Some folks seemingly can't stand Ryan Adams. They point to his personality, which at times can be a bit much---whether it be a hot temper or confusing jabs at other musicians. Then they go deeper by attacking him for not having an original musical style and, instead, just wearing the hats of other musicians---putting them on or taking them off at his whim.
Then there are those folks who genuinely admire his talents and really love everything he does.
Personally, I am a casual fan. "Gold" is the only album of Adams' that I have, but I likely will buy more. And from that album, I can appeciate his folk/rock approach---regardless of which hat he is wearing. (I understand his other albums, such as "Rock N Roll" have a different sound than "Gold". So they're not folk/rock. That's OK. Just a different hat.) All I really care about is that the music is good. And I like his songwriting and vocal approach on many of the songs, such as "When the Stars go Blue". I don't know which vocalist he's channeling there, but it's almost a howling/mournful/sorrowful effect. Or some folks who can't stand him might call it "whining".
The SACD version is a single layer disc with both stereo and multichannel versions. The DVD-A is the same except it adds a video or two.
The surround mix is serviceable. It comes across as mostly stereo with some very light instrumentation in the surrounds. It's quite listenable, but I believe the mix could've been much much better. Interestingly, it lacks any subwoofer or center channels. Personally, I�m not too worried about the lack of a center channel. Moreover, it's a fairly acoustic album, so the subwoofer isn't an absolute necessity; but the album should sound better if either full-range speakers or bass management are used.
I say give the disc a spin. I'm not perfect and have flaws, so I can forgive and appreciate Adams' songwriting. Apparently, he writes at a pace that would make you think songs came off of an assembly line. Now... How could you not admire that?
