Ryan Adams

Ryan Adams - Ryan Adams
Critic Score
Based on 30 reviews
2014 Ratings: #384 / 1042
User Score
Based on 73 ratings
2014 Rank: #259
Liked by 3 people
September 8, 2014 / Release Date
LP / Format
- / Label
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CRITIC REVIEWS

91
Entertainment Weekly

It may be his 14th album, but the man still has some tricks up his tattooed sleeve.

90
American Songwriter

Ryan Adams as an album might not be uplifting but it sure is outstanding, reaffirming the singular talent of its namesake.

83
Consequence of Sound

Ryan Adams can be seen as an emotionally mature take from an artist who is able to think in terms of career, able to look beyond selfish reasons for creating art, and able to give fans something that can be both pleasant to listen to and enjoyable to perform on a nightly basis. 

80
Exclaim!

Adams is front and centre, backed by a well-practiced group of studio players, delivering 11 cuts that expertly walk the line between rock, folk and alt-country. The edges are rounded, with a big, chiming sound that make the record instantly listenable. 

80
The Skinny

Older and wiser perhaps, but with an undimmed sense of fun, Adams still runs circles 'round most pretenders to the country-rock throne.

80
AllMusic

If Ryan Adams was merely sonic candy, it would've been enough, but this is also one of Adams' cannily constructed records, one that runs deliberately lean. 

80
PopMatters

The result is this re-energised, Veteran smart and surprisingly groovy but bruised beauty. It’s not country, nor punk, but classic heartland rock ‘n’ roll with swagger. Lots of swagger. 

80
musicOMH

Like much of his best work, it’s a slow-burner of an album: at first listen, it sounds a pretty decent radio-friendly record, but it’s only on repeated plays that the full emotional scale which Adams is displaying becomes clear. 

78
Paste

It’s more of a rock ’n’ roll album than the rootsy, understated Ashes & Fire, and while Adams includes a handful of the wrenching ballads he does so well, bold electric guitars hold sway on most of these 11 new songs.

75
Under the Radar

What makes Ryan Adams so stunning is both its substance and restraint

70
Rolling Stone

This refreshingly focused set resolves on the chiming "Tired of Giving Up." An unfettered declaration of joy? Hardly. But hope, apparently, is a process.

70
The Line of Best Fit

Where past ventures could tend to exude a mannered self-consciousness, Adams acquits himself here with an easy and infectious sincerity.

70
Sputnikmusic

It’s what you would expect to come from an artist at his stage of his career. That’s precisely what makes Ryan Adams feel, for lack of a better word, safe

70
Drowned in Sound

The real joy of Adams’ back catalogue is that both his vocal mannerisms and skill as a guitarist have allowed him to take a versatile approach to his songwriting; both are evident on Ryan Adams, but the one aspect that does suffer is his lyricism.

60
DIY

Whilst there are no real lows on the album, the highs are equally not of the sky-scraping variety

58
A.V. Club

Ryan Adams is, for better or for worse, just another Ryan Adams record

43Music
69

safe

83

Let's call it what it is: Ryan Adams is one of the best singer/songwriters of the past decade. On his 14th album he delivers once again. His self titled album is a dime. My one critique is on the repetitiveness that you find in a lot of his songs, but I'm not complaining. Great Job Mr. Adams.

95

Being an amazing 14th album shouldn't really be a thing but Adam's somehow one-upped himself on Ashes and Fire and came through with this.

Best Tracks: My Wrecking Ball, Kim, Gimmie Something Good, Stay With Me
Worst Tracks: I guess Shadows

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Track List

1Gimme Something Good
3:55
85
2Kim
3:26
85
3Trouble
3:47
84
4Am I Safe
4:32
90
5My Wrecking Ball
3:08
91
6Stay with Me
3:06
89
7Shadows
5:22
88
8Feels Like Fire
4:25
85
9I Just Might
3:29
84
10Tired of Giving Up
3:40
86
11Let Go
3:43
93
Total Length: 42 minutes
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Added on: June 30, 2014