Justin Markert
A bunch of stuff I like and think about.
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Justin’s Top Ten of 2011
3. Ashes & Fire by Ryan Adams
Ryan Adams has consistently been one of my favorite musicians over the last ten years. There’s a lot of hype around this album regarding Ryan’s “return to form” and that he finally made another good record. I call BS. Yes Ashes & Fire is a good record. (Norah Jones and Ryan Adams together is a no brainer. I swear you could take her last album, remove the vocals and have him sing all those songs and you wouldn’t even flinch while listening) But so are the Love is Hell eps which have taken a beating in the press for this album, being sited as the moment he began to downturn. His over abundance of releases shouldn’t be seen as negative. Ryan Adams is clearly a music fanboy that loves recording. Whether it be his attempt at garage rock on the under appreciated Rock n Roll, his Grateful Dead phase on Cold Roses, or even The Finger, the hardcore punk album he released with Jesse Malin, all of these releases show a versatility rarely seen in music, and if nothing else courage to not worry about the critics. And those critics have definitely been silences these past few months if the reviews of his solo-acoustic tour are any indication. The songs speak for themselves. Very excited to see him at the Ohio Theater in January.
