You wouldn’t think Ryan Adams and Prince would have much in common, you know? Prince is a born-again Christian who used to cavort around on a giant bed during his concerts. Ryan Adams is a former alcoholic who used to try to pick fights with Jack White. But both are icons of their respective genres, who are critically frustrating due to their prolific nature. Prince had a golden age with his Sign ‘O’ the Times, Purple Rain, and Parade, yet much like Pandora, he also released the horrors of Emancipation and the Graffiti Bridge soundtrack upon the earth. And just like Prince, for every Cold Roses, Heartbreaker, and Jacksonville City Nights Adams releases, there’s also a 29 or a Demolition. This is not to say that 29 is a horrible record (nor anywhere near the mass destruction inflicted on the world by the Graffiti Bridge soundtrack), but for an artist who is as talented as Adams, this once again proves the point that everyone needs an editor.

29 is more a collection of ideas than of songs. The ideas are good and engrossing, but as ideas are known to do, they often drift and tangle around themselves. Songs such as “Night Birds” and “Blue Sky Blues” are lovely, understated moments, but nothing is really there to grab the listener. There’s nothing to complain about either…it’s just bland. The only track that truly stands out, without sounding like a Grateful Dead song, is “The Sadness”. Perhaps it’s that Link Wray-influenced guitar (minus the sludge, of course – this is Ryan Adams), or the sheer energy Adams exudes throughout the track. Or maybe it’s the theatrical nature that makes this reviewer suspect he was listening to some Nick Cave during the 27th year of his life. Whatever it is, “The Sadness” is a thunderbolt across the grey white landscape of 29. Of course, its energy also makes this reviewer wonder why he simply didn’t wait to release the whole album until it could all reach the same involving level of intensity. But at least the song reminds one of why exactly iTunes is so successful.

Frankly, Ryan Adams’ latest is like eating a decent meal. It’s pleasurable simply because it’s food, and nothing is burnt nor underdone. But at the same time, hours later you can’t remember whether you ate dinner or not.

Reviewed by Megan Giddings