2024-01-02 18:55:48
Prisoners is a live version of the 2017 long player Prisoner and next to 1985, Heatwave, Star Sign and Sword & Stone one of five albums that Ryan Adams released just in time for the turn of the year 2024.
With everything that has happened in Adams’ orbit over the past six years, it was easy to forget what a fantastic album the Divorce record was Prisoner (along with his B-side partner who followed shortly followingwards) was and still is. A better reminder of this fact than the one that comes with a completely different perspective on the source material Prisoners, One might hardly have wished for this (or at most in the form of an all-encompassing complete package of the sessions from that time, including these live recordings here as a cherry on top).
In his performance (probably recorded in May 2022 in Boston and subsequently embellished with overdubs), Adams subtracts any rhythm section, reduces the event to the minimalism of vocals (passionately intoned, in the service of the overall aesthetic) and an acoustic guitar, which are ideally balanced 80s synth pads. How fabulously this arrangement works can be seen in the subtle accents Doomsday beguiling to listen to.
Only in exceptional cases is the sound palette expanded: in Prisonerthe highlight with Beth, Rest-Vibe where a harmonica and Rhoades piano as well as an expansively smooth, seductive saxophone solo fan out the spectrum magnificently, and in Tightropewhere these very instruments are undercut by a wind chime or seagulls-by-the-sea field recordings, but certainly by the reverberation of a drum machine playing spartanly in the background.
So lives Prisoners of a quiet, laid-back, sad mood and thoughtful aura, which is made even more intimate by the warm, clear sound of the recording.
The songs (as opposed to Return to Carnegie Hall) are mixed in a seamless flow, providing an additional captivating depth. It’s just a shame that the audience is only allowed to applaud politely at the end of each song, but otherwise, even without any interaction with the crowd on Adams’ part, there is only a limited chance of creating a real concert atmosphere.
But that’s fine, the atmosphere of the record is captivating and Prisoners of the highest quality, completely new in the songs Prisoner to be able to fall in love (and if necessary not even have to decide which version you like more deeply).
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