Ryan Adams may be a pretentious prick, but the man can write a song, no question about it. When he's not putting out multiple albums per year, and focuses, albums like this can happen. This sounded great right when it came out, I ranked this #5 in my 2002 rankings originally, and it only sounds better many years later.

The first four songs are about as strong as an album can start, one great song after another - "New York, New York" (timely in its release 2 weeks after 9-11), "Firecracker", "Answering Bell" and "La Cienega Just Smiled." There are other great tracks too, and at 16 songs you certainly get your money's worth. This album did push Ryan Adams into the mainstream, kind of. Honestly, I'm amazed this album didn't end up selling 10 million copies, as it certainly could have had that broad appeal if radio/MTV got behind it.

great album, La Cienega Just Smiled is a chilling song!

Goodnight Hollywood Blvd!!! I love it too much

Ryan Adams returned in fine, if not pop-honed-by-the-way-of-Elton-John, form with "Gold". It starts with a flourish between the rapid-fire trip through "new york, new york" (released just before 9/11) and "firecracker". "gonna make you love me" is another upbeat stomper. "la cienega just smiled" ("And I hold you close in the back of my mind / And raise my glass 'cause either way I'm dead / Neither of you really help me to sleep anymore / One breaks my body and the other breaks my soul ") is the first ballad and, along with "when the stars go blue" (awfully covered by u2 and pop country) and "harder now that it's over", is just as good as the stuff on "heartbreaker". A couple of songs, like "enemy fire" and "somehow, someday" could've been replaced by "bonus ep" songs like "rosalie come and go" and "the bar is a beautiful place", but that's being picky.

Good collection of songs. Played on piano and acoustic guitar mostly. I think The Rescue Blues was my favorite song here.