Ryan Adams is not a melodramatic person but he is a melodramatic artist. That's why his Taylor Swift cover album was such a massive, controversial hit, because he lays everything bare when he picks up a guitar. Let's face it though, the 1989 cover album was his best in years, and it was written by a women nearly half his age. That's not to say that Adams doesn't still make great music, he does, but it's been nearly twelve years since his last truly great album: his 2005 album trilogy closer 29.
He's had ok albums since then: Easy Tiger, Ashes & Fire to name two, but each album since his mid-noughties heyday has had some serious dead weight. It's only natural when you’re an artist as prolific as Adams, a man who in his Whiskeytown days wrote upwards of 150 songs while recording Strangers Almanac. The man needs an editor.
It seems almost eerie that his new single, from forthcoming album Prisoner, is call Do You Still Love Me. Now Ryan Adams is a blatant singer but he's not that blatant. He's obviously talking about romance, but it is a good question for his fans. Do we still love him? Did we love him and now just like him as a friend? Has he given us too much love, with a staggering 16 albums in 16 years? That's enough to make any fan think "bloody hell I'm just getting into this one and you give me another!"
The single itself is nothing new, although it would make a great Taylor Swift song if she felt like returning the favour. The sort of classic rock numbers he puts in to break up the sensitive acoustic numbers (the ones he's better at), but unlike Jesus and Mary Chain, who also released new material this week, Adams doesn't usually release his best songs as singles. It’s very possible that he released Do You Still Love Me because he knew that it would be the most crowd-pleasing, a song that might pick up some fans that weren't sure they would stick around after 1989.
So do we still love him, I do, and 10 years of being called a sap for doing so has made me immune to the taunts of my hardcore punk listening brother, (I got him into Joy Division so I'm better), but Adams needs to find himself a new niche. Otherwise many of his fans may feel that they need to drift apart.
