Demolition

by Ryan Adams

Overview

On more than one occasion, Ryan Adams has played solo acoustic gigs that consisted almost entirely of songs he wrote the afternoon of the show, and after his 2001 album, Gold, finally gave him an audience outside the small but rabidly enthusiastic alt-country scene, the very prolific Adams seemed to waste no time laying down as many songs as he possibly could. If one believes what one reads in New Musical Express, Adams cut about four albums' worth of material during sessions with various musicians and producers within the space of a year (not even counting the much talked about but to date unheard four-track recordings of blues versions of all the songs from the Strokes' debut disc, Is This It). Sensibly enough, Adams and his record company decided that releasing such a huge flood of material wasn't in the best interest of either artist or label, and instead Adams cherry-picked these sessions into a 13-track collection, Demolition. Appropriately enough, Demolition sounds less like "the third Ryan Adams album" than a collection of stray tunes -- some of which are very good, especially the lazy summer vibe of "Tennessee Sucks," the up-tempo acoustic twang of "Chin Up, Cheer Up," the winsome "Cry on Demand," and the heading-off-the-rails rocker "Starting to Hurt." But more than a few of the other songs on the album sound like rough drafts rather than completed works, and Demolition seems to lack a strong thematic or structural center. In short, Demolition sounds like a bunch of demos, which of course is just what it is, and while it preserves a few strong tunes and offers an insight into Adams' creative process, it also makes clear that even the rising wunderkind of Americana can benefit from a bit of judicious editing and polishing. ~ Mark Deming

Product Details

Release Date:	09/24/2002
Label:	Lost Highway / Universal Distribution
UPC:	0008817033310

Tracks

1. Nuclear
2. Hallelujah
3. You Will Always Be the Same
4. Desire
5. Cry on Demand
6. Starting to Hurt
7. She Wants to Play Hearts
8. Tennessee Sucks
9. Dear Chicago
10. Gimmie a Sign
11. Tomorrow
12. Chin up, Cheer Up
13. Jesus (Don't Touch My Baby)

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Ryan Adams   Primary Artist,Bass,Piano,Guitar,Harmonica,Synthesizer,Drum Machine,Guitar (Electric)
Ethan Johns   Bass,Drums,Ukulele,Organ (Hammond),Guitar (Electric),Vocals (Background)
Brad Rice   Guitar (Electric)
Julianna Raye   Vocals (Background)
Michael Blair   Djembe
Gillian Welch   Vocals (Background)
Bucky Baxter   Pedal Steel,Vocals (Background),Guitar
Mikael Andersson   Dobro
John Paul Keith   Guitar
Greg Leisz   Guitar (Steel),Dobro
Sheldon Gomberg   Bass
Chris Stills   Guitar (12 String Acoustic),Vocals (Background),Organ (Hammond)
Svante Henryson   Cello

Technical Credits

Ethan Johns   Engineer,Producer
Warren Peterson   Engineer
Michael Blair   Producer
David Domanich   Engineer,Producer
Dan Donahue   Photography
Ryan Adams   Design,Composer,Producer,Art Direction
Luke Lewis   Producer
Carrie Hamilton   Composer
Chad Brown   Engineer
Frank Callari   A&R,Producer,Artist Development
Gina R. Binkley   Design,Art Direction
Nathan Russell   Assistant Engineer
Bernie Grundman   Mastering