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Heartbreaker | 
 enlarge | Artist: Ryan Adams
Label: Bloodshot Records
Category: Music
List Price: $15.98
Buy Used: $6.91
You Save: $9.07 (57%)
New (39) Used (13) from $6.91
Rating:  136 reviews
Sales Rank: 3732
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 5.6 x 5 x 0.5
MPN: 20071
UPC: 744302007120
EAN: 0744302007120
ASIN: B00004XSKU
Release Date: September 5, 2000
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Tracks:
| | (Argument with David Rawlings Concerning Morrissey) | | | To Be Young (Is to Be Sad, Is to Be High) | | | My Winding Wheel | | | AMY | | | Oh My Sweet Carolina | | | Bartering Lines | | | Call Me on Your Way Back Home | | | Damn, Sam (I Love a Woman That Rains) | | | Come Pick Me Up | | | To Be the One | | | Why Do They Leave? | | | Shakedown on 9th Street | | | Don't Ask for the Water | | | In My Time of Need | | | Sweet Lil Gal (23rd/1st) |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com's Best of 2000
Heartbreaker opens with an argument about a Morrissey song before the band kicks into the sloppy and rollicking "To Be Young (Is to Be Sad, Is to Be High)," and certainly the gloomster's self-referential sadness hangs over Ryan Adams's songs. But Adams, the notoriously raucous frontman for the defunct Whiskeytown, is a country boy at heart if not in attitude, so there is a lingering pastoral beauty that imbues the album with a happy sweetness as well. That, along with Ryan's expressive, gravelly voice (equal parts Paul Westerberg and Merle Haggard), gives Heartbreaker enduring power. --Tod Nelson
Amazon.com
With a touch of Robyn Hitchcock in his vocal timbre, a smidgen of Steve Earle in his narratives and instrumental writing, and a heap of Gram Parsons in the fullness of his overall sound and structure, Ryan Adams steps well above Whiskeytown with Heartbreaker, his solo debut. By turns raucous, wistful, raspy, and simply sweet, Adams makes the most of a top-shelf acoustic band, including Gillian Welch and David Rawlings and even a guest spot from Emmylou Harris on the tenderly yearning "Oh My Sweet Caroline." There's little dependence on the usual alt-country twang and a far more rounded sense of textures here (the multiple vocal tracks on "Amy," for example, sound Beatles-esque), with glockenspiel, organ, and more signaling a sonic field of extensive depth. His spare guitar and stretched-thin vocal delivery alternate smartly with a bigger-shouldered guitar and throaty voice, never leaving behind a band conception straight out of Parsons's oeuvre. Adams signals occupancy of the post-alt-country vanguard--if there is such a thing. --Andy Bartlett
Album Description
Exclusive on off pressing on vinyl limited to 500 copies. This is his solo debut from 2000, recorded in Nashville in 12 days, guest contributions include Emmylou Harris, Gillian Welch & Kim Richey.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 131 more reviews...
 Better than Love is Hell: one of the most solid albums of the past five years. October 22, 2005
Manny Hernandez (Bay Area, CA)
19 out of 20 found this review helpful
I thought "Love is Hell, Pt. 1" was Ryan Adams' best musical accomplishment. I was wrong. That production, as phenomenal as it was, doesn't come close to the level he reached in "Heartbreaker", his first album after he left Whiskeytown. Perhaps I have a weakness for nu-folk and alt-country these days, but I admit I have been possessed by Heartbreaker. "AMY" is a great example of why. It brings Elliott Smith right back to mind, and other momemnts in the album remind me of Dylan and Cash as well. Overstatement? Say what you want, but Ryan Adams' solo debut is one of the most solid albums in the past five years.
