29
by Ryan Adams
Metascore
69

Generally favorable reviews - based on 22 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 13 out of 22
  2. Mixed: 9 out of 22
  3. Negative: 0 out of 22
  1. The Guardian
    60
    Committed Adams-heads will love it; others will wonder why he commands such loyalty.
  2. Village Voice
    60
    Adams mines American Beauty and Workingman's Dead respectably, but his attempts at early-'70s Neil Young piano ballads come off as tear-stained love letters to himself, and hardly distinguish him as the guy who dropped out of high school to become Paul Westerberg.
  3. Mojo
    60
    Patchier than Jacksonville. [Mar 2006, p.92]
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  5. ShakingThrough.net
    58
    A grab-bag assemblage that simply doesn’t flow together very well.
  6. PopMatters
    50
    Mostly, 29 is inhabited by half-formed or downright failed songs that never get comfortable in the reductive environment.
  7. Rolling Stone
    50
    Somebody get this man an editor.
  8. Village Voice (Consumer Guide)
    50
    These meanderings are the kind of indulgence that ends label deals.
  9. AllMusic
    40
    It's the first time Adams has sounded completely worn out and spent, bereaved of either the craft or hucksterism at the core of his work.
  10. Prefix Magazine
    40
    Despite the three or four keepers, 29 suggests that Adams is still struggling to nail down his musical identity.

User Reviews

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User Score
8.7

Universal acclaim- based on 58 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 52 out of 58
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 58
  3. Negative: 2 out of 58
  1. chrisa
    May 12, 2007
    10
    You can judge this album in many ways, but go lie on your bed, at 2.30 in the morning, turn off your light, and just listen. you will then You can judge this album in many ways, but go lie on your bed, at 2.30 in the morning, turn off your light, and just listen. you will then hear the brilliance… Full Review »
  2. js
    Apr 18, 2007
    10
    lyrically amazing. brilliant.
  3. TheDaveHimself
    Aug 6, 2011
    9
    This is where he may have peaked. Great selection of songs, all blending well with one another. Complete record from head to toe. Moody,This is where he may have peaked. Great selection of songs, all blending well with one another. Complete record from head to toe. Moody, atmospheric, it almost reminds me of a Neil Young album. Say, After the Gold Rush. I don't know. I love both.… Full Review »
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