Love it front to back and it got its hooks in me quick! Those gnarly organ hits are tasty AF. Guitars and vocals really are steller throughout. It's quintessential Jack White. Love rocking this loud in the car. Great album and agree with your assessment. 9.5 out of 10.

Ryan Adam’s in all likelihood in the past has been an asshole and behaved in ways that should result in consequences. That being said, the issue with cancel culture is that it leaves zero room for redemption. For someone to see the error of their ways. To reflect and change their course in life. Maybe that’s therapy to confront past demons. Maybe it’s getting sober which might allow you to see more clearly who you’ve been and ways to become who you want to be. Nobody should ever excuse someone for the pain they have caused others. But people should also be allowed to improve and show people through actions that they have changed. If they have it should be full steam ahead. Ryan Adam’s seems to have got sober. Whether that’s translated to significant change in his faults as a human, which we all have, I can’t say. But if it has, and he has improved as a human, he should be more than able to resume a career that often has been viewed as one of the most prolific and impressive in music.

For my money the best stuff he ever did was Whiskeytown

❤ RYAN

An outstanding album, easily their best. I saw them in Boston recently. The presentation and sound were above and beyond.

If we got rid of all art created by undesirable characters, we wouldn't have much art left. Not that Adams is an undesirable character, merely a flawed human, like most humans. Would the perfect person stand up? He wasn't convicted of anything, nor did he face any charges. What happened said more about his accusers than it did him - the media pile-on attack was odious,

He’s a very talented sociopath.

Wait a minute, Michael Jackson got a pass???

As much as I love Ryan as a musical artist - I’ve been a huge fan for 20 years - I get that he’s an asshole. I’ve seen him live 5 times, and at every show he gets into an argument with someone in the crowd. Usually it’s because that person shouted out to him, which is very rude, but Ryan’s reaction always seems over the top. The worst example was in Patchogue back in the Spring - it got so hostile that Ryan actually complained about what a miserable time he was having. Not what you want to hear from a performer you paid seriously good money to see. In spite of how good the music was it became very difficult to enjoy being there. My conclusion is that Ryan is a superstar musical artist who happens to suffer from some form of mental illness. Nevertheless, I’ll be seeing him in the coming days and hope he will be in a place of wellness.

Thanks for having non bias informed opinions and not jumping on bandwagons and click bait! like em or not, facts are facts.

I’m from Russia (you can hit as many dislikes as you want). Ryan’s music is incredible. Sometimes soft and pure, sometimes straight and raw. I dream someday I can see him live in my country. But you know…

I agree with what you say about the live aspect, Ive only been able to see them live once but they were great!

Ryan,come pick me up...

Kula was one of my favorite bands in the 90's

Ryan is like prince

I love you for sharing this. I'm so extatic to see someone doing some important report on his music. All about the music in all it's depths. I hope music prevails ❤

Had to stop the video to listen to the albuns, 15 albuns and i didnt know about it. Absurd!! Love Ryan adams!

Totally agree with your observation about the Dylan cover. The over-reverb on "Tangled Up In Blue" killed it for me.

I love Ryan Adams. But to be fair, I believe that the truth is somewhere between what you’re saying and what has been said. That said, I miss him and only hope for the best for him. I also am a HUGE fan of Jenny Lewis, who - as a former romantic partner of his, has expertly navigated this troubled time. Me Too is real. Let’s learn from it.

I just bought a seventh-row ticket to see him play here in my tourist town in November. It'll be my first post-cancellation show, and I'm looking forward to it.

This is a very difficult topic to address, especially if you're a DIE HARD fan of U2 (or any legendary band/artist that is still releasing new music). I was sadden to see their recent release of "Songs of Surrender". They committed the "cardinal" DO NOT DO rule with this release and that's trying to reinterpret legendary songs by re-recording them over again....NO !!! There's a reason why songs like "Where The Streets Have No Name", "Pride (In the Name of Love)", "With Or Without You", etc.....hold such a significant place in our lives, because they're GREAT SONGS. Why would you taint your legacy by re-recording these songs over again.