Worth the price of admission, but we know there's more! September 29, 2000
Patrick Wilkins (Oxford United Kingdom)
16 out of 18 found this review helpful
I saw Whiskeytown live in London a couple of years ago. The set, in a bar venue, finished with Ryan alone on stage with acoustic guitar singing "Avenues" from "Strangers Almanac", it was absolutely electric, you could have heard a pin drop in the place, a real hairs-stood-up-on-the-back-of-the-neck experience. So news of a Ryan Adams solo album was exciting indeed, and obviously I was hoping for more potential "Avenues" moments. So does "Heartbreaker" deliver? Well, yes, up to a point, but you do get the feeling he's running as if in the semi, not in the final! The reason I don't think this is the full 5 star classic we all know Ryan has in him is that some of the songs, such as "To Be The One", ramble on in a fairly shapeless manner, virtually grinding to a halt in places, and punctuated by some Dylanesque harmonica that can be a bit jarring. There has been a shift in focus in the songwriting, away from the Replacements and REM influences that were evident on "Strangers Almanac" towards Dylan, the Band and Steve Earle, and of course the ghost of Gram Parsons is still pulling quite a few strings. There are though enough good songs here to make it very much worth the price of admission. The start off track "To Be Young" is a terrific up-tempo number, "My Winding Wheel" has a hint of Paul Westerberg (compare this to "It's A Wonderful Lie" from the last Westerberg solo) and, rather curiously, calls to mind "Wonderwall" by Oasis. "Call Me On Your Way Back Home" could well be the song to provide me with my "Avenues" moment next time I see Ryan live. So if you particularly liked the quieter songs on "Strangers Almanac" then you will undoubtedly like this, but we know there's more in the tank! (PS A comment of significance to English readers only - As an English person and former resident of Manchester, how weird is it to hear Ryan discussing our beloved Morrissey at the start of this? What next, an analysis of the best front two for United?!!)
 not bad, not as good as previous glowing reviews indicate February 9, 2001
16 out of 25 found this review helpful
I like Ryan Adams and think he's probably one of the best American songwriters at the moment, but this album disappointed me in large part. Too many songs are far too quiet, feel unfinished, and lean heavily on Dylan in ways that seem forced and in anticipation of praise for his brazenness in doing so. The album opens with the Morrisey argument, which is worthless. It's not even particularly funny, and marked as a song, it's way too indulgent. To Be Young is the first of a few phoned-in Dylan rips. Adams sings in a forced nasal tone reminiscent of Dylan's bizzare change years back, and the musicians behind him crank out a Highway 61-light sound. Sounds like standard rockabilly. My Winding Wheel is a better Dylan rip. Amy is pretty, although the higher nasal tone starts to annoy here; where is the deeper, more gravelly voice seen on Strangers Almanac tunes like Avenues? Oh My Sweet Carolina I've heard a million times since Gram Parsons. Bartering Lines is the most boring and didactic song on here. Call Me On Your Way Back Home is pretty, but the mix is so quiet and spare it comes off lazy and sloppy. Damn Sam (I Love a Woman That Rains) is another blatant Dylan rip saved by great melody from both his voice and a spare piano. Still, the title immaturely leans far too heavily on Dylan. It's almost as if Adams wants to hold our hands to let us know this is his "Dylan album." Come Pick Me Up is probably the best song on the album, with its sleepy indifferent beat betrayed by the hurt in his singing. Good stuff, and this album's ace tune. After that song, things fall off the cliff into mush. To Be The One is stiff coffeehouse folk at an impossibly low volume. Why Do They Leave is a tuneless lament with church organ and swings less than a church lament with church organ. Shakedown on 9th Street, yet another Dylan reference title, rocks like Chris Isaak, which is to say not at all. Don't Ask for the Water is practically spoken word. In My Time of Need falls into pretty-but-too-quiet territory. Sweet Little Gal ends the record on a great note. It's a super-spare piano ballad (that gets louder at the end) with the album's warmest melodies, ones that remind me of the perfect quiet stuff on Strangers Almanac (Avenues, Houses on the Hill). I wish he sung the entire Heartbreaker album more like this. Overall, Heartbreaker is a decent album, and I can appreciate the guy trying to sing his way out of the alt-country corner, but his voice is less effective in a higher nasal register. There's too much Dylan affectation. The absence of competitive bandmates allows many of these songs to pass by unnoticed and tension free. I'd advise any newcomers to Adams to try Strangers Almanac first and to buy Highway 61 Revisited (Dylan) and GP/Grevious Angel (Parsons) to get the better songs Adams nicked constantly here. Still looking forward to Adams' next record.
