To Be Young (Is To Be Sad, Is To Be High) March 5, 2009

I know it’s technically a different track, but I get a real kick out of the way Heartbreaker starts.  As a Morrissey fan, to hear one of your favorite artists debating whether or not you can find “Suedehead” on certain albums is a real treat.  For the record, “Suedehead” is on Viva Hate and Bona Drag.  Ryan was totally right, Bona Drag is a collection of the singles from the first album (and some non-album releases).  Anyway, enough about Morrissey, onto the topic of this whole blog.

This song has been dismissed by quite a few people as a Bob Dylan knockoff.  I can hear their argument to a certain extent, but I think it was just very heavily influenced by Dylan.  Really, it’s always reminded me of classic country music, back when it was OK for artists to be a little rough around the edges.  The quack of the guitars resembles the old Bakersfield sound, which is something that has been missing from country for a long time.  There are the wild “AW MAN!!!”-s that tend to find their way out right after the choruses, and it all makes for a gritty, groovy good time. 

My only gripe about this one is that, after seeing Ryan Adams four times, I still haven’t heard it live!

My Winding Wheel February 22, 2009

I’ve expressed in several other posts on here that I never really saw Heartbreaker as the amazing album that a lot of other fans do.  I feel like it has some good songs and a few that are absolutely amazing, such as “Oh My Sweet Carolina” and today’s song: “My Winding Wheel.”  It’s a pretty simple folk song, all built around a loose guitar rhythm and lyrics about lovving someone who has other men on her mind.  What’s interesting about it is the fact that this song isn’t sad, though.  Rather than sitting around, feeling sorry that he isn’t up to her standards, the narrator is defiant and challenges her to go out and try to find someone better.

The chorus is one of his best.  “Buy a pretty dress/Wear it out tonight/For anyone you think could outdo me/Oh, better still/Be my winding wheel” truly says it all.  But, to be honest with you, I don’t know what a “winding wheel” could be.  I mean, I guess every wheel winds…  I just don’t really understand the words in the line.  I completely get what he’s saying, but the term just doesn’t really click with me.  I feel like this song is the highlight of his folkier material, and I’m surprised it isn’t a regular in his setlists.

Sweet Lil Gal (23rd/1st) February 13, 2009

I think this song was the perfect way to end Heartbreaker.  I imagine it wasn’t easy to pick a closing track, though.  There are wild rockers, straightforward folk tunes, and just about everything in between.  So it only makes sense to pick a track that’s different sonically and thematically, right?  It’s set in New York City and deals with someone stealing someone else’s shirt, which is something that can’t be said for any other song on the album.  Really, I’ve always felt that ”Sweet Lil Gal” sounds like something that could have been on Love Is Hell or 29, but somehow was written several years too soon.

It’s got a really open, almost live sound to it.  The song’s production isn’t slick or poppy (the rest of the album isn’t, either), but probably could have fared well as a single had it been recorded differently.  Of course, I like having it as an album track that only those in the know get to experience…  (that was soooooo indie kid of me)

Oh My Sweet Carolina February 5, 2009

This was one of the first Ryan Adams songs I liked, and I’m really happy to see that he’s been playing it live again.  Maybe I’ll get to hear it when I go down to Nashville and catch him on March 15.  It’s so different from his other songs, though.  It’s not a bad difference, though.  While some may argue that it sounds like he’s holding himself back, that’s definitely not the case.  This is one of those songs that needs to be simple to get its message across, and that’s exactly what he did with it. 

Really, the backing vocals courtesy of Emmylou Harris are better than any big budget choir, and that simple guitar part says more than any experienced orchestra could.  There are some great live performances featuring harmonica that really add to the song, but it was unfortunately left off of the recording.  I’m a big fan of when he busts out the harp, mostly because it’s like the poor man’s woodwind section.  It can really add a lot of emotion to a song when used properly, and it really takes this song to the next level. 

This song is so lonely and remorseful, looking back at how he runs away from everything.  He misses his home, but feels like he can’t go back on his own.  The final verse is the saddest, where he sings about missing his family, and saying “Up here in the city, it feels like things are closing in/The sunset’s just my lightbulb burning out.”  Damn…

Shakedown On 9th Street January 26, 2009

If I’ve ever felt an “Oh shit…” moment at a concert, it would have to be the first time I saw Ryan Adams (and the Cardinals) live.  It was at Foellinger Auditorium in Champaign, Illinois.  I was impressed with the set, but when they started doing “Shakedown On 9th Street”, I knew that we were in for something.  I wasn’t really sure what, but I had a feeling I was going to like it…  The song was an amazing mess of punk, classic country and jam rock all smashed into each other.  It was probably the most brutal live performance I’ve ever seen…

The album version is pretty great, too.  Really, I don’t see how you could go wrong with this song.  It has one of the most bad-ass lines I’ve ever heard: “I was just gonna hit him/But I’m gonna kill him now.”  He says it with this snarl that almost reminds me of a young Elvis.  (You know, if Elvis sang about real fights…)

Also, does anyone know what a “kickin’ machine” is?

