not just that the sound echoes bands from the past and future; the titles consciously reference other songs: "Wish You Were Here," "So Alive," "Rock N Roll," and "Boys" borrow titles from Pink Floyd, Love and Rockets, Led Zeppelin, and the Beatles/Shirelles, respectively; "The Drugs Not Working" reworks the Verve's "The Drugs Don't Work," "She's Lost Total Control" is a play on Joy Division's "She's Lost Control," "1974" harks back to the Stooges' "1969" and "1970," "This Is It" is an answer song to the Strokes' "Is This It," and "Note to Self: Don't Die" apes Norm MacDonald's catch phrase. These songs don't necessarily sound like the songs they reference, but there sure are a lot of deliberate allusions to other styles and bands: tunes that sound a bit like the Strokes, songs that sound like Westerberg, tracks patterned after Interpol but sounding like U2, and the glam songs that are meant to sound like T. Rex or the New York Dolls but come out as Stone Temple Pilots. While some of the material suggests that the record was written in a hurry -- instead of lyrics, "Wish You Were Here" sounds like a transcript of Tourette's syndrome -- many songs exhibit considerable studiocraft and songcraft, a reflection of Adams' exceptional taste and skill as a musician. But while some of the songs are undeniably catchy, they're essentially the sound of somebody responding to his influences and peers, sometimes in an alluring way, but not quite carving out a personal, idiosyncratic vision. That said, it's not a bad listen at all, particularly when Adams gets caught up in the sound of it all and sounds consumed by passion instead of mimicking it -- for reference's sake: "This Is It," "1974," "Luminol," and "Burning Photographs."
New York Times - Neil Strauss
A great, adrenaline-pumping rock album.
Rolling Stone - David Fricke
Here [Adams] is obsessively focused on things that truly matter: his favorite bands, killer hooks, the meaty, rude guitars he plays all over the place. Rock N Roll is exactly what he says it is.
Spin Magazine - RJ Smith
Even shapeshifters can have epiphanies. This feels like one. (B+)
Blender - Tony Power
With Rock N Roll, Ryan Adams has thrown off the trappings of underachievement and grabbed for the crown.

A great, adrenaline-pumping rock album.
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Product Details

  • Release Date: 11/4/2003
  • Label: Lost Highway
  • UPC: 602498610015
  • Catalog Number: 000137602
  • Sales rank: 63,632

Tracks

Disc 1
  1. 1 This Is It (3:19)
  2. 2 Shallow (4:04)
  3. 3 1974 (3:06)
  4. 4 Wish You Were Here (2:59)
  5. 5 So Alive (3:58)
  6. 6 Luminol (3:24)
  7. 7 Burning Photographs (4:12)
  8. 8 She's Lost Total Control (3:05)
  9. 9 Note to Self: Don't Die (2:13)
  10. 10 Rock N Roll (1:59)
  11. 11 Anybody Wanna Take Me Home (4:46)
  12. 12 Do Miss America (2:30)
  13. 13 Boys (3:31)
  14. 14 The Drugs Not Working (5:31)
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Album Credits

Performance Credits
Ryan Adams Primary Artist, Bass, Bass Guitar, Keyboards, Vocals, Background Vocals, Multi Instruments, Various
Paul Garisto Drums
Johnny T. Drums
Joe McGinty Piano
Joe McGrath Piano
Tony Shanahan Bass, Bass Guitar
Jamie Candiloro Bass, Bass Guitar, Hammond Organ
Melissa Auf der Maur Background Vocals
Billie Joe Armstrong Background Vocals
Jonathan Flaugher Bass, Bass Guitar
Johnny McNab Guitar
Parker Posey Background Vocals
Johnny T Voices
Johnny Pisano Bass, Bass Guitar
Technical Credits
Jim Barber Producer
Frank Callari Scenery
Eli Janney Engineer
Ted Jensen Mastering
Joe McGrath Engineer
Brad Rice Composer
Tony Shanahan Composer
Jesse Malin Spiritual Advisor
Ruddy Insert Photography
Jamie Candiloro Engineer
Tom Schick Engineer
Bob Gruen Insert, Insert Photography
James Barber Producer, Audio Production
Ryan Adams Composer, Costume Design
Lyor Cohen Scenery
Andy Nelson Scenery
Lauren Murphy Scenery
Ryan Smith Digital Editing
Richard Kern Cover Photo
Josh Grier Representation, Legal Advisor, Legal Counsel
Luke Lewis Scenery
Dawn Nepp Administration
Parker Posey Composer, Executive Producer
Johnny T. Yerington Composer
Julie Greenwald Scenery
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Customer Reviews

Average Rating 4
( 7 )
Rating Distribution

5 Star

(4)

4 Star

(0)

3 Star

(2)

2 Star

(1)

1 Star

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Sort by: Showing all of 7 Customer Reviews

  • Anonymous

    Posted October 1, 2010

    Billy Corgan he is not...