Bad Morrissey Argument, Good Album September 1, 2003
James F. Colobus (Pittsburgh, PA United States)
14 out of 24 found this review helpful
Man, did I have high expectations for this one. After conscientiously avoiding Ryan Adams' solo work for some time, I finally gave in to popular pressure and purchased Heartbreaker about six months ago. I'd read plenty of reviews by fans arguing that Adams' solo work eclipsed anything he'd ever done with Whiskeytown (which for me seemed hard to imagine considering the high esteem with which I regard that seminal alt-country act). The much-ballyhooed argument concerning Morrissey at the start of Heartbreaker is a huge letdown. Forgive me for saying this, but David Rawlings can't be much of a Morrissey fan if he's not aware "Suedehead" appears on both Viva Hate and Bona Drag. And if Ryan Adams is as big a Smiths/Morrissey fan as he claims to be, why would Rawlings even dare question Adams' knowledge of the Mozzer? It's like my brother, Mark, disagreeing with me over the Lynyrd Skynyrd albums on which "Simple Man" appears. He just wouldn't dare. An argument about a forgotten classic like "Bengali in Platforms" I might accept, but not "Suedehead". The highlight of Heartbreaker has to be "Oh My Sweet Carolina", a lovely duet between Adams and Emmy Lou Harris. As a six-year old, my little sister used to absolutely love Harris before she became a teenager and got into metal, darkwave, and Middle Eastern music. I could almost imagine Maria returning to the ways of her youth were she to hear "Oh My Sweet Carolina". The song makes me want to move back to North Carolina where I spent an interesting summer a couple of years ago reading the Indie at Foster's, trekking out to Mapleview Farms, and generally living the dream (aside from the annoyance of allergies seemingly induced by the mustiness of the place I was housesitting with my girlfriend). "Call Me on Your Way Back Home" is simple and sweet in a way few of Adams' contemporaries can match. "Come Pick Me Up" is the song on Heartbreaker that most closely recalls Adams' work with Whiskeytown thanks to the fine harmony vocals by Kim Richey. "Why Do They Leave?" is another great track that features a female guest star on harmony vocals - this time it's Allison Pierce. I don't know who is singing with Adams on "In My Time of Need", but it is probably tied for second-best song on the album with "Call Me on Your Way Back Home". The upbeat songs like "To Be Young (is to be sad is to be high)" and "Shakedown on 9th Street" are not up to the standards of Ryan's work with Whiskeytown but are enjoyable nonetheless. And then there are the missteps. The stark "Bartering Lines" sounds like the song Fleetwood Mac wisely left off Rumours because it was plodding and monotonous. "Amy" is worse - it's darn near unlistenable. "Sweet Lil Gal (23rd/1st)" somehow manages to outdo "Amy" by coupling monotonous music with spectacularly annoying vocals. There are some cringe-inducing lyrics here too, especially on "Damn, Sam (I Love a Woman That Rains)" - "I'm as calm as a fruit stand in New York and maybe as strange" sounds like something Dylan would have come up with if he were drunk and wasted on miraa. Fortunately, though, the successes far outnumber the missteps on Heartbreaker and the album provides an excellent soundtrack to those occasions when you find yourself in an introspective mood. I have to admit that Adams' acquits himself nicely here sans his former Whiskeytown bandmates, yet there is still a part of me that feels Heartbreaker is not quite up to the illustrious standards Adams set with his previous band.
Americana is alive and well... September 6, 2000
S. Gallup (Moss Beach, CA USA)
13 out of 15 found this review helpful
Ryan Adams is as unpredictable on CD as he is in life. When I saw him perform solo in SF last year I left thinking that this was the next great American songwriter, but that he probably wouldn't live into his 30's. He's fragile & exposed & probably heavily medicated, but he can generate a single line that is so beautiful, sad and true that it almost stops your heart. I guess that's why the album is called Heartbreaker. I hope it's not cause the guys got a huge ego... Anyway, this album reflects all that I've written so far. I give it 4 stars because I think he will pull together one of the classic albums of all time one day, and I'm saving 5 for that kind of a record. This one is filled with great moments that are never quite stitched together. Maybe I'll see the connections in time, who knows? He's backed by David Rawlings & Gillian Welch, but unfortunately these two VERY talented musicians don't add much to the project. As much as I love David Rawling's work I'd rather just have a true solo project. Warning: there are definite flaws in the quality of recording. The volume level changes dramatically as he apparently was backing away from and leaning into the mic. Nothing was done to fix this or the sometimes piercing harmonica parts. But then, you came for the songs, right?
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