Damn, Sam (I Love A Woman That Rains) January 19, 2009

This is one song that I feel like I can’t get enough of…  Really, there’s just something about those short songs that always leaves you hanging.  Wilco’s “Bob Dylan’s 49th Beard” is the same way for me, as is “Girlfriend in a Coma” by The Smiths.  As a songwriter, I’ve written a lot of things that feel complete when they’re only two minutes long, and it actually takes effort to know when to stop.  You always want to add a bridge section…  Or another verse…  Or another chorus… 

“Damn, Sam” is really bare and vulnerable, too.  For some reason, he’s got a thing for girls who just aren’t right.  Maybe he goes to these troubled women thinking he’ll be able to make things better for them and fix everything.  Of course, it’s not that simple.  However, while that’s a possibility, there’s another that’s just as likely.  His life is a very unhappy one, and he finds it hard to relate to people experiencing success and good times.  He really hits it off with women who are also down on their luck, and he’s openly admitting it. 

Really, the song is kind of funny in a way and sad in another.  It’s really odd to think of someone who sees a woman’s sadness as a turn-on.  Really, I think that says a lot about the narrator…

Don’t Ask For The Water January 1, 2009

I’ve always felt like Heartbreaker was a mediocre album.  While it contained some truly great songs, there was a lot of material that just never did much for me.  While the songs were decent (by my expectations for Ryan Adams’ music), it seemed like they just blended in with the furniture.  “Don’t Ask For The Water” was one of those songs.  It always kind of bothered me, too.  I really like the lyrics, and the version featured on the Exile on Franklin Street bootleg really appealed to me.  The recording that appeared on Heartbreaker just seemed too empty for me. 

The bootleg version features some nice crying electric guitar leads that really add to the emotion in the lyrics.  It doesn’t sound nearly as country as the album version, but there’s a very nice Beatles-esque quality to it.  (Similar to AMY)  It makes you wonder how many of the other songs could have received this treatment, which would have made Heartbreaker a much different album.  While there is a rugged charm to Heartbreaker, a lot of the material might have benefited from a more polished sound, similar to what Wilco did on Summerteeth. 

“Don’t Ask For The Water” didn’t live up to its recorded potential and deserves to be revisited.  It hasn’t been played since 2002, which is when the shows became much more of a full band affair.  The bootleg version could be a great addition to a set, and I hope the band considers it.

AMY December 15, 2008

I can still remember the first time I listened to Heartbreaker, back when I was in high school.  I got a kick out of the Morrissey-related intro, “To Be Young”, and “My Winding Wheel.”  So I was ready for another country/folk rock song and, instead, got “AMY.”  It’s pleasantly Beatlesesque:  it features mellotron and a string-laden bridge that has a retro vibe while keeping strong modern alternative overtones.  The vocal delivery in the “Into your beautiful garden” part shows obvious late Beatles influence. 

The lyrics are about that ever-present theme of lost love, where the narrator is desperately hoping that Amy still has feelings for him.  He looks back at how good things were while he was in the relationship, coming to the realization that it shouldn’t have ended.  This is what he thinks could be “God shining through to me/I guess.”  As the song progresses, he becomes even more desperate.  The second verse revolves around the narrator going to the places he and Amy used to visit, hoping he’ll get a chance to win her back.  While it’s for a different reason, the Waylon Jennings song “The Wurlitzer Prize” comes to mind.  It contains the line: “I haunt the same places we used to go/Missing you through and through/It helps me remember you.” 

Anyway, when he gets there, he realizes that Amy isn’t there.  But even if she was, why would she want him back?  His attitude changes as he wonders “Is god playing evil tricks on me?”  He then asks, once again, the question that is the focal point of the song: “Oh, I love you Amy/Do you still love me?”

Amy never provides an answer, probably because he never gets a chance to actually confront her.  All he is left with are the memories of how great things used to be and the knowledge that he isn’t going to get that second chance he hoped for.

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