Ryan Adams
Demolition
On Sale Now
For $10.48

The question with every Ryan Adams release is which Ryan will show up this time. After fronting alternative country pioneers Whiskeytown, who combined the melodic rock of The Replacements with the twang of Gram Parsons, Adams went solo on 1999’s Heartbreaker, a desperately sad look at break-up that appeared to mark Adams' as a countrified Nick Drake. Then came 2001's paean to 1970s classic rock, Gold, where Adams explored influences like The Rolling Stones, The Band, and Elton John.

So what is the word on Demolition then? Well, Demolition is a different kind of release since it is all demos from assorted Adams’ projects. Known as one of the most prolific songwriters around, Adams handpicked the 13 songs on Demolition after plans for a multidisc demo box set were dashed. The results on this release then are a bit of everything. "Nuclear" is vintage Adams, a raw rock song with a bittersweet melody that would not be out of place on a Whiskeytown release, and "Hallelujah" is a pleasant harmonica-driven Dylan-esque number. Several of these tracks simply feature Adams and his guitar, the best of which is "Dear Chicago," which will no doubt appeal to Heartbreaker fans. "Starting to Hurt" begins with a Pixies-style bass line and contains a spacey lead guitar line that shows Adams adventuring into even different musical areas, as he strains his voice to deliver the impassioned chorus.

The very nature of this release means that cohesion will be a problem, but Adams has done a good job for the most part of putting together a solid collection of songs. In spite of a few duds ("Tennessee Sucks" especially), Demolition does nothing to disprove the notion that Adams is one of America's best songwriters, and something on here will appeal to just about every Adams fan.

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