Plainness plagues Adams' 'Demolition'

Ryan Adams has officially attained rock-star status. He's hanging out with Elton John, dating Winona Ryder and Bono is singing his songs on VH1. You can argue until the chickens come home to roost about whether or not he deserves the acclaim, but his talent is undeniable, no matter how nefarious his public presentation becomes.\nDemolition is a collection of demo recordings that were floating around his record company's office for the past several months. Therefore, the songs' production is kept simple, and the tracks highlight Adams' voice and acoustic guitar. The lyrical matter continues on the lovelorn themes that were displayed on his first two albums, Heartbreaker and Gold.\nThe acoustic ballads lack the lyrical presence to overstep the plainness of the music. A typical couplet like, "Two hearts fading, like a flower / And all this waiting, for the power," from "Desire," lacks the geography and personal predilection to get across a point. \nSongs like "Starting to Hurt," with its Replacements-style vocals, and "Nuclear" consolidate Adams' skills much better than other tracks since they are driven by a full-band setting. With the guitars on overdrive, Adams' voice has the push it needs to move beyond his usual stately delivery.\nDemolition is the up-and-down collection demo tapes should be. When the songs are not fleshed out by the band, the album becomes halcyon and tedious. Only when the gravel meets the dust is there the kind of rock and roll that keeps you at rapt attention, and that only happens two or three times here. \nSo far, Adams' career resembles Rod Stewart's: incredible voice, songwriting ranging from transcendent to monotonous and a passion for the roots of rock. Stewart, though, had the intelligence to cover a song when his craft failed him. Adams still remains the man for you if you find Garth Brooks a bit ungainly or haven't wised up to Gram Parsons yet. Adams' lack of progression proves that he'll probably remain like he is, at least until he moves on from marijuana, alcohol and authenticity to coke and sonics.