New York Times' review of the latest Ryan Adams album - 29 says "If the upbeat title song's resemblance to the Grateful Dead's ''Truckin' '' is too blatant, the conjuring of Todd Rundgren on ''Nightbirds,'' Neil Young on ''Strawberry Wine,'' and Paul Simon on ''Starlite Diner'' resonates as tender homage to artists who also made their mark in their 20's."
Whilst the Decemberists have been around for a number of years, and a friend of mine is a big fan, I have to confess - a few tunes aside - they have never really made much of a splash with me. With their fifth album - 'The Hazards of Love' - a 17-track concept album that sort of tells a story about a fair maiden ravished by a shape-shifting demon (no, really) - however, I am suddenly find myself surprisingly won over. On some levels - like most concept albums - it is utter tosh, but with its repeating musical motifs and reprises, making you quickly think that actually there are only about five actual songs on the album - a clever trick. Like with all good concept albums this makes listening on shuffle not the ideal way to digest this album - especially as their are short 'interlude' pieces joining all the songs too. Added to all this the fact that the band seem to have a love for early 70's British folk/prog/heavy metal and this walks right up my street - and will ...
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