Ryan Adams is a talented guy.

He showed it with his independent release Heartbreaker.

Unfortunately, Gold does not live up to the expectations that he set for himself.

Don't get me wrong, the beginning of Gold is, well, golden. In the post-9-11 world that we live in, lead track "New York, New York" is one of the prime examples of acceptance that we have. The narrator of the song is forced to accept that, while his lover may not provide all that is necessary for a fruitful relationship, the backdrop for the relationship is nevertheless exculpable. Adams continually disconnects himself from his relationships throughout the album, as though his mother is the one who betrothed him to all of his lovers. On "La Cienega Just Smiled," Adams holds no blame for his failed relationships; he just places it on the sedentary "La Cienega," meaning that he himself is not the one who is responsible for the failing that his lovelife encounters.

If this message were to continue as strongly through song during the rest of the album, Adams would have a classic on his hand. Problem is, motherfucker tries too hard to be hard. What I mean is, he tries to rock out too much instead of assuming the blamelessness in the first four songs of the album. "Nobody Girl," while essentially blaming the girl for not being up to par, goes on for a saddening eight minutes, repeating the same notion that we all have assumed since "New York, New York": according to Adams, he is not to blame. The rants that continue for the duration of the album are just that, rants that are surfeit in purpose, rants that bug you, rants that make you want to listen to Kylie Minogue so that you can rest assured the song was really MEANT to mean nothing. They're pointless and are decoration for Adams' extreme talent for guitar playing.

If you want supreme background music, by all means listen to the whole album. Additionally, if you want profound waxing on the pros and cons of relationships, listen to the first four tracks of the album; they are by far the best songs on the album, and they even have a "surprise" appearance by Counting Crows' Adam Duritz. However, if you're expecting this octane to continue throughout the album, unless you're mentally debilitated you should seriously consider listening to something a bit less pretentious, especially if you're adamantly opposed to drone rock. The first four songs in themselves warrant three bones, but one should be more scrupulous if they want more than a 4-song EP.