Ryan Adams. What a songwriter. Some say he's too prolific. He's not. He's just the lazy listener's nightmare. Of course some releases are better than others, but he really hasn't released anything so far that shouldn't be heard by the actual fans. Some say his debut album Heartbreaker is the best thing he's ever done. I don't agree. It's excellent, but my personal favorite is Cold Roses. And this Whiskeytown album - Strangers Almanac. Now, if you're new to Ryan Adams (or Alt-Country in general) this is the place to start. The songwriting, the lyrics, the arrangements, the muscianship, the lead and backing vocals...well, it simply does not get much better than this. This is an album / cd that I will listen to for the rest of my life, that's how much it resonates with me. If I could only pick one album by each of my favorite songwriters, Strangers Almanac would be in my all-time top 5 and remain there.
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