Advanced Search >
Help Me Search

Music

All-Time High (And Low) Scores
Best Of 2009
Best Of 2008
Best Of 2007
Best Of 2006
Best Of 2005
Best Of 2004
Best Of 2003
Best Of 2002
Best Of 2001
Best Of 2000

Upcoming &
Recent Releases

sort by namesort by score

62 50 Cent
70 AFI
65 Air
70 Alice In Chains
53 Kris Allen
78 Amerie
79 Annie
76 Anti-Pop Consortium
86 The Antlers
75 Arctic Monkeys
68 As Tall As Lions
82 Atlas Sound
77 The Avett Brothers
67 Backstreet Boys
59 Bad Lieutenant
68 Devendra Banhart
71 Lou Barlow
88 Baroness
69 Basement Jaxx
81 David Bazan
72 Beak>
72 Brendan Benson
84 Biffy Clyro
72 The Big Pink
95 Big Star
46 Billy Talent
75 The Black Crowes
72 The Black Heart Procession
68 Blitzen Trapper
75 BLK JKS
53 Bon Jovi
76 A.A. Bondy
65 Boys Like Girls
76 Brand New
73 Tyondai Braxton
83 Brother Ali
72 Ian Brown
75 Michael Buble
77 Built To Spill
61 Colbie Caillat
78 Califone
69 Mariah Carey
81 Brandi Carlile
72 Julian Casablancas
83 Rosanne Cash
71 Castanets
65 The Cave Singers
82 Nick Cave & Warren Ellis
64 Exene Cervenka
79 Vic Chesnutt
75 Choir Of Young Believers
81 Circulatory System
67 The Clean
84 The Clientele
72 Cold Cave
85 Converge
71 Eric Copeland
76 The Cribs
79 Cymbals Eat Guitars
62 Dashboard Confessional
71 Datarock
59 Dead By Sunrise
76 Dead Man's Bones
77 Del The Funky Homosapien & Tame One
88 Destroyer
73 Do Make Say Think
63 The Dodos
77 Drive-By Truckers
67 Bob Dylan
58 Echo & The Bunnymen
61 Electric Six
44 The Entrance Band
69 Fanfarlo
71 Jay Farrar And Benjamin Gibbard
63 Felix Da Housecat
68 Fink
66 Orenda Fink
79 The Flaming Lips
66 Flight Of The Conchords
79 Florence And The Machine
67 John Fogerty
83 Fuck Buttons
71 Nelly Furtado
47 Gary Go
68 Ghostface Killah
79 Girls
69 Gossip
62 David Gray
66 David Guetta
65 Calvin Harris
79 Richard Hawley
74 Mayer Hawthorne
66 Headlights
79 HEALTH
77 Joe Henry
67 Hockey
67 Whitney Houston
80 Hudson Mohawke
68 Imogen Heap
59 Jack Ingram
79 Islands
74 Jamie T
65 Jay-Z
51 Jet
68 Daniel Johnston
76 Norah Jones
77 Karen O And The Kids
72 Toby Keith
69 Kid Cudi
75 Kid Sister
66 Kings Of Convenience
62 Sean Kingston
64 KISS
63 Mark Knopfler
73 Kris Kristofferson
68 KRS-One & Buckshot
76 La Roux
85 Miranda Lambert
72 Ledisi
71 Sondre Lerche
56 Juliette Lewis
62 Leona Lewis
82 Lightning Bolt
74 Little Dragon
44 Pixie Lott
83 Patty Loveless
73 Lyle Lovett
79 Lucero
75 Baaba Maal
77 Madness
84 Madonna
85 Manic Street Preachers
61 Maps
73 Mario
55 Massive Attack
57 Matisyahu
62 John Mayer
67 Reba McEntire
66 Tim McGraw
65 Brian McKnight
79 Mew
75 Mika
68 Amy Millan
76 Mission Of Burma
75 Molina And Johnson
80 Monsters Of Folk
66 Morrissey
85 Mount Eerie
76 The Mountain Goats
62 Múm
72 Muse
66 Willie Nelson
82 Nirvana
96 Nirvana
80 No Age
71 Noah And The Whale
75 Noisettes
79 Nudge
64 OneRepublic
47 Dolores O'Riordan
74 Os Mutantes
78 Osso
67 Alec Ounsworth
81 Owen
73 Paramore
78 Pastels And Tenniscoats
54 Sean Paul
80 Pearl Jam
69 Jemina Pearl
72 Jack Penate
65 Phish
82 Pissed Jeans
61 Pitbull
79 A Place To Bury Strangers
79 Polvo
72 Porcupine Tree
72 Port O'Brien
79 Q-Tip
79 R.E.M.
88 Raekwon
69 Rain Machine
70 Ramona Falls
75 Dizzee Rascal
74 The Raveonettes
79 Real Estate
76 Jay Reatard
81 Rodrigo Y Gabriela
66 Omar Rodriguez-Lopez
78 Russian Circles
69 Hope Sandoval & The Warm Inventions
78 Say Anything
61 Sally Shapiro
78 Shudder To Think
70 Simian Mobile Disco
58 Simple Minds
72 Six Organs Of Admittance
80 Slayer
61 The Slits
77 Speech Debelle
58 Spiral Stairs
55 Steel Panther
75 Sufjan Stevens
52 Rod Stewart
68 Joss Stone
83 Barbra Streisand
77 A Sunny Day In Glasgow
74 Susanna And The Magical Orchestra
79 The Swell Season
80 David Sylvian
83 Taken By Trees
80 Tegan And Sara
68 The Temper Trap
78 The Dutchess & The Duke
71 The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart
74 Them Crooked Vultures
72 Themselves
82 They Might Be Giants
66 J Tillman
69 Times New Viking
57 Tokio Hotel
67 Trey Songz
73 Frank Turner
71 The Twilight Sad
60 Carrie Underwood
56 The Used
68 Various Artists
69 Various Artists
77 The Very Best
70 Kurt Vile
65 Vivian Girls
71 Volcano Choir
73 Rufus Wainwright
78 Wale
57 Weezer
81 White Denim
76 Why?
83 Wild Beasts
80 Wildbirds & Peacedrums
69 Robbie Williams
59 Andrew W.K.
65 Wolfmother
84 The xx
79 Yo La Tengo
83 Yoko Ono Plastic Ono Band
52 Pete Yorn & Scarlett Johansson
59 Zero 7

Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed albums.

Love Is Hell, Part 1 [EP]

EMAILPRINTby Ryan Adams

Ryan Adams reviews
74
8.4 User Score:

Generally favorable reviews

Based on 16 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

Based on 12 votes
Read user comments
Rate this album >

Album Info

Label: Lost Highway

Release Date: 04 November 2003

Discs: 1 disc

Genre(s): Indie, Rock

Summary

Love Is Hell, Part 1 is one-half of the planned 'Love Is Hell' full-length that Adams had intended as his official follow-up to 2001's 'Gold' until Lost Highway refused to release it intact (instead encouraging the singer to record a more upbeat LP, 'Rock n Roll'). John Porter (The Smiths) produces.

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

100

Mojo

Some of the best songs he's written since Heartbreaker. [Jan 2004, p.98]

90

The Onion (A.V. Club)

Some of the most focused, artful, and affecting work of his career. [Review applicable to both Part 1 and Part 2]

Read Full Review >
90

New Musical Express

The Adams of ‘Love Is Hell’ has gone out to make an album that actually is classic rock ‘n’ roll rather than one that can simply impersonate it, and sound convincing. [Review applicable to both Part 1 and Part 2]

Read Full Review >
83

Entertainment Weekly

Shares some influences -- the Replacements, '80s English alt-pop -- with ''Rock N Roll,'' but the writing is tighter, the production cleaner, and the performances more considered.

