Love Is Hell Pt.1 [EP] [Import]

Well, having heard both this and Rock'n'Roll, I'm here to tell you that the record company got it quite spectacularly wrong. While Rock'n'Roll is not disappointing by any means, and does exactly what it says on the tin - which is have fun - Love Is Hell is simply better. While Rock'n'Roll may be good, Love Is Hell is great.

Here we see Ryan at his most fragile, atmospheric, and even slightly tortured. Witness "The Shadowlands", where Ryan claims that "Most people never find a love", or Avalanche, where he says "I taught you how to feel, but you just feel numb"... The prime example of this though is "Afraid Not Scared", where Ryan's desire to write a "druggy suicide record - something drastic" is fully realised - "I'm really dying in here, and I'm afraid - no I'm scared... I'm getting really cold, and I'm looking at you, and you're not moving..."

Most fascinating of all is Adams' fascinating reworking of Oasis' Wonderwall. Let's put it this way - Noel Gallagher wasn't kidding when he told Ryan "It's your song now".

For anyone who has been even vaguely interested by Ryan's two excellent previous solo albums, Heartbreaker and Gold, this is well worth investing in - and for any fans of Ryan's music, this is a must buy... The addition of two bonus tracks, Caterwaul and Halloween, make this almost an album proper - so if you're deciding between Love Is Hell or Rock'n'Roll - Love Is Hell is the only sensible choice... Shame Ryan's record company didn't realise that...

Career suicide my ass. 'Love Is Hell pt 1' is atmospheric, desperate and sorrowful, infringing upon the drizzly realms of Doves and Elbow. The Strokes' Fabrizio Moretti plays drums on 'Halloween' while indie actress Leona Naess guest vocals on 'Caterwaul'. Adams wanted to make a "druggy suicide record…something that sounds like really cracking up" and he's done just that.
'Afraid not Scared' is a fragile guitar based track, a cover of Oasis' 'Wonderwall' is an acoustic, graceful affair while the soft lyrics and lingering piano chords of 'The Shadowlands' could easily have fit onto Adams' critically acclaimed second album 'Gold'.
The beautiful 'Avalanche' is the standout track and shows how talented Adams is as a singer as well as a songwriter. 'Love is Hell pt 1' is inspired and makes you wonder what kind of drugs Lost Highway were on to send him back to the studio to make 'Rock N Roll'.

On offering what was to be his third studio album proper for listening they where taken a back. Claiming that the songs he had offered were "too alternative rock," "incredibly depressing" and "not your best stuff." Well perhaps they were correct on two counts. You can only imagine that the men in suits were a little anguished and disappointment at not getting another “Ryan Adams Alt-Country pin up boy” collection.

So Ryan goes off and records his “angry” rock statement that is “Rock N Roll” thus leaving his now estranged third album spilt into two EPs worth of material.

So was the record company right? Well sure. Ryan is maturing and moving on, evolving his sound for a different audience, perhaps. But the quality remains and then some. With former Smiths producer John Porter at the helm the production is at times sparse but always sympathetic. “Political Scientist” starts with simple piano lines building to a caustic ending. “Afraid Not Scared” has more of a, hold your breath, Radiohead style acoustic sway to it whilst the title track rocks as hard as it needs to. His stripped back version of “Wonderwall” is a rarity in this day of age of being a decent cover, before the painfully beautiful “The Shadowlands” just breaks your heart.

What were left with is then, contrary to what his record company had suggested, is a 35 minute piece of musical tapestry that is equal of anything that Ryan has offered previously. You have to feel robbed though, at the fact this could possibly have been the best album of 2003. Never mind. Buy, cherish and have your heart broken into millions of little pieces.