{"id":1849,"date":"2017-02-10T10:51:38","date_gmt":"2017-02-10T10:51:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lisaredford.com\/?page_id=1849"},"modified":"2017-02-13T20:05:26","modified_gmt":"2017-02-13T20:05:26","slug":"live-reviews","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/lisaredford.com\/?page_id=1849","title":{"rendered":"Live Reviews"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Ryan Adams Live at Rough Trade East ~ January 26th 2016<\/strong><\/p>\n

I distinctly recall the first time I heard Ryan Adam\u2019s music. Thanks to the excellent monthly Uncut compilation CD\u2019s his track \u2018Oh My Sweet <\/span>Carolina\u2019 was included on one of them and I was instantly struck by the beauty and longing of this evocative wistful ballad. With a beautiful melody and emotive lyrics plus Emmylou Harris\u2019s tender harmony vocal and soft piano by Wilco’s Pat Sansone, this was clearly an outstanding songwriter. Listening to the raw emotion and honesty of stunning debut studio album \u2018Heartbreaker\u2019 whilst driving through Ryan\u2019s home state of North Carolina cemented that this was an artist whose music I couldn\u2019t help but fall in love with.<\/p>\n

Since then I\u2019ve followed his career avidly and continued to be inspired and moved by his music. His own unwavering love for music and passion for writing his innermost feelings instills huge devotion in fans and upcoming album, Prisoner<\/i> in particular comes from an incredibly real and dark place. In Ryan\u2019s own words to preview the record, “It broke my soul in a zillion pieces writing this. This record mattered more to me than any record before it, and my life depended on making it. I would have died inside if I hadn\u2019t. I was broken. I don\u2019t know what it is. But I know I had to write it and I know I have to sing these songs so I can live and keep living and breathing. It\u2019s all I know how to do. It\u2019s who I am.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Last week I was among a very lucky crowd getting to see Ryan playing a special acoustic set of these very personal new songs at Rough Trade East.\u00a0 <\/span>Having seen him perform solo before at New York\u2019s Carnegie Hall in 2011, I knew we were in for a treat. He thrilled the intimate crowd with songs not only from \u2018Prisoner\u2019, released February 17th on Pax Am\/Blue Note, but also tracks not on the release. Opening with the anthemic first single \u2018Do You Still Love Me?\u2019 even acoustic the song retains an immediacy as on the album\u2019s band version, Ryan\u2019s voice showing its raw side with the imploring \u2018Do you still love me, babe\u2019. The track and the rest of the album reveal an 80\u2019s rock influence, echoes of ACDC plus Bruce Springsteen and Tom Petty\u2019s heartland rock, as well as the classic sound explored on his acclaimed 2014 self titled album. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u2018Doomsday\u2019 followed and this is already a favourite, bringing to mind the timeless folk Americana sound of 2001\u2018s \u2018Gold\u2018 with a melodic harmonic riff and lyrics that are romantic and heartfelt \u2018I could wait 1,000 years my love, I’d wait for you. I could stand in just one place my love and never move.\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n

Throughout the show Ryan clearly seemed to be having fun and was full of self deprecating humour, joking that it was going to \u2018fun\u2019 touring these new songs, referencing their internal emotional content. His voice was on fine form, at once pure and tender and then raw and impassioned. Each song drew me in, highlights included \u2018Breakdown\u2019 with it\u2019s great guitar riff and \u2018Outbound Train\u2019 with its \u2018I was so bored I was so sure\u2019 refrain. It\u2019s evident Ryan is comfortable being more vulnerable and free as ever on the new material, in his words to \u2018try and <\/span>extract some truth from the narrow of whatever is around me.\u2019 <\/span>E<\/span>ven songs omitted from \u2018Prisoner\u2019, \u2018Still a Cage\u2019 and \u2018Was I Wrong\u2019 (introduced as his \u2018passive-aggressive\u2019 song) are strong and carry on this confessional emotional style.<\/span><\/p>\n

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A real highlight for me from \u2018Prisoner\u2019 is the tender second single \u2018To Be Without You\u2019 which already feels to me like one of his timeless heartache classics with its lyrics of lost love: <\/span><\/p>\n

\u2018We are like a book and every page is so torn
\n<\/span>Nothing really matters anymore
\n<\/span>It’s so hard to be without you
\n<\/span>Everyday I find another little thread of silver
\n<\/span>Waiting for me when I wake some place on the pillow
\n<\/span>And then I see the empty space beside me and remember.\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n

So effortlessly and succinctly he describes the pain and helplessness of losing somebody and the accompanying longing, and this, he told the NME, is a major theme of \u2018Prisoner\u2019\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI think the theme of this record is that we\u2019re all prisoners of some desires, in that the very things we love are the things that hold us hostage and keep us trapped.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

We were also rewarded with other songs from his extensive catalogue including fan favourite \u2018Rats in the Wall\u2019 from EP \u20181984\u2018.\u00a0 <\/span>Evoking mid \u201880\u2018s hardcore punk with its repeating \u2018<\/span>Rats in the wall\/ I can hear \u2019em crawl\u2019 it reveals his<\/span> willingness to wear his inspirations and experiment with different styles<\/span>. To treat us even further he closed with a Whiskeytown classic, \u201916 Days\u2019 and a very moving cover of Springsteen\u2019s \u2018Streets of Philadelphia\u2019 which sounded uniquely Ryan. Leaving to rapturous applause he was obviously bouyed by the intimate setting, doing solo acoustic sets later in the week at Manchester\u2019s Soup Kitchen and London\u2019s Treadwell Books. <\/span><\/p>\n

As Ryan said earlier in the week during his session for BBC 6 Music he hopes his music provides a map for those who may be lost. On a freezing cold night he warmed the hearts and souls of all there, he can come and sing about his \u2018feelings\u2019 anytime. With a tour and many festival appearances coming up, 2017 is going to be a glorious year for Ryan fans.<\/span><\/p>\n

My acoustic cover of ‘To be Without You’:<\/p>\n