Read Full Review >
80

Flak Magazine

Stripped of arrangements, the songs are mostly brooding ballads, shadowy blends of folk mixed with traditional country that highlight Adams' shaky voice and caustic songwriting. [combined review of 1&2]

Read Full Review >
80

Q Magazine

Part 1's eight deluxe country rock essays all impress. [Feb 2004, p.98]

80

Drowned In Sound

'Love Is Hell' is proof that Ryan Adams is still on form and as splendid as ever.

Read Full Review >
78

Austin Chronicle

The Love Is Hell discs are far more dense and dark, making the songs a fun challenge to crack open, though it isn't difficult to determine what a no-brainer it must have been for Lost Highway to favor the brilliant Roll over the more spotty Hell discs. [Review applies to both EPs and 'Rock N Roll']

Read Full Review >
70

Blender

The bleakness is stirring as often as it is enervating. [#23, p.100]

70

Dot Music

More commercial - and much better - than 'Rock'n'Roll', occasionally resembling the grandstand melancholia of Coldplay, and more frequently their antecedents The Smiths and Jeff Buckley. [Review applicable to both Part 1 and Part 2]

Read Full Review >
67

Spin

Everything is underwritten or overwrought. [Feb 2004, p.104]

65

Stylus Magazine

When [Love is Hell] works, and it does so only sporadically, Adams creates songs of suffocating closeness and density.

Read Full Review >
60

All Music Guide

If Love Is Hell, Pt. 1 has the edge over Rock n Roll, it's because it's more carefully considered in its production and writing, and he manages to hide his allusions better than he does on Rock, where every title and chord progression plays like an homage.

Read Full Review >
50

ShakingThrough.net

The songs comprising both parts of Love Is Hell constitute the worst songwriting by Adams ever stamped with a price tag.

Read Full Review >
40

Uncut

An utterly gloomungous affair with barely a crack of light piercing the lowering clouds of misery. [Jan 2004, p.116]

31

Pitchfork

A collection of preposterously cheerless (and charmless) songs that try much too hard to achieve a poignancy-- or anything, really-- that might hide their complete insignificance.

Read Full Review >

What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this album is 8.4 (out of 10) based on 12 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Zach J gave it a10:
Wow, the Pitchfork review Of Love is Hell (parts I&2) is by far, their most misguided effort yet. This is not only Adams' best album, as a whole, but is also one of the few albums in general that I consider "perfect... Not "perfect" as in flawless, but perfect in its current state where I wouldn't change the perceived flaws. Adams eschews the alt-country and rock labels on his previous albums and conquers the 80's brit-popish, delightfully depressing vibe. Yes, it does take a few spins to fully appreciate, but man oh man, is the payoff great... Tough to even list favorite songs as the album plays best from start to finish.

Nasty R gave it a9:
Heartland rock, so charming and impassioned that i always shake like a milk. His best album (with second part together) and one of the best of new century

Leo Y gave it a9:
Fantastic album with brilliant 3 song sequence starting from Shadowlands to Avalanche

Maiken S gave it a9:
Simply love it.

J gave it a10:
Best cd of the year, best Ryan Adam's cd and best of the 2 parts of Love is hell! Astonidhing Can't believe that this cd only has an overall of 71, it's even better than Elliott Smith postume album

Joey P gave it a 9:
I can understand why his company didn't want to release it, it does not contain a song which would be a hit. But Adams is right: this is a masterpiece - beautifully crafted and emotionally played. Vunerable and tender. Brilliant!

Ben J gave it a 7:
A considerable improvement on the uneven "Rock and Roll", this record offers the nearest Adams' has come to matching "Heartbreaker". Love Is Hell Part 2 is equally enjoyable, and gives a glimpse as to what might have happened if Adams had been able to release this as a single album...the question is though, which songs would he had left off?!

Read more user comments >

Popular on CBS sites: SEC Football | NFL | Video Game Cheats | iPhone | Video Game Reviews | Notebooks | Antivirus Software

About CBS Interactive | Jobs | Advertise

© 2009 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. | Privacy Policy (UPDATED) | Terms of Use