SuppliedRyan Adams
1989
Pax-Americana Recording
paxamrecords.com
When people think of Ryan Adams, they usually think of hair that needs to be washed, weepy but pleasant vocals, and that denim jacket that he hasn’t changed out of for, like, seven years—they definitely don’t think about Taylor Swift. So when, in August this year, Adams announced via Instagram that he was working on a cover album of T-Swizzle’s 1989, fans of both performers (not to mention Swift herself) were pretty thrilled. Ryan Adams’ cover album includes every song from the 1989 standard album, set in the same order as the original. However, somewhere along the way, he ditched the light, 80s pop sounds of the originals andturned them all into emotional ballads and typical Ryan Adams-esque rock numbers.
Although some of the covers on the album are considered to be an improvement (‘Welcome to New York’), there are others that are somewhat bland and don’t hide the likely fact that Mr. Adams was probably stoned as hell when he was working on them. It’s no surprise that some of the songs have lost a certain spark in the transition—Taylor’s musical register is much broader than Ryan’s, making his renditions of songs like ‘Blank Space’ and ‘This Love’ a little bit dull. Fans of Adams knew, however, exactly what to expect: 1989 pretty much sounds like any other Ryan Adams album. Although based largely around the use of Adam’s acoustic sound, there are a few upbeat, alt-rock songs thrown into the mix. When paired with Adams’ emotional voice and Swift’s lyrics, the album sounds both musically captivating and expressive. This version of 1989 relies mostly on classic Americana and alt-folk to deliver an interesting and enjoyable album.
Overall, the album is fun to listen to, especially when you’ve heard the original. Brilliantly executed and reimagined, 1989 met and exceeded most people’s expectations, notably with the clever reference to Sonic Youth in “Style” and his decision to drop any mention of “thisss sickkk beat” in ‘Shake It Off’. While it’s no Heartbreaker, it has no doubt become a favourite among his studio albums.
