The Hardest Part February 16, 2009

When I first listened to Jacksonville City Nights, this was the song that grabbed me first.  Part of that was because I watched the September documentary before I listened to the album, and there’s a clip where Ryan is running through an early version in the studio.  It was kinda different from the recording on the album, but it was enough to get me hooked on the song.  I was a big fan of “What Sin Replaces Love” also, but was a little disappointed to find it wasn’t included on the album. 

This has one of my all-time favorite Ryan Adams & the Cardinals moments.  It’s that part near the end where he just wails right through the swelling bridge, singing: “I’ve been turned around/I’ve been mystified/By true love.”  I love how his voice kind of overpowers the microphone and distorts as  it peaks.  There’s so much emotion in there, and I’m really glad that even though the sound quality at that particular moment in the song isn’t exactly perfect, they kept it.  I read somewhere that he kept a lot of takes with mistakes if he felt they captured the intended emotions.  Well, in this case, it absolutely worked.

My Heart Is Broken January 25, 2009

I’ve mentioned several times on both of my blogs how I feel like short songs can really say a lot.  There’s also the fact that, if it’s good enough, it will always leave you wanting more.  That’s just one of the reasons that “Girlfriend In A Coma”, “Drink!” and “Magick” are all so high on my iTunes play count.  If you listen to a lot of old country and rock recordings (we’re talking 1950s/1960s), a lot songs fell around two minutes in length.  With the old school country theme found on Jacksonville City Nights, it’s no surprise that seven of the album’s songs fall short of three minutes.  Honestly, couldn’t you hear “My Heart Is Broken” being sung by Willie Nelson or Merle Haggard? 

A lot of the lyrics tend not to go in-depth with the situations, either.  Sure, there are tracks like “Hard Way To Fall” that offer details like how the girl reads her magazines.  But for the most part, the songs on this album are simple, the best example being today’s song.  While it’s a really nice song, I feel like it probably took him the same amount of time to write it that it takes to listen to it…

Dear John January 10, 2009

This song has been the cause of quite a few debates between Ryan Adams fans, and I’m always looking forward to getting in the middle of it.  Of course, the song was first released on Jacksonville City Nights with a guest appearance by its co-writer, Norah Jones.  I wasn’t too crazy about it until I heard it live, with soaring harmonies courtesy of Neal Casal.  I was absolutely blown away…  A while later, when I was reading that the band would be releasing an EP with older songs re-recorded, the fact that they were going to do a live-in-the-studio take of “Dear John” had me sold. 

While I definitely do admire Norah Jones’ writing abilities, I really just wasn’t impressed by her vocals on the album version.  It’s a very emotional song, and I felt like her voice was too tame and subdued on it.  While the Cardinalized version sounds like someone weeping, the recording with Norah Jones is someone who’s managing to hold it all in.  I feel like the version on Follow The Lights also features what is simply a better vocal performance by Ryan.  It seemed like he struggled a little bit when recording the harmonies, but when he’s performing the lower notes, it sounds much better.

But, then again, I just really like Neal’s voice.  His voice seems to compliment RA’s perfectly, on the recordings and during live performances.  His singing on “Dear John” is cathartic and wistful, something I feel Norah Jones just wasn’t able to produce.  I can’t say I’ve heard any pre-Neal live performances of the song, so I’d be interested to hear how you think they compare… (I’m assuming Catherine Popper did Neal’s part)

Neal Casal solo cover of “Dear John”:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXU8OyWwfmc

Hard Way To Fall January 2, 2009

An interesting thing I’ve noticed in Ryan Adams’ lyrics is how important responsibility seems to be.  In the majority of the songs that discuss the end of a relationship, there’s a strong blame towards one of the people.  This one is no different, with the line “We used to be something/But something happened to me/Oh my God/When I was free” saying it all.  The narrator in this song was in a really great relationship with a person he had a serious connection with.  However, he became a different person than he had been when they fell in love…

This song has some of my favorite lyrics on Jacksonville City Nights.  The one that takes the cake for me is “See how she flips from the back to the front/Reading magazines/Oh my God/I miss those things.”  That line is brilliant because it’s such a real-life situation.  When you look back at people you used to know, those are the kinds of things you remember.  The narrator remembers all of his ex’s little quirks, like totally freaking out when she loses her car keys.  The fact that they aren’t together is upsetting, but the fact that he’s missing out on all of those moments is what makes it so devastating. 