Thank you for posting this video and for giving Ryan Adams his due recognition since his "cancellation" of 2019. I was fortunate to see the start of his current acoustic 2024 tour in Menlo Park, California back in June and he is AMAZING !! I agree with your sentiments, it's a shame the mainstream music world has lost touch with this truly gifted artist and his continuing catalog of music. I'm VERY grateful to be alive right now and say that I seen Ryan Adams in concert :-)

who cares ? the rr hof is such a joke...lol

In Amber and Fender on the Freeway are my faves.

Great review, thanks! I like the way you always talk about the meaning of the album artwork, as that's something I often overlook. I have this album on CD and it sounds fine to me, but I'm not really an audiophile! I'm not big into the Decemberists. I loved The King Is Dead (pretty obvious Smiths reference, lol), but I couldn't get into What A Terrible World... I've only heard this new album a few times but I generally like it alot. The opening tracks with the horns actually remind me of Los Lobos (that's a very good thing, imo). America Made Me is a highlight for me, and reminds me of the title track of Wilco's double album, Cruel Country (my favourite album of that year). And the closer, Joan In The Garden is pretty awesome, quite an achievement. After a dozen tracks they've earned the right to indulge their experimental side, imo. So all in all I would agree with your rating. Stuart

In my opinion, Ryan is one of the most important songwriters of all time. Thanks for this presentation. Nicely done.

4:20 According to the CD notes, the band members don't contribute backing vocals. They've mainly had session musicians sing backing vocals since "The Hazards of Love," which, in my opinion, is a shame.

I've heard stories about R.A. stopping concerts because people were shouting out requests- and the time he stopped the concert because someboady shouted "Runaway" (a Bryan Adams song) in that instance he wouldn't start playing again until that person was kicked-out of the venue. Fans don't like performers who acts like weenies onstage and I'll bet that the music press will spend their time elsewhere as well...

Ryan Adams SHOULD BE a household name, but alas, such is the state of affairs, thanks to the "music industry".

Good Stuff! Thank you for putting all of this together! Be well, brother

Awesome album, thanks for covering it. "Raining On Your Pillow" is my favorite as well. The down sampling or distortion that they applied to that snare is soooo tasty 🍑

What happened? he kept and keeps writing amazing songs that continue to inspire us the listeners.

I think I only have two real issues with his post accusation “new” releases. He has either lost his inside or outside filter so he is just kinda releasing everything. Which is just way too much material and then when you listen through it all you can find definite gems but it’s just so much material to get through it becomes daunting. The other issue is losing other musicians to play with and his main engineer so just doing literally everything himself, you can hear and feel a notable quality dip in the re wordings from both a playing and production aspect where a lot of it feels like very loose/rough demos. Definitely needs an engineer producer again if anything just to filter and narrow ideas/collections of tunes and at least a proper drummer. Aside from that though, glad he is still doing his thing and has been able to start getting on the road again and finding there is still an audience out there for him. Once the real troubling accusation was cleared, it really boiled down to complaints of him being kind of a jerk and being a bad bf and husband. Which I mean, he has had that rep since the whiskeytown days, so should he have been cancelled for it? No.

I know I ain’t alone. I never for a second turned my back on him.

In my opinion, Ryan Adams is up there with the talent level of Dylan or Joanie Mitchell, Neil Young, and several others. Like Dylan, there isn't a song that he's written (and played) that isn't beautifully put together. And telling.

Why the fuck can I not save this video to a playlist? The greatest singer/songwriter of a generation is being memory-holed by vindictive activists and wokescolding creeps. Fuck 'em!

