I saw Ryan Adams play the Stones. You didn’t. So let me tell you about it.
Oh, the balls of it all. To take on a legendary album, rebuild the songs, some in their original form, some in radical interpretations. That’s Ryan Adams, isn’t it, and I’m not even talking about Taylor Swift’s 1989, which he made accessible to, well, people like me.
This time it was the Rolling Stones’ Exile On Main Street, which one level of Stones’ fan will claim is their greatest album, while another kind of Stones’ fan will never have heard of it. Such is the passage of time. As is the fact that a search for the Stones’ “Happy” (one of Keith Richards’ greatest vocals and from Exile) on Spotify will yield songs of that title by Pharrell Williams, Mudvayne, Ashanti and even AREA 21 and Marina and the Diamonds long before you give up scrolling down enough to find the Stones.
But I digress. And rock is apparently dead anyway.
Ryan Adams’ show was kind of a spin-off from Jazzfest in New Orleans, him and a group of crackerjack New Orleans musicians (a Neville, Medeski of MMW, etc.) at a theater on Canal street.
Was it a success? Pretty much. Was it a transcendent experience? Kind of. Did Adams hit it out of the park? Maybe not quite. Was it worth seeing? Mos def.
FULL DISCLOSURE: I’ve always thought of Exile as a double album with 6–7 great songs and a bunch of blues-influenced toss-offs. I like the blues, but there is more than one type of blues song that works a repetitive riff over and over, and that can bore the crap out of me. As in, I’m not hanging with “Mannish Boy” all that long. Sorry.
Opening with a powerful “Rocks Off,” the band ripped through a powerful rendition of one of the best album openers ever, staying true to the arrangement and spirit of the original, and then tore through “Rip This Joint,” too. “Shake Your Hips” gave some indication of what was to come, as Adams and the band worked the riff into the overtime period. But, hey, it was early.
For me, there were three great stretches that really got me through some of the droning blues. “Tumbling Dice” to a tweaked “Sweet Virginia” to a revelatory “Torn and Frayed” show off both the Stones and this band at their best. In fact, Adams stretched out “Torn and Frayed” to much great success than the blues jams that proceeded and followed. It is a song I had overlooked in listening to this record, and now it’s one of my favorites.
Ryan Adams and band (and maybe the Stones, too), got lost on Side 3 for the most part, trapped by those blues riffs that wouldn’t end. But by the time they hit “Let It Loose” and all of Side 4, they were back to another peak stretch — “All Down The Line”, “Shine A Light”, and “Soul Survivor” being highlights.
Probably the biggest controversy of the show was the arrangement of “Happy.” It is the only treasured chestnut that Adams altered enough that it had no connection to the original arrangement — very similar to what he did with Taylor Swift’s “Shake It Off,” turning it into a shuffle. My fellow listeners were outraged by the sacrilege. Me, I liked it fine, but don’t think it approached the original, especially by stripping away the bluster of Keith’s riff and vocal.
Tremendous encore. Freed of songs they had to play, the band offered stunning extended versions of “Can’t You Hear Me Knockin” and “Sway” from Sticky Fingers, with a little-known “The Worst” sandwiched in the middle. Speaking for the entire crowd, we left with a sense of exhileration and fulfillment.
As a showman, this was Ryan Adams at his most introverted; he was almost the anti-Jagger for much the night, playing much of the concert in the shadows and, in what had to be an intentional move, never having an actual spotlight shine a light on him (look for hidden song reference!). And that was kind of strange. The intent, I suppose, was to say that the songs are the stars, but it was a visual experience as well as an aural one and Adams is one of our best and best-known youngish rockers, so that felt like a mistake.
And what does a crowd expect from a show like this? Slavish recreation of the originals? I hope not. There’s certainly one of the Stones imitator bands out there doing that. While not every song worked for me, they don’t all work for me in the original versions either. Most of all, the show confirmed for me that wherever Ryan Adams is going, count me in ’cause I’m coming along for the ride.
FOR YOUR PLAYLIST: “Happy” is a classic, but not a hit single, so where are you going to hear it these days?
IDEAL LISTENING: This ageless classic is like soy sauce. Add it to anything, it’s a bit salty, and Keith’s voice gives it that rich, umami taste that is still a bit indescribable. “Always took candy from strangers.” Was there ever a better boast of reckless freedom?
