One of the great things about the new and improved What the Hell Happened to Aerosmith blog is that I get to write whatever the hell I want as opposed to just working on the book. As part of that I'm going to write about albums that changed my life. The first in this series is the best album Ryan Adams ever did, it also happens to be his first, Faithless Street.
For those of you who don't know, Faithless Street is the first album by Mr. Adams' old band Whiskeytown. It was originally released in 1995, but the version you can get these days is the reissued version which came out in 1998. The reissue features all the tracks of the original, less "Oklahoma", and adds nine new tunes to the mix. Since it's the only one I've ever owned, this is about how the Faithless Street reissue changed the way I look at music.
The album opens open with "Midway Park". Such a classic tune. Starts out with out with a simple guitar riff and subtle drums. Then a, wait is that, yes it is, it's a mandolin. Then the sound of Ryan's sweet sweet voice. You can say whatever you want about Ryan Adams (and trust me I say a lot), but what you can't say is the guy doesn't have a perfect voice for that combo of country and rock that early Whiskeytown pulled off like no one else really ever has. (Yes, I've heard of Uncle Tupelo. That's how good this album is!!) Anyway, the song starts off with some nice and slow. The guitar sounds just the right amount of rough and Ryan is whining. It's beautiful and then... boom... the chorus. They hit you with the rock and they don't let go.
That's something that this album has that none of the other Whiskeytown albums have. That break into the rock that grabs you as you listen to it. The dirty guitars just being banged on as though the bands livelihood depended on it. At the time, it probably did.
The next song is an all time classic in my book. It never gets old. "Drank Like a River" is the prototypical Whiskeytown song. The lyrics were probably written on a pizza box while Ryan was being a drunk asshole to the rest of the band. It's short. It's simple. The chorus:
So he drank like a river as the wedding bells rang.
Watched from the steeple as the choir girls sang.
Died in a gutter on his feet and his hands.
The same hands that once touched her face.
is about as sad and powerful as you can get. And do you know why? Because it's three chords and the truth cranked out about as loud as the bands amps could crank it out. You get the feeling that we've all had when someone moves on and all you can do is suck it up and get another drink. Hell, I feel drunk just writing about it. That's a good song.
"Too Drunk to Dream" comes up next. It's a mediocre song that sounds even worse in comparison to what surrounds it. It's got a nice country chorus and all, but compared most of this album it does not stand the test of time. That being said, it does kind of express what this album is about. Losing your girl and drinking. Isn't that what all country music is about?
Ryan recovers nicely on "Tennessee Square". It's pretty much just him and an acoustic guitar whining about being to go out because he's broke. We've all been there, but none of us have made it sound that good.
I will refuse to talk about "What May Seem Like Love" because it is written by Phil Wandscher other than to say that I've read somewhere where Ryan didn't want to be the only songwriter in Whiskeytown. He actually envisioned it being like the (a little vomit coming up right now) Eagles, in that every band member would write songs. This is funny on many levels. First, if you listen to this song, it sounds like the Eagles could have done it. Second, Ryan writes a new song every hour on the hour. There is no way he wasn't going to be the songwriter. They would have had to put out an album every week if they had someone else in the band half as prolific as him.
"Faithless Street" gets us back in the groove. A sweet little country song that follows the simple formula of second verse, same as the first. It will always be remembered for the lyric "So, I started this damn country band, because punk rock is too hard to sing" as far as I'm concerned. It's all about Ryan forming Whiskeytown after leaving his former punk band The Patty Duke Syndrome and it's a preview of what's to come.
The country tunes keep on rolling with "Mining Town". It's all about a guy coming to take his lady away from the problems of the little town she lives in. It's got some great lap steel and, of course, great harmonies by Caitlin Cary.
The rock returns with "If He Can't Have You". I kind of see this, and "Midway Park" for that matter, as a country rock version of a Pixies song in that it does that quiet loud thing that the Pixies did so well. Another song about losing a girl and seeing her with someone else. Are there ever enough of those?
"Black Arrow, Bleeding Heart" is about as sad as it gets.
Then another highlight comes in. Caitlin takes the mic to do one of her numbers. There's something about girls singing country songs and this one is better than most. "Matrimony" is about something I guess all girls go through if they reach a certain age and aren't married. There are so many great lyrics in this song that I can't help but give you a couple. First, the chorus:
I don't believe I care to marry.
Though I cannot explain exactly why.
Somehow seems to me. Matrimony is misery.
Simply a faster way to die.
God bless you, woman. Another great line comes in the last verse:
I'm saving my best thing for my wedding day.
'Cause my poppa wouldn't have it any other way.
Says if I lose it early, I'll have thrown my life away.
But I swear I'll use my cherry my own way.
I love you.
Now comes what I feel is the best country song on an album of great country songs. "Excuse Me While I Break My Own Heart Tonight" says it all right there in the title. I, personally, like this version a lot more than the one on Stranger's Almanac for the same reason I like this album more. It's just dirtier. They recorded this album in a barn. They didn't record it is some fancy studio in Nashville. You can hear the difference and that difference makes all the difference in the world to me.
"Desperate Ain't Lonely" is yet another acoustic country whiner from Ryan. It's pretty damn beautiful. Great harmonies. Great lyrics. Great song.
I'll go ahead and lump "Hard Luck Story" and "Top Dollar" together. They both suck, but with 21 songs on an album, I think they can get away with a couple stinkers.
Ryan returns to the idea of wanting to play country in "Lo fi Tennessee Mountain Angel". He recounts meeting this girl in a bar who ask, "You say you want to play country, but your in a punk rock band?" Also, great use of second verse, same as the first.
"Revenge" rocks. Period. Feedback, screaming, big drums. All the stuff that makes rock great. Turn it up to eleven and just enjoy.
The rest of the album is comprised of the "The Baseball Park Sessions", which is interesting if not as good as the rest. It's interesting because it kind of leads you into the Stranger's Almanac era. The songs are a little tighter and the sound is a little more fine tuned.
"Empty Baseball Park" is an interesting tune. You can definitely tell these are written in a different time frame.
I've kind of always thought that "Here's to the Rest of the World" was Ryan Adams doing a Paul Westerberg impression. He does it alright, but I'd rather hear the real thing.
"16 Days" is a another classic that was on Stranger's Almanac. I have to say I like the earlier version a little better, but they are pretty much the same, just a little less "popped" up on this one.
This leads us into another rocker in "Yesterday's News". This one is also on Strangers. Great stuff. Two chords rocking and then a big loud chorus. What else could you ask for.
The album closes with the classic rock n' roll move of ending on a solo acoustic ballad "Factory Girl". Great song. Great closer. That move never gets old.
So, there's the rundown of an album that changed my life. I don't know if there has ever been better sloppy dirty guitars recorded than the ones on "Drank Like a River". I don't know if anyone has ever really put this many great country songs on a rock record. I do know that I buy every Ryan Adams' album in hopes that it could hold a candle to this one. He's never come close to it, but to be fair, not many people have.
Now, if you'll excuse me I gotta go cry in my beer.