    I have no idea how this could be compared to any Smashing Pumpkins album. Not in vocal style or musical style, and that both SP and Ryan Adams have song titles that consist of years is not enough. This album makes me think of going to a bar, getting drunk, falling in love and getting your heartbroken all in one night. It was an excellent soundtrack as I walked along the highway home from work one rainy night. Give it a chance, straight up rock and roll

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  • Anonymous

    Posted October 1, 2010

    Westerberg's_Replacement?

    The songs on this album and Mr. Adam's other albums are well written, crafted, produced...etc.. But like a previous reviewer I have heard them before, and I can't help but think that these are Paul Westerberg/Replacements B-sides from twenty years ago, but without the Rimbaud-like lyrics. What a tribute to the best musical talent to come out of Minnesota since Dylan. Long live The 'Mats!

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  • Anonymous

    Posted October 1, 2010

    Summer of '69, baby!!!

    I love Bryan Adams! He rocks!

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  • Anonymous

    Posted October 1, 2010

    EMOTIONLESS

    From the first five seconds, it’s clear that Ryan Adams new record is an ELECTRIC record. Ryan made this one with just drummer Johnny T. and three or four guest bass players and a couple guest vocalists [including current flame I guess, Parker Posey, who is also given a co-writing credit on one song]. On a lot of the early cuts, it’s just Ryan screaming vocals over layered power guitars ala Foo Fighters or Smashing Pumpkins. As a matter of fact, I think on this record Ryan is really trying to BE Billy Corrigan [without shaving his head]. ‘This Is It’ opens with a slice of pure power pop [amazingly not the first single]. ‘1974’ [note similarity to Smashing Pumpkins title ‘1979’] has a good Fun House era Stooges groove, very similar to ‘TV Eye.’ ‘Wish You Were Here’ is musically interesting, but is dragged down by awful lyrics [CHORUS: “It’s all a bunch of s**t/And there’s nothing to do around here/ It’s totally f**ked/ I’m totally fu**ed/ Wish you were here”]. ‘So Alive’ is a great eighties groove [‘Strength’ by the Alarm meets U2’s ‘I Will Follow’] with some Morrisey meets Bono vocal styling. ‘Burning Photographs’ has a really cool reverbed and tremoloed [change in volume vs. vibrato :change in pitch] guitars. Who is this about? [“Pretty pictures in a magazine/ Everybody is so make believe it’s true/ I used to be sad/ Now I’m bored with you/ You’re doomed to repeat the past/ Cause nothing is going to last/ I burned all your photographs”] ‘Note to Self: Don’t Die’ is Ryan’s ‘Bullet with Butterfly Wings.’ Of course the title track, ‘Rock and Roll’ features just Ryan on piano, but he admits his problem out load: “Send all of my best to the band/ I don’t think I’ll make it to the show/ There’s this girl I can’t get out of my head.” ‘Anybody Want to Take Me Home’ is a nice song with it’s chiming 12 strings and sad boy alone in NYC lyrics, but it would be better for Adam Duritz / Counting Crows. ‘The Drugs Are not Working’ has more cool guitars with viobrato arm / wang bar dives over another Stooges groove winding up to the last two minutes of some wah-wah guitars and cheesy synthetic strings finally ending with about ten seconds of piano. It’s not a bad record. I can even see myself enjoying it as mindless pop entertainment in a sort of U2 October meets Smashing Pumpkins kind of way. But as any sort of artistic statement, forget about it. There’s no real EMOTION to this record at all, and that’s one of the things that made Ryan’s other solo and Whiskeytown enjoyable; there was a joy in just playing or an underlying sadness or anger that is totally NOT present on this record.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted October 1, 2010

    TRUE ROCK

    Ryan Adams is truly a great musician. At first i just bought this album because Time magazine made such a big thing about him. They got it all right. This guy's got talent. I recommend him to all music lovers. All of them!

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  • Anonymous

    Posted October 1, 2010

    A great rock n roll record

    I enjoy Ryan Adams for his ability to write great songs that sound familiar even when you hear them for the first time. This record is no different in that sense, but it is different. It is nothing like his other 4 cds, it is all about rocking out! This record fits nicely between Gold and Adam's punk group The Finger. It boasts big guitars and loud singing. Adams deserves all the props he gets for being a great musician.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted October 1, 2010

    UMMMM

    I don't like it. Adams has hidden his talent for this one. Ryan who??

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Sort by: Showing all of 7 Customer Reviews