''Wednesdays'' is the seventeenth studio album by American singer-songwriter

Ryan Adams David Ryan Adams (born November 5, 1974) is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, artist, and poet. He has released 23 albums, as well as three studio albums as a former member of alt-country band Whiskeytown. In 2000, Adams left ...

. Originally slated for release in 2019, it was delayed following abuse allegations against Adams. It was eventually surprise-released digitally on December 11, 2020 through Adams's label

PAX AM Pax Americana Recording Company, also known as PAX-AM, is a record label founded by Ryan Adams. Established in 2004, the label released certain of Adams’ then-unpublished demo recordings. Following Adams' fulfillment of a recording contract ...

. Physical editions were released on March 19, 2021.

Background and release

In January 2019, Adams announced his plans to release three albums that calendar year. The first, ''Big Colors'', was due to be released April 19 and feature 15 tracks. The second, ''Wednesdays'', was to feature 17 tracks and did not yet have a confirmed release date. Adams did not disclose the name of the third album. The release of all three albums was put on hold after ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' published an article in February 2019 in which several women, including Adams's ex-wife

Mandy Moore Amanda Leigh Moore (born April 10, 1984) is an American singer, songwriter and actress. She rose to fame with her debut single, "Candy", which peaked at number 41 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Her debut studio album, '' So Real'' (1999), recei ...

Phoebe Bridgers Phoebe Lucille Bridgers (born August 17, 1994) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. She has released two solo albums, ''Stranger in the Alps'' (2017) and ''Punisher'' (2020), both of which received critical acclaim ...

, and an underage fan, accused him of abuse and sexual misconduct. Adams has denied the allegations. After a five-month silence, he returned in July 2019, posting a soundboard recording of a song titled "I'm Sorry and I Love You". On December 11, 2020, Adams eventually surprise-released ''Wednesdays'', which features "I'm Sorry and I Love You" as well as several tracks originally announced for inclusion on ''Big Colors''. Physical editions were released on March 19, 2021 and the vinyl version includes an additional

7-inch record In music, a single is a type of release, typically a song recording of fewer tracks than an LP record or an album. One can be released for sale to the public in a variety of formats. In most cases, a single is a song that is released separat ...

titled "It's Not That Kind of Night". A music video for "I'm Sorry and I Love You" was uploaded to YouTube on December 15, 2020. Its description mentions that ''Wednesdays'' is the first in a trilogy of albums.

Artwork and title

The album cover features a cropped reproduction of Siebe Johannes ten Cate's painting ''La gare du Nord''. Adams said of the title: "Limbo. That's what a Wednesday is sometimes. Maybe a portal. Maybe a bridge across. But it can hang there like a forever unless maybe you're out to sea and everything is just another token of the blue."

Critical reception

Stephen Thomas Erlewine Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance writer, occ ...

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

rated ''Wednesdays'' two out of five stars and noted the album's "spare arrangements and threadbare melodies". He opined that, in light of the allegations against Adams, "the songs collectively create an impression of a singer/songwriter who feels quite sorry for himself, but not necessarily sorry for anything he may or may not have done". He highlighted the songs "I'm Sorry and I Love You" and "Who Is Going to Love Me Now, If Not You" for "echo ngexcuses from abusers, whether intentionally or not". Writing for the German print edition of ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'', Birgit Fuss rated ''Wednesdays'' three and a half out of five stars. She opined that it is "a classic Ryan Adams album: it consists mostly of self-pity and self-accusations" and that "the track titles essentially tell the whole story". Describing the music as "the most beautiful

Americana Americana may refer to: *Americana (music), a genre or style of American music *Americana (culture), artifacts of the culture of the United States Film, radio and television * ''Americana'' (1992 TV series), a documentary series presented by J ...

garb one can imagine", she concluded her review by writing that "Adams has not sounded this inspired in a long time and it has never been so difficult to be happy about it". Many print and online music publications that have reviewed Adams' previous albums, such as ''

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'' and ''

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'', did not publish reviews of ''Wednesdays'', or even mention its release. However, the album has received a number of accolades from notable figures in the music industry, such as musicians

Lucinda Williams Lucinda Gayle Williams (born January 26, 1953) is an American singer-songwriter and a solo guitarist. She recorded her first two albums: '' Ramblin' on My Mind'' (1979) and '' Happy Woman Blues'' (1980), in a traditional country and blues style ...

and

Lindsey Buckingham Lindsey Adams Buckingham (born October 3, 1949) is an American musician and record producer, best known as the lead guitarist and male lead vocalist of the band Fleetwood Mac from 1975 to 1987 and 1997 to 2018. In addition to his tenure with Fl ...

and former ''Rolling Stone'' editor

Cameron Crowe Cameron Bruce Crowe (born July 13, 1957) is an American journalist, author, writer, producer, director, actor, lyricist, and playwright. Before moving into the film industry, Crowe was a contributing editor at ''Rolling Stone'' magazine, for wh ...

Track listing

Personnel

– vocals, guitar, piano (1, 3, 11), harmonica (3, 8), tom tom (5), producer *

Don Was Don Edward Fagenson (born September 13, 1952), known professionally as Don Was, is an American musician, record producer and record executive. Primarily a bass player, Was co-founded the funk-rock band Was (Not Was). In later years he produced s ...

– bass (1, 3, 4, 6, 9-11), double bass (2, 8), producer * Brendan McCusker – drums (1, 11), engineer * Stephen Patt – pedal steel (1, 8, 10), dobro (2, 8) * Zach Dellinger – viola (1) * Fred Bows – violin (1) * The Section Quartet – strings (2, 3, 9) *

Emmylou Harris Emmylou Harris (born April 2, 1947) is an American singer, songwriter and musician. She has released dozens of albums and singles over the course of her career and has won 14 Grammys, the Polar Music Prize, and numerous other honors, including ...

– backing vocals (3, 9) * Aaron Ficca – drums (3, 7) *

Benmont Tench Benjamin Montmorency "Benmont" Tench III (born September 7, 1953) is an American musician and singer, and a founding member of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Early years Tench was born in Gainesville, Florida, the second child of Benjamin ...

– organ (4-8), piano (5, 7, 8) * Charlie Stavish – bass (7), engineer * Todd Wisenbaker – electric guitar (7) * Beatriz Artola – synth (9), producer, engineer * Arnold McCuller – backing vocals (11) * Sir Harry Bowens – backing vocals (11) * Hilliard 'Sweet Pea' Atkinson – backing vocals (11) * Gabriel Sganga – engineer * Jeff Fitzpatrick – assistant engineer * Matthew Scatchell – assistant engineer * Joe LaPorta – mastering

Charts

References

{{Authority control 2020 albums Ryan Adams albums PAX AM albums