It's interesting what you say about the music press, which I know longer read much. I only recently discovered Ryan Adams, in the last couple of years - I'd made one half-hearted effort years ago when he was still "current". You're right not to minimise the way he behaved towards the women who came forward to speak about him, who we have no reason to disbelieve, at an early point in the metoo movement. As you say, the multiple accusations leave us in little doubt as to what a menace he was, for someone in an intimate relationship with him. I say all this because we are always in difficult territory when discussing art we love by people whose behaviour has been damaging to other people. He is, as far as I can see, the greatest living male purveyor of Americana currently working. There are a whole bunch of great women in that genre as we speak - Courtney Marie Andrews is probably my pick of the lot. But for me Ryan Adams stands pretty much alone among the men. His songs are more distinctive than Jason Isbell's, for example, and there are a whole bunch of great ones from over the years, even if they are spread across many many albums. This is one reason why he's been underappreciated, I think - his best songs are better than anyone's, but the albums themselves are generally a bit patchy. You name some of the great recent songs - then obviously in the past there's "Sylvia Plath", "Broken Anyway", "Lucky Now" and so on. He's versatile, does a whole range of stuff from indie pop that sounds British influenced as well as in the American tradition, country pop and occasionally straight country, and then those seventies singer-songwriter-type pieces like "Everybody Knows" and "Damn Sam". He's so good at capturing romantic yearning, in a voice that is strangely expressive and can do more than you expect it to be able to do on first listen. So many great songs - "Doylestown Girl", "Invisible Riverside", "The Hardest Part", "This House is not For Sale," "When She Smiles", "Shiver and Shake," "Rollercoaster" - often "small" songs that are not trying to make some major statement but occupy their own perfect little space. He's also a great cover artist, as the recently released live versions of "Achin' to Be" and "We Built This City on Rock and Roll" show, as well as the wonderful Taylor Swift 1989 version.

He played for 3 1/2 hours a few days ago in Austin. No breaks. Outstanding.

I saw Ryan perform a few nights ago and can honestly say that he is one of the most talented and beautiful musicians I've ever heard. His vocals were perfect. He was funny and great at interacting with the crowd. It was one of the best shows I've ever seen. We weren't allowed to take photos or videos during the show, which really allowed you to just focus on the music.

Yeah the media tends to shy away from helping to promote people who have burned every possible industry bridge, harassed and abused most of the people who’ve worked with him, and tried to have sex with a child. But please go on

I’ve been a working musician for many years, Ryan Adams is one of the talented musician/songwriters of our time. I still find new stuff from him. He’s amazing solo act is beyond amazing. He is brutally honest about his drinking and it’s hard not to like this guy.

My favourite songwriter along with Cornell ❤

Nice breakdown. This album is a grower. There’s a lot to unpack. ‘Deceiver’ was also a grower and now it’s my favorite album of the last 5 years at least.

Well that was a brilliant video and very useful I’ve heard of this band and seen this title recently. I’d wrongly assumed they were an older band, perhaps one of those orig bands of the 70’s or a cult band of the 80’s - I’d never heard any of their songs, just seen their name a few times here and there First take, so now I know how to say this band’s name! I wasn’t sure whether it was ‘D.I.I.V’ or perhaps ‘Div’ or, as it actually is said, which I’d not even considered, ‘Dive’ - with a clever use of the double I in the middle. Sounding quite Dutch or something. Nice Secondly, love the album title. And now the review itself. Superb. So much content and great comments said in what’s such a wonderful speaking voice - you are truly something special - very good! I love the lyrics you displayed during this review. Seems right up my street. I shall HAVE to give them a listen I shall have to DIIV straight in at the deep end! thank you 👍👏

Great video. Just subscribed.

Saw him at Carnegie and will see him soon on his upcoming tour. I agree with the commenter below - he's been a notorious asshole and for decades. And when you rub people the wrong way, they're less likely to forgive/forget. He seems to be sober now and getting his life back on track so hopefully people will forgive and give him another chance. Even if he never has another 'hit', we fans can still enjoy all the tunes he constantly puts out.

Thanks for taking the time to make this video. I've loved him since Whiskeytown!

I love Ryan’s stuff, always have. He’s a poet and works like a man who has an Adderall problem. I think part of the problem, though, is that Ryan is kind of a-hole. When these allegations surface, people aren’t prone to be gracious when they turn out to be untrue. I personally appreciate him. He’s a man who wants to deal with his demons. But he rubs people the wrong way.

Really love this album. To me its his second best album. Only the self titled album from 2011 edges it because of the masterpiece that was If I Had A Gun

Just discovered this video and your channel, I don't know you feel about more folk/Americana music but the new Adrianne Lenker album is awesome. Keep up the good content.