# 47 "Dear Chicago" by Ryan Adams

Being a Ryan Adams fan is usually pretty rewarding. The guy is easily one of the most prolific recording artists around. A few years back, he put out three releases in a span of seven months, and one of those was a double album. He was writing and recording so much that he started putting stuff out on his website via a series of pseudonyms. There was death metal, rap, rock, and honky-tonk from pen-names like DJ Reggie, The Shit, WereWolph, Sad Dracula, and The Ghetto Birds. I'm not saying that it was all high quality stuff, but I wasn't waiting around for five years in between releases like you do with other acts. And whether he's obsessively Twittering, filming and releasing bizarro videos, writing books of poetry, or releasing legitimate cd's, Ryan Adams consistently produces.

A friend of mine says that if Adams released only half of what he was doing, the overall content would be a lot better. "He needs to learn a bit more about self-editing," he told me. He might be right. That double album, 2005's "Cold Roses," would've been a PHENOMENAL single record. But as it was, I still thought it was RA's best release to date. So if you get into Ryan Adams at any time in your life, it can be a series of high and lows. When he hits the mark, though, Adams is an incredible performer.

"Dear Chicago" is one of those near perfect Ryan Adams releases. It's from the album "Demolition," which was essentially a collection compiled from about four or five full-album follow-up attempts to his breakthrough disc "Gold." As usual, Adams wrote and recorded a boatload of songs... enough for five albums, but the record label wasn't sold on any of it and as opposed to release them all decided to put together the best songs from the individual records. What you end up with is a look at the different sides to RA's musical choices. There's some pop-rock on it, some slower ballads, some country-flavored songs, and some straight-up rock and roll. I like it because you get to see the various sides to his work. Others criticize the album for lacking cohesion. Buy the cd. Make the call.

"Dear Chicago" showcases Ryan Adams' phenomenal voice and heartfelt songwriting. It's essentially a break-up letter to a loved one. The lyrics are pretty sad. He sings about being alone, feeling "happy and sad and back again" and that he thinks about his lover all the time but that it's "strange and hard to do." Lines about "nothing breathes here in the cold... nothing moves or even smiles" are followed by "I've been thinking some of suicide." There's a tangible sense of depression and isolation in every lyric delivered powerfully by Adams' vocal performance. And in the end, when he confesses the brutal "I think I've fallen out of love with you," his breathy gasp just kills me. Imagine saying that to someone! It's a powerful crescendo to a great song.

"Dear Chicago" is from the album "Demolition." To hear the song, click on the icon in the widget jukebox along the side of the blog.