My initial reaction to Ryan Adams dropping five albums at once was to digest them as quickly as possible, but I’m so glad I’ve not rushed into each. It seems the Universe agreed with my listening order, alphabetically, and on listening to one album each day. It was as if each album was made for the day I sat down to absorb it.
Previously available as only vinyls, Ryan dropped the tetralogy of 1985, Heatwave, Star Sign, Sword & Stone, and the live version of Prisoners at the start of the year.
To recap, 1985 is punk angst, Heatwave is a rock revelation, and Star Sign is Ryan in his singer-songwriter glory.
For forty-one minutes and across ten songs, the listener finds Ryan at his most vulnerable. His heart and feelings are on his sleeve, baring his soul for anyone who listens. It’s a beautiful experience. It’s a heartbreaking experience.
It’s an experience Ryan fans know and understand when it comes to his crooner side. Raw, real, and emotional, Ryan writes stunning prose that paints gorgeous pictures steeped in emotions that coloured in gold and red tones and at times blues and pinks.
The most wonderful thing about Star Sign is that you can get lost in the album. Be it the words or the music, the album is one that you sit with and meditate on. It’s both a reflective and introspective album. One could listen to the album a multitude of times and find new meaning each time.
Fans of his slower side, ballads, and quieter works are going to be thrilled with Star Sign. The one upbeat tempo song, “Shinin’ Through the Dark” makes me think of Ryan in his Whiskeytown days. The accordion (it sounds like one to me, so if I’ve got the instrument wrong, please forgive me) brings a wonderful sway to the song that feels like you’re sitting on a front porch swing with your grandparents. It’s safe, comforting, and warm.
The stunning electric guitar work in “Be Wrong” coupled with the lyrics is sure to make this song a classic like “Come Pick Me Up”, “When the Stars Go Blue”, and “When Will You Come Back Home”.
The harmonica in “Tomorrow Never Comes” made my heart ache. Combined with the electric guitar wails and cries, the song is gut wrenching. An even more gut wrenching song is “I Lost My Place”. The piano accompanying Ryan’s voice and lyrics is poetic and tear inducing.
The ticking clock and the mood of the melody in “Staying Alive” makes me feel as if this could be a song in a Disney or Pixar film where the main character has the epiphany that turns their life around to save the day. On a note of hope and love, it’s a lovely way to end Star Sign.
Continuing with my previous thoughts, if 1985 was a cathartic purge of negativity and inner turmoil, Heatwave was an acknowledgement of the hurt, pain, and loss, and Star Sign is letting go of it all.
Vulnerable. Honest. Heartbreakingly beautiful.
MUST LISTEN TRACKS: “Self Defence”, “Darkness”, “Shinin’ Through the Dark”, “Be Wrong”, “Tomorrow Never Comes”, “Staying Alive”
Read our review of 1985 and Heatwave. Get Star Sign on vinyl.
