Ryan Adams - Love is Hell Review

Ryan Adams Love is Hell

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Tracklist:
1. Political Scientist
2. Afraid Not Scared
3. This House Is Not for Sale
4. Anybody Wanna Take Me Home
5. Love Is Hell
6. Wonderwall
7. Shadowlands
8. World War 24
9. Avalanche
10. My Blue Manhattan
11. Please Do Not Let Me Go
12. City Rain, City Streets
13. I See Monsters
14. English Girls Approximately
15. Thank You Louise
16. Hotel Chelsea Nights

Ranking: #20 for 2004

user rating

4.2
excellent

Chart.

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On 12 Lists

5.0
classic

Tapeworm USER (12 Reviews)

2005-01-14 | 32 comments | 2,135 views

This album was originally released as two EP's. Well, originally it was recorded as an album, but the record complany didn't want to let him release it. So he went off to a shack somewhere and screwed around and had some fun making the ever-so-disliked-by-critics "KcorNLlor". The record company didn't want "Love Is Hell" to be counted as an album release, and compromised by releasing it as two EP's. These EP's sold so well in the first 5 months that the record company was proven wrong, and "Love is Hell" was released as an album.

After leaving Whiskeytown, this is Adams' fourth solo effort, and his best to date. Departing a lot more from the country tinge, but still holding some of it, Adams creates a gentle but stirring record of immense beauty.

Track by Track:
01 Political Scientist
A beuatiful song to start the album. Simple piano chord progression, with story-like lyrics. Realy insistant singing, and then a really nice chorus comes in. The song changes up completely about half way through, and really takes off. This song is brilliant. 5/5

02 Afraid Not Scared
Acoustic guitar work here is really cool and simple, and Adams' voice just soars above it the whole time. Some drums come in, and you think you've got a chorus, and then the real chorus comes in, and it is one of my favourite choruses ever. "I'm getting really cold and I'm looking at you". It is incredibly emotional, and his voice is just straining, and its wonderful. 5/5

03 This house is not for sale
This track isn't quite as good as the first two, but is still rather good. The song is one big metaphor for feeling like someone's taking something from you that you are not willing to give. It is really drum driven, and acoustic based, and it flows together really really well. 4/5

04 Anybody Wanna Take Me Home
This song was actually allowd onto "Rock N Roll", but seemed very out of place there. It fits perfectly here, and begins with some really cool picked out electric guitar. The pre chorus part is really cool, and the chorus again sees Adams' voice soaring above the music, and to a great effect. The post chorus part is my favourite part of the song, even if the lyrics are a little weak. 4.5/5

05 Love Is Hell
This song comes out strong, and then drops off to nothing but a floor tom in the verses, with some weird chords strummed every now and then. The lyrics are really cool, and the chorus is one of my favourites on the record. This song is brilliant musically, and lyrically. The edge on his voice in the chorus is awesome. 5/5

06 Wonderwall
My second favourite cover of all time. I heard somewhere that Oasis now actually play this version of the song. He keeps it low and quiet for about half the song, much longer than in the original. The way he sings the song is so delicate, and gives it so much more feeling than it originally had in my opinon. Extra instruments come in one at a time (high fingerpicked guitar, bass, piano). 5/5

07 The Shadowland
This song is piano based, and is close to being my favourite on the record. The lyrics are incredible, and again, are rather story based. The great thing about this album is that, judging by the title, you'd think that all the songs are about Adams' failed relationships, but some of them (like this one) are about really screwed up marriages, and abuse. There is a slight effect on his voice for a lot of the song, and when the effect comes off, the song gets brilliant. A cello comes in, and some acoustic guitar, and an electric guitar that peeps in and out. A simple drumbeat drives this song to a really great solo, and end. 5/5

08 World War 24
This song has a really good acoustic part, and is rather upbeat sounding. The chorus is pretty awesome, but I can't really discern what it is about. The bridge part is where the song gets good, and the ensuing cries of "I'm all yours" are the highlight. 4/5

09 Avalanche
Another one of my favourite tracks. Really nice piano, and a laid back drum beat. The lyrics are sooooo nice. The chorus comes in, and it is really beautiful. The part after the chorus, when Adams' says "When it's over" is one of the best moments I know. An electric guitar fades in, in a really weird way, and it is just perfect. 5/5

10 My Blue Manhattan
The first track off the second EP. This song is really really atmospheric. There are some really unexpected chord sequences, and his singing at the start is high pitched and really gentle. He drifts in and out of the high pitched-ness, and this song works really well. A violin comes in and adds beauty, and argh, it's so good. 5/5

11 Please Do Not Let Me Go
A country tinged song, with little bits of slide guitar. This song holds a link to Adams' 2001 album "Gold". The lyrics are really cool. Again, the range of the love theme is stretched. Sort of. The rhythm of the acoustic, and the guitar playing in general in this song, is really great. And it comes through nicely. Best part: Adams sneering "True love ain't that hard to find. Not that you will ever know..." 4/5

12 City Rain, City Street
This song is upbeat, with electric guitars powering it. He sings about a city, obviously, and this song is really visual. It is a weaker point of the album, but still ranges and changes a lot in it's allotted time, and the point just after half way is where it takes off. A really great line comes in, and it gets good. 3.5/5

13 I See Monsters
This song is brilliant. The acoustic playing is absolutely cool. The singing matches the strange acoustic riff very well, and the pre chorus is stunning. Adams' voice alone holds so much delicate power, and we really see that in this track. The key changes, and the song gets absolutely friggin' incredible. I love it. 5/5

14 English Girls Aproximately
This song doesn't feel like it fits particularly well, and is another throwback to "Gold". It is Adams singing about English girls, pretty much. The start could easily put you off, but again, this song gets really good. The vocals make the song sound really edged out country. This song though, is a low point. 3.5/5

15 Thank You Louise
This song is brilliant, again. The vocals in the verses are just soooo good. The first two lines see the vocals slide up and down in a delicate scale, and then piano and violin come in for a short chorus. This song is just so (dare I say it again) beautiful! 5/5

16 Hotel Chelsea nights
This song is rather good, and the vocals sound really cool. I have seen a few reviews which say that this song sucks, but I really like it. The singing is classic Adams, and it has some cool organ, and the chorus is really really cool. It sounds like something else he's done in the past in a way. It's another low point on a very high album. 3.75/5

I know I rated a lot of songs a 5, but I just couldn't bare to see them with a lower rating. The thing with this album was that when I reviewed it, I really wanted to hear a song that wasn't very good, just so my review would actually sound proper. As it stands now it looks really biased, but this is one of my favourite albums ever, and I think that Ryan Adams is really really brilliant.

5/5

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