Instant Expert: Ryan Adams

Ryan Adams launched his solo career in 2000, after six years of fronting the fractious North Carolina alt-country band Whiskeytown. He’s kept busy since, releasing a dozen albums of heartbroken music under his own name and with his mid-2000s band the Cardinals — said to represent just a fraction of the material he’s written and recorded. It’s all part of a resume that also includes various heavy metal and hardcore side projects (Orion, WereWolph, the Finger), production gigs (Willie Nelson, Jesse Malin) and even a brief retreat from music to deal with an inner-ear problem. Not too long a retreat, though: Adams returned last year with the excellent 'Fire & Ashes.'

Adams’ output has been prodigious enough that nailing down a consensus is no easy feat, but his solo debut, 2000’s ‘Heartbreaker,’ tends to get the most critical love for its combination of searing ballads like ‘Oh My Sweet Carolina,’ and seat-of-his-pants rockers such as “To Be Young (Is to Be Sad, Is to Be High).”

Yeah, ‘Heartbreaker’ is good, but it’s rough. ‘Gold’ (2001) more fully develops Adams’ sound and shows the full range of his songwriting chops.

Yeah, ‘Heartbreaker’ and ‘Gold’ are good, but Adams shines brightest on his Grateful Dead-inspired double-album ‘Cold Roses’ (2005). ‘Magnolia Mountain’ is full of tasty jams, dude!

Play ‘Summer of ’69!’