ENTERTAINMENT

Talk About It: Ryan Adams is back, sounding strong

Mick Hatten
mhatten@stcloudtimes.com

There are some artists whom you hear and you just know.

It's love at first listen. You end up loving the first album of theirs that you buy, and they have you hooked for the rest of their career.

One of the most memorable experiences along these lines for me came in fall 2001. I went to the Electric Fetus and was browsing when I came upon a listening post that had Ryan Adams' then-latest release, "Gold," as one of the selections. I listened to only about 30 seconds of the first four songs ("New York, New York," "Firecracker," "Answering Bell," "La Cienega Just Smiled"), and I knew that I wasn't leaving the store without that CD.

The CD starts with great energy, unique lyrics and the vibe of something that you have heard many times ... but you were hearing it for the first time. There's parts of that album that feel like classic rock, country rock, Americana, alt-country ... basically hitting on all of my favorite genres.

A few months after buying the CD, I had the great fortune of seeing Adams in concert at the historic Orpheum Theatre with Leona Naess as his opening act. There were two life-sized cardboard cutouts of characters from "Star Wars" standing with spotlights on them as he and his band came onto the stage with music from the movies playing.

The set started a bit slow in terms of Adams' pacing between songs, but the performance of the music was outstanding. It only cemented that I needed to get everything he had recorded.

At that time, his discography included another solo album ("Heartbreaker") and three albums with his alt-country band Whiskeytown ("Faithless Street," "Strangers Almanac" and "Pneumonia").

I saw him live again in 2002 at the State Theatre, a somewhat infamous show in 2003 at First Avenue, and at the State Theatre with his band The Cardinals in 2004. In the 2003 show, Adams was all over the place and ranted about The Replacements' lead singer Paul Westerberg, was unhappy with the sound system and said toward the end of the show he just wanted to go home for Christmas.

Adams has admitted in several interviews that he was struggling with a number of personal issues during the period of the show. And, if you heard him say he just wanted to go home for Christmas, there was a sound of exhaustion, sadness and that he needed to remind himself who he was.

But he carried on, and his 2004 show was much more assured and showed his wide range of songwriting talents.

From 2003-11, he released 10 albums, an amazing output for any artist of any era. He's kind of his generation's Neil Young in that he has made albums with a variety of artists and genres (including heavy metal and punk).

It's a fascinating journey to listen to, and you have to admire his clear love of all kinds of music and ability to write songs in seemingly all the genres. After the release of "Ashes and Fire" in 2011, he had only a few albums that had limited releases.

In 2009, Adams was diagnosed with Meniere's disease, a mysterious and debilitating inner ear condition that causes vertigo and hearing loss.

As a fan, much like after that First Avenue show in 2003, I was worried that the world had heard the last of his music. Oh, knowing his propensity to write and love of the studio, there are hundreds of unreleased pieces that would likely become available. But would he release new material, or would I be able to see him again?

Thankfully, Adams has found ways to work through his Meniere's, and Sept. 9, he released a new self-titled album ("Ryan Adams"). Adams made another album between "Ryan Adams" and "Ashes and Fire" but decided to not release it because it was not the album he wanted to make — and it reportedly cost him into six digits to sit on it.

But "Ryan Adams" is a triumphant return. The first song, "Gimme Something Good," feels like a declaration of wanting to wash away the struggles and pain and wanting to do things on his terms. The album resonates an ache, but a strength, that he's made it through and is ready for a great new chapter.

Adams is such a wonderful talent, and to hear this album is a blessing.

Another blessing is that he's back on tour with a new band. I have tickets to see him Oct. 13 at the Northrop, and I'm really looking forward to it. If you connect with the music of artists on a deep level, you pull for them and want to enjoy more of their work.

Welcome back, Ryan. Here's hoping for many more years of good health and great music.

This is the opinion of music enthusiast Mick Hatten. Contact him atmhatten@stcloudtimes.com, call him at 259-3621 and follow him atwww.facebook.com/sctimesmick and on Twitter @MickHatten.