PAX-AM, Center Photo with Vincent the cat by Rachael Wright for Rolling Stone
Ryan Adams ups the heartbreak ante with his 19th album, Prisoner. Created on Sunset Blvd. in his personal wonderland, PAX-AM (and New York), Ryan described Prisoner to NME as, ‘the moment you realize that you’re free from something, you’re free from a trap that you maybe had set for yourself that’s not real.’
Prisoner is the result of Adams’ hard won freedom, some of his most inspired work yet with whispers of Smiths, Springsteen, Prince and even some Moonlighting saxophone. Ryan creates albums that are made to be listened to all the way through–he’s a storyteller after all and he takes no short cuts. However if you are in need of the one-two Prisoner punch, let these tracks, these deep cuts, knock you out: Do You Still Love Me?, Shiver and Shake, Anything I Say to You Now, and We Disappear (every lyric on this one will gut you).
I can’t help but have a certain sense of pride in our shared adopted home, Los Angeles. I'm keenly aware that his prolific songwriting and obvious joy are created somewhere along Sunset Boulevard. I hold that fact close–it keeps me inspired. I advise not disregarding these as mere sad, disenfranchised songs, but regard them as made by someone who is living his dream, his purpose, someone who has set himself free, and listen with awe.
Pax-AM