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The Strokes "Room On Fire" RCA; Ryan Adams "Rock N Roll" Lost Highway

Published: Thursday, October 30, 2003

The Strokes “Room On Fire” RCA

It’s tempting to write this one off as disappointing. Two years after the much lauded and hyped “Is This It,” it’s clear The Strokes are more responsible for the quickly tiring garbage – er, garage – rock revival than any messianic saving of rock souls. The sound of the highly anticipated follow-up seems to be a mere retread of the first album, but with half the irresistible pop hooks and none of the initial surprise. If only it were only that easy. “Room on Fire” instead shows itself to be a fine-tuning of The Strokes formula, and a better – albeit less immediately arresting – half-hour collection of 3-minute tunes than its predecessor. Singer Julian Casablancas and company hint at new musical depths. Though no one would accuse them of making an experimental record, they seamlessly incorporate a number of interesting ideas with their signature sound – a tinge of reggae on “Automatic Stop,” some new wave guitar synth on the single “12:51,” and most striking, the Sam Cooke soul of “Under Control”– that expand considerably upon their debut. Of course with The Strokes, it all comes back to the straight-ahead rock and indifferent cool (both to be found in spades) that put them on the map in the first place, but behind the carefully cultivated image lies the real significance of this album. Only because The Strokes aren’t a one-trick pony can they manage to pull the same trick twice. - Alfred Lee

Ryan Adams “Rock N Roll” Lost Highway

From the opening chords of “This Is It,” “Rock N Roll” is clearly not your standard Ryan Adams album. Far from the delicate folk and mid-tempo country of most of his work, reverb-laden guitars chop at the backbeat like, well, The Strokes. He tears into a full Oasis yowl on the rocking “1974,” complete with a trademark Gallagher piano-and-acoustic outro. The influence of ’80s artists is huge here, with traces of the Smiths and early Brit-pop like the Stone Roses appearing throughout. Nowhere is this more evident than in the stunning “So Alive,” where intricate guitar lines and a falsetto chorus echo the Cure’s “Love Song.” Adams wanted “Rock N Roll” to be an album of guitar rock rather than another disc of “confessional folk music,” and the songs are decidedly based on riffs and volume rather than softly sung lyrics. The interplay between two rhythm guitars on “She’s Lost Total Control” creates a driving sense of urgency, and “Note To Self: Don’t Die” is one of his rawest tracks. Adams at times is a product of his influences, but here he seems to mold them together into a cohesive style. It may not necessarily be his style, but it remains a distinctly Ryan Adams album nonetheless. His longtime lyrical themes – loneliness, desperation, loss – are all present. His soaring one-line choruses and emotional vocals are unmistakable, and his traditional forefathers – the Rolling Stones, Neil Young, Gram Parsons – are still evident, especially in the album’s highlight, “Anybody Wanna Take Me Home?” Though sometimes missing the lyrical intimacy of his earlier work, “Rock N Roll” is an impressive effort from a seasoned songwriter with unlimited potential. Along with the simultaneous release of the darker, more acoustic “Love Is Hell,” this album should be the final piece of the puzzle that reveals Ryan Adams as one of the most important artists of his generation. - David Greenwald