However...this guy knows his stuff!
That's what I thought as soon as I finished listening to this album, which in its genre fully reflects the title, that is, rock'n'roll!
After the success of "Gold" and the single "New York, New York," at the end of 2003 Ryan Adams (and not Bryan, let's be clear...) comes out with this rough and melodic work just right, that never tires and has homogeneity as its strength.
Very fast rhythms with a rapid rock'n'roll right from the beginning with "This Is It," skilled in the guitar section that (quite a bit) recalls Interpol. Moving on, we encounter "Shallow," with a fairly shouted voice that brings us back to the Goo Goo Dolls and a quite unique lyric ("Girl, don't tell me how you want me tell me how to get through").
In "So Alive" the New York songwriter accentuates a very particular falsetto that gives the song the palm of the best of the album along with "Boys," another great indie rock track, with a very simple bass part that gets inside you on the first listen.
As it goes on, the rhythm doesn't drop except for the tenth track ("Rock N Roll") which by title should be the quintessential rock'n'roll-song and instead is a very sweet ballad, very intimate, of piano and bass lasting just two minutes. In "Note To Self: Don't Die" it borders on hard rock, with a somewhat heavy guitar structure but still quite uniform with the rest of the album.
All the songs on this album were written by Ryan Adams himself with some collaborations (such as Johnny T Yerington, Brad Rice, and Tony Shanahan).
This album will never become album of the year but for those who love rock'n'roll is a must-have, original or not...
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Rock’n’Roll is a direct and sincere album, right from the first tracks.
If you were looking for old Rock, you’re in the right place, otherwise, maybe not...