Album Review: 1989 by Ryan Adams

Turns out Taylor Swift, when refracted through the Ryan Adams prism, sounds exactly like The Killers.

At least, that’s the conclusion one reaches at the end of Adams’ album-long tribute to Swift’s 1989; the most unexpected musical marriage since Adams’ actual marriage to Mandy Moore.

His goal, initially, might have been to give Taylor Swift’s irresistible melodies a Bruce Springsteen-styled backing.

The result is closer to The Killers’ own unabashed attempt to mimic The Boss, Sam’s Town. Seems that sounding like Vegas Mormon Brandon Flowers is the highway rest stop between Bruce and Tay. (BTW, Vegas Mormons is a way better band name than The Killers.)

That’s not to say Adams’ reinterpretation isn’t a whole lot of fun, or an interesting pop experiment, in which the biggest album of the decade (so far) is strained through one of the most notorious alt icons of the 2000s. Until Bjork’s Beyoncé arrives, this will certainly do.

(To some, this’ll be their first interaction with Ryan Adams, but he’s far from a ‘no-name’. Fact is, in his first few years as a public figure, name recognition was his biggest problem, in that he kept getting mistaken for Bryan Adams.)

Of the Springsteenian selections, opener “Welcome to New York”, the most undercooked-seeming of Swift’s 1989 cuts, is given some “Thunder Road”-esque bombast here. Similarly, “All You Had To Do Was Stay” now evokes “Hungry Heart”, which, when you think about it, kind of sounds like a Taylor Swift song already.

“Style”, the best of the lot, is given a more sinister, arena-ready arrangement, well-suited to its self-destructive lyrics.

Though 1989 saw Swift move away from her country roots and fully embrace pop, Adams has dragged a number of her compositions back to the realm of twang; most significantly “Wildest Dreams” and kiss-off anthem “Bad Blood”; the latter of which had plenty of crackle and snap previously, and now just seems sad. When performed by Swift, all of these songs had an element of defiance. Adams’ greatest achievement in this might be laying bare the lyrics, uncovering just how heart-hurt this break-up record is.

His downbeat takes on “Shake It Off” and “Blank Space” will likely be even more controversial among diehards. (This despite Adams’ most famous cover, “Wonderwall”, being the biggest, most beautiful bummer you’ve ever heard.)

To the last detail, Adams’ 1989 is intricate, deliberate and fascinating, and that includes the artwork. (Another Polaroid, like Swift’s, except this one is focused on the birds from her sweater. Introversion taken to the next level!) Sadly, he’s not as stringent when it comes to her lyrics. Those hoping to hear Adams describe himself as having that “good girl faith and a tight little skirt” will need to look elsewhere. Nonetheless, this is a wonderful companion piece.

However, there are moments when you miss Swift too much. The way her voice pierces on “Stay”; her howl of “it’s been waiting for you” in “Welcome to New York”; the way she lingers on “look in your eye” during “Style”; the unmistakable click before “I’ll write your name” on “Blank Space”.

So, a companion piece is all this is (albeit a hugely listenable one). Dude-bros the globe over have spent the past twelve months covering Swift’s singles, jamming them into more supposedly male-friendly genres; as if they’re rescuing these personal, indelible songs from Swift herself.

They didn’t need rescuing.

3.5/5

Both versions of 1989 are available now.