mail: daniel_fjall@hotmail.com
|
pneumonia
Pneumonia Released: 2001 Rating: 7/10 Track listing: 1. The Ballad of Carol Lynn/ 2. Don’t Wanna Know Why/ 3. Jacksonville Skyline/ 4. Reason To Lie/ 5. Don’t Be Sad/ 6. Sit & Listen To The Rain/ 7. Under Your Breath/ 8. Mirror, Mirror/ 9. Paper Moon/ 10. What The Devil Wanted/ 11. Crazy About You/ 12. My Hometown/ 13. Easy Hearts/ 14. Bar Lights Whiskeytown had pretty much broken up at the time of recording Pneumonia. Only two members of the group had played on the debut album released in 1996, violonist Caitlin Cary and lead vocalist and songwriter Ryan Adams. In fact Whiskeytown was officially disbanded at the time the album was released. Ryan Adams had already released two solo albums that both are better recordings than Pneumonia. It’s not that Pneumonia is a bad record or anything, because the arrangements, the songwriting, production leaves little to be desired. But for some reason it doesn’t grab you as Ryan Adams solo releases. I think the answer is fire. Energy, presence, that little extra piece of glow and excitement that brings the best out of everyone and everything. Every musician needs that to create a classic, Whiskeytown lacks that here. However, sometimes Ryan Adams songwriting-pencil is sharp and in his performance you can tell what songs that means a little bit more to him. “Under Your Breath” is naked and fragile, based on a simple acoustic guitar playing and one of those classic songs in the same vein as Heartbreaker. Masterful and catchy pop melodies in “Crazy About You” and “Mirror, Mirror” are bound to be personal favorites of anyone. Most of the songs are filled with acoustic guitars, pianos, violins, steel guitars and sometimes more strings to add to the general atmosphere. This is country-pop with catchy melodies and quite memorable songs, even if it’s a bit bland every now and then. You can easily hear the musical connections between Pneumonia and Ryan Adam’s more commercially successful solo release Gold. A little bit of magic here, a little bit of yawn there.
|