There were a couple of disappointments right off the bat. First, the longest song is 4 minutes and 11 seconds. The 5-minute plus songs are noticeably absent. The second disappointment was “These Girls”. Upon first listen, I had déjà vu. And then realized it’s not me, he changed some of the lyrics to a previous song, “Hey Mrs. Lovely” which was an unreleased track from a bootleg entitled “Destroyer Sessions” from his Heartbreaker era circa 2000. The problem? I really like “Hey Mrs. Lovely” as it is. True, I haven’t given the edited, more polished “These Girls” a true chance, but I much prefer the song as it was.
I love the album cover. The middle of the CD sleeve contains images of RA and the band. There is one black and white image of Ryan Adams crouching over a handwritten and hand edited music sheet on the floor making changes, his head resting on his knees. This is exactly how I picture him working on songs.
There are a few songs that remind me of previous albums:
- Goodnight Rose – Cold Roses
- Everybody Knows - Gold
- On My God, Whatever, Etc. - Gold
- Tears of Gold – Jacksonville City Nights
- I Taught Myself How to Grow Old - 29
I am still just listening and thinking.
By the by, he appeared Wednesday night on Letterman to perform “Two”. He was very clean-shaven, and sharply dressed, but he looked awkward without glasses and not holding some instument in his hands.