This song reminds me of classic country music from the 1950s-1970s because of the lyrics addressing her new man.  He tells him “If it’s gotta be you/Treat her nice/Hold her hand/And tell her twice/That she doesn’t have to worry/and it will be alright.”  It’s so mature and gentlemanly of him…  But being mature doesn’t make it easy, which is why he has to tell himself “It’s alright this time…”

So if you have someone you love, treat them right.  This song shows what happens when you don’t…

Games December 26, 2008

“Games” is a fairly straightforward song about what happens after a relationship ends.  And, just to clarify, when I say “after a relationship ends”, I don’t mean two people realizing that they’re growing apart and leaving each other in a mutual split.  I’m talking about a messy breakup where nothing remains but a whole lot of bitterness.  It stopped being fun and became a competition between the two of them (the “games”). 

The narrator of the song describes his former love in ways that aren’t too flattering.  He says “You aren’t but a fire on my sad estate/Burning my house to the ground.”  What he’s left with isn’t much, but she still kicks him when he’s down.  He even compares it to her riding him “where the taxis don’t ride.”  After all of the things she says and does, he feels worse than the original pain…  “A million times quicker than the pain/Oh, games”

The second verse doesn’t seem quite as bad as the first.  While the first conjures up images of a confrontation between the two of them, the second seems lonely instead of angry.  “You ain’t but a telegram nobody’s sending” is his way of dismissing her importance.

The End December 14, 2008

You know, I can’t say I’ve ever been to Jacksonville, North Carolina or that I know anyone who has.  I don’t know anything about it, really.  But if I go from what Ryan Adams says about it in his songs, it’s a pretty terrible place.  Just take a look at the chorus from this song (one of my favorites from the appropriately titled Jacksonville City Nights):

“Oh, Jacksonville/How you burden my soul
 How you hold all my dreams captive
 Jacksonville/How you play with my mind
 Oh, my heart goes bad/suffocating on the pines in Jacksonville
The End/The End/The End“

Those are some heavy words, ones that you can’t just throw around about a town/person. (Also, interestingly enough, if you listen near the end of the song, he changes it to “Jacksonhell” for one line)  Obviously this song is about someone’s troubled past.  All of his problems begin when he was born, with the absence of a father  Jacksonville was home, and all it was going to do was hold him back if he didn’t get out.  While the chorus is cathartic, the strong points in this song are the verses.  One of Ryan Adams’ best qualities is the way he’s able to snake extra words into lines.  For example, one of the best parts of this song is, without a doubt: 

“At the diner in the morning for a plate of eggs
 The waitress says “Here’s your change”
 I say, “Naw, it’s cool, just keep it…”
 And I read up my news/I start thinking about her
 And I wonder if anybody here besides me’s got any decent secrets”

All of the extra syllables that get stuffed in there show that this song was written to get an idea across, not just for the sake of writing a song.  It’s also reflective of the song’s message.  Some lines flow smoothly without a hitch, while others don’t really go with the melody and come off sounding a little rough and messy.  Maybe it isn’t intentional, but the delivery is just another way of saying some days are better than others.  Maybe not even some days, it could be about lives.  While there are people who manage to live happy, healthy lives, there are others who aren’t as lucky.  The way they live is represented by the “rough and messy” lyrics I mentioned earlier.

This song is about the kind of heartbreak that isn’t caused by a person, but by a life and a past… (and a supposedly shitty town)