Rock N Roll [Explicit Lyrics]

***** = great
**** = good
*** = fair
** = bad
* = sh*t
no star = pure unadulterated vomit

***** 1) This is it: Great rockin tune, gravel vocals, nice hook.

**** 2) Shallow: Borrowing the "Bang a Gong" riff, Catchy hook.

** 3) 1974: Riff from "Cinnamon girl," Bon Scott vocals.

*** 4) Wish you were here: Can't place the rift, but its borrowed. I like the lyrics though.

***** 5) So alive: The Ryan we know and love. A bit of U2 thrown in.

*****6) Luminol: Great vocals, cool lyrics. 80's punk riff. Catchy.

**** 7)Burning photographs: "Detachable Penis" riff thrown in. Good song writing, perfect vocals.

*** 8) She's lost total control: U2 riffs abound. Nice hook,
solid song writing, I can do without the psychedelic ending though.

** 9) Note to Self; don't die: There's that Neil Young riff again. Alice cooper vocals ewwwww. Since when can Parker Posie sing?

*** 10) Rock n Roll: cool song. Piano, quiet vocals.

**** 11) Anybody wanna take me home: Perfect drunk in a bar after breaking up song. Ryan's as we know him, great song writing.

*** 12) Do Miss America: Corny lyrics, not a great song at all. OK hooky chorus.

***** 13) Boys: Ryan rocks. Great Pop song, punky hook, cool lyrics, U2 riff still around.

*** 14) The drugs not working: This songs not working, corny lyrics, There is a good song in there somewhere he just didn't find it.

Should have stopped at track 13 and ending the whole thing there.
This is the album the Replacements didn't want to make and the CD DGeneration wanted to make. Not Ryan's best but still pretty damned OK in my book. Shaky in places, dead on in others, but that's ROCK N. ROLL.

For an album that contains myriad potential radio hits, Rock N Roll sold rather poorly. Familiar, catchy hooks from the 1970s and 80s lurk within almost every song and perhaps therein lies the problem. By so ably aping his predecessors, Adams fails to establish his own voice as a rock musician. At times, Rock N Roll practically becomes Adams singing karaoke. "So Alive" is a great lost U2 song and Adams does a fine job singing it. Nevertheless, it's a guaranteed number one single with Bono hitting those high notes instead of Adams. "Anybody Wanna Take Me Home" is straight out of the Smiths' songbook, but Adams is less suited to providing vocals here - the song practically begs for Adams to concentrate on his guitar-playing and let Morrissey take over on lead vocals. "Shallow" is a not unpleasant hybrid of T Rex's "Bang a Gong" and the Hollies' "Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress", but doesn't exactly scream originality. Most of the songs are good, but few can be considered great. Not surprisingly, the great ones are the songs that don't obviously recall another artist - "Luminol", "Note to Self: Don't Die", "Wish You Were Here".

With his tendency towards the prolific and fondness for media coverage, Adams may yet attain the mainstream popularity he desires. As far as I can tell, he has two options. On the one hand, he could make a concerted effort to follow his more original musical instincts. The other option would be to start dressing stylishly while continuing to churn out mostly derivative tunes. The latter approach worked like a charm for another band, that is only half as good as Adams is, but of which Adams is inexplicably fond. The next time Adams decrees "This Is It", I want him to be telling the truth.

The album has interesting moments of ballsy pure rock, but where are the gorgeous ballads that were speckled all over "Gold"? Where is this album's "Sylvia Plath," "Wildflowers," or "When the Stars Go Blue"? The only ballad here, the titular "Rock N Roll," is throwaway middle school poesy.

Well, if it's gut-bucket blues rock you want, Adams aping David Bowie's "Jean Genie" in "Shallow" will gets your toes tapping. "Luminol" is another highlight. The album closer "The Drugs Not Working" is ripping rock 'n' roll whose hook is undeniable. Overall, however, Adams teases us with his talent rather than delivering a masterpiece here. Buy this, and keep your eye on Ryan. He's not yet 30, and he's only warming up!