Customer Ratings & Reviews

Ryan Adams has careened between angry rock and mellow despair on his many previous releases on this new release he tells tales of lost love, missing friends and mistakes made without the usual self focused anger. Takes a couple listenings to fully appreciate but overall his most complete CD.

Unfortunately Ryan Adams's albums have always been better when there is conflict in his personal life. That is the case with this album. "Prisoner" obviously is steeped in something bad, most likely his divorce, and he is going through something tumultuous. His pain is out there for all to hear and despite the bleak nature of this release, the songs really are breaking through. A hard listen, it may or may not strike your fancy, but I find it to be one of the more interesting RA albums of the past ten years and personally I think he is on a roll... In recent years he seemed to be drifting and not really connecting on many of his latest efforts; this one, starting with 1989 and many of his recent 7 inch singles, breaks the trend for me. Quite enjoyable, very personal, very dark and not a happy album... I truly love this album. I wish I could give it another star but that space is reserved for Gold, Heartbreaker, LIH, and his stuff with the Cardinals. On many levels it is most comparable to LIH but without John Porter on the dials. Awesome album. This one is definitely up there.

Every track here is great. The only slight "problem" I may have is that the highs don't quite hit the highs of some of his best work in the past, but there really are no lows/skip tracks. The title track is sublime. The album is sequenced well and the attention to detail in the production is awesome. Here's hoping he releases a more economically priced CD of the 17 b-sides in the deluxe $150 box set for those who love the album (and Ryan in general) but can't justify or afford the box. Looks really cool, just can't do it unfortunately. Or if he really wants to make me happy, release a 2 CD set of the Prisoner b-sides and a compilation of all the recent 7" singles he put out (or really, really happy - a career compilation of all b-sides/non-album tracks).

"Prisoner" marks Ryan Adams' third knockout album in a row following his 2014 self-titled statement of renewed purpose and 2015 full-cover of Taylor Swift's "1989". Its deeply felt, purely American heartache/heartbreak guitar rock, bolstered by catchy melodies, tight arrangements, focused lyrical and musical songcraft, and underlying confidence, is evidence that his last two albums was no fluke: Ryan Adams is on the biggest winning streak of his 20 year career.

Prisoner, Ryan Adams' 16th solo record is unsurprising but solid. Much of Prisoner is anguished breakup songs, presumably inspired at least in part by the breakup of Adams' marriage to Mandy Moore. Prisoner's music is fairly familiar and simple. Prisoner starts with Do You Still Love Me?, which has a simple, stomping sound which lets the intensity of Adams' feelings come through clearly. Adams seems to take some responsibility for his partner's reduced affection as he asks "why can't I feel your love?" On Prisoner, Adams' ability to create a poignant sound overcomes the lack of subtlety of the metaphors("waiting on parole", "I am a criminal") Ryan uses for feeling a love he knows is wrong. Adams continues to write about a big, painful love on Doomsday, bemoaning his lover's lack of commitment where she once said she'd love him until the apocalypse. To Be Without You is more self pity saved by tuneful music. Haunted House pales in comparison to Adams' similar Halloween Head but it's one of Prisoner's better songs as Adams declares that he wants to move beyond his sad, lonely present. The music's taste of optimism makes Adams' mopey moan easier to take. Adams' consistently downbeat tone gives Prisoner interesting consistency. And Adams' musical gifts save Prisoner from being a bore. But I'm ready for Adams to challenge himself and have the energy and variety he had on his 2014 self titled record and even his 2015 cover of Taylor Swift's 1989.

Ryan Adams takes what he learned covering Taylor Swift's 1989 and applies it to a great batch of original songs. There's an eighties veneer on several songs here, especially the first single, "Do You Still Love Me." It seems an odd fit initially, but I warmed to it really quickly and the songs are good enough to work even if that conceit didn't.

I read somewhere that Ryan Adams was the present day Bruce Springsteen. He is that and lots more. A songwriter's songwriter. If you like melodies, lyrics and music that actually means something and music created by real people - check this Album out! There is no way you could or would be disappointed.

Another great Ryan Adams album. The inspiration comes from his recent divorce from Mandy Moore and he pours his musical heart out on this release. I love the guitars on this album. Nothing bloated here at all, and it pairs very well with his self titled release from 2014. Highly recommended!

Although I am enjoying this album and love Ryan unconditionally as some of my favorite music is from him. This album although musically sound and with great writing, it is NOT my favorite album to date as COLD ROSES still holds that testament and the test of time. This is a fine effort but i didnt love so much.

The best albums are fueled by honest emotion , no stronger emotion than a broken heart, and Ryan's divorce created the best divorce record EVER. It's heartbreaking yes , but so creatively astonishing there's really no effort required to get past it. Hauntingly beautiful.

I have been a fan of Ryan Adams for over 15 years now and his music keeps getting better and more meaningful!! This album mixes rock, alt-country, and ballads together to really make a complete CD!! I love everything about it!!

This album, even if you're not a Ryan Adams fans, is possibly his best. It's hard to have a favorite but it's amazing from start to finish. Great album if you want to start listening to Ryan for the first time. Buy this!

Fantastic follow-up to Adams' 1989 ... which was the best breakup album *not* written by Ryan Adams ... there's nary a throwaway track on this collection, which is one of the best albums since GOLD.

If you like Ryan Addams , you will love this CD . I think it is his best yet , I am always playing this disc way more then any of the other CD's that I own . Right now this is my favorite CD .

It's a solid album, but I don't know that there are any really, really stand out tracks... Well, maybe #1. But the rest are good, but kinda forgettable. I recommend Heartbreaker, Gold, Demolition, and 1989.

One thing about Ryan Adams is that he is consistent. Every album is slightly different and yet they all sound like a Ryan Adams record. If you love Ryan Adams you will love Prisoner.

Great, but sad, songs about the end of a relationship. I ended up liking them all, with "Haunted House" as my favorite. Any fan of Ryan Adams will like this collection of songs.

This DRA album will not let you down. I highly recommend this one. Haunted House and To be without You are both amazing songs. A must for your Ryan Adams collection.

Really great album, a little heavier mix than Ashes & Fire, but not too much so. I've come to like his style and this is an excellent place to start your R.A. collection...

this lp is exactly what you would expect from Ryan - easily likeable rnr. this is the type of music that should routinely be found on FM and would have been surely in the 1970's.