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- By date
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The album seems to reflect craft rather than passion, and while it's often splendid craft, the fire that made Whiskeytown's best work so special isn't evident much of the time.
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Gold sprawls but it rarely meanders, all the while signaling Adams' rite of passage from alt.country bad boy to Left Coast post-folkie.
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BlenderFeels positively grand in scope. [Aug/Sep 2001, p.120]
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His most ambitious collection of songs to date.
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The electric mood of Adams' sophomore disc definitely reflects his good fortunes and knack for solid songcraft.
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The album's sprawling tour through American music, from coast to beer-stained coast, is like a diner full of comfort food.
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Gold has its good points and its filler.
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The record could quite possibly be one of the best of the year with a dash of self-control.
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Gold comes off as clean, shiny, and over-the-top as Elliott Smith's XO, replete with strings, horns, and female backup singers. I double-checked the credits. Jon Brion wasn't listed.
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The stylistic mix is dizzying, from Dylanesque odes to Motown soul, but more than that, Adams's influences are so prominent that you often feel like you're listening to other people.
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Gold lacks the concise ache of Adams' indie solo prize from last year, Heartbreaker, but it is stronger on naked truth.
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A curious time warp of a recording: loud, soft, tender, mean, thoughtful, reckless.
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"Gold" proves that Ryan Adams is capable of blending a myriad of styles and influences.
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Another staggering batch of Nashville by-way-of New York twanging folk-punk ditties that will all but solidify his reputation as the Gram Parsons of the no-depression set.
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It is when Adams veers from the hook-orientated path that the record suffers.
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Adams continues to grow as a songwriter.
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 38 out of 40
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Mixed: 0 out of 40
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Negative: 2 out of 40
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Sep 17, 2011
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Sep 26, 2017
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Jul 14, 2013