Adam René - Sadboy (Rewind)
I remember the day Adam played me this for the first time; it's still as poignant now as it was then. His most vulnerable body of work to date, this album really captured the crossroads he was at with his dreams of superstardom & who he truly is as a human being. His faith in God is ever so present on this record, whereas its predecessor, "Congratulations," only had subtle hints of it. On this album, it's very obvious, opening up with the submissive "Sadboy," where Adam imagines himself falling from grace into a pool of his own tears. The same ones he was submerged in on the original cover art to the previously rereleased "Reasons," the 1st hint at him doing these Rewinds to his old & now-classic material.
On "False Alarm," Adam comes to grips with the fact that dreams are just that; you can only experience them in your sleep, a beautiful metaphor with them being like a clock ringing a false alarm. He's just staying in bed, depressed over what could've been; he sounds like he's in an incubator here, just lying in the fetal position like a homunculus but unfortunately, he can't sleep. He just lies there, letting his thoughts run rampant & he can't seem to shut it off, he might've been urging her to stay away previously, but now he can't stop thinking of her. He needs some reassurance & is begging "HER" to give it to him, but "Bad Things!" are all that seem to come about in the dead of night, the time when he's most active.
A lost gem in "Red Ivy," I remember how excited he was when he told me how he got the Reek verse, the perfect choice for this smooth nighttime drive record. I know fans are going to go crazy once again for this one; there's the sequel to "Lone Wolf," please, Adam, we need the little short film you had done for this to come back to existence as well & what's great is that this old Adam "He's Dead." He needed to be for him to be resurrected anew, he had been praying for peace & it wasn't until he gave up these worldly wants & left them in the hands of God. Now, what else is there to "Pray 4"? He got a woman of God by his side & a beautiful family; to me, that was where the rebirth began. It's the sweetest record on here & honestly, his best production to date, so I'm thrilled that it gets to see the light of day once again, one of my favorite records of all time.
With this newfound "Comfort" his faith in God has brought him, the only way to go is up. If he was falling from grace in the beginning portion of this album, he's now ascending to the Heavens here & he couldn't be more grateful. The blood on his strings has paid off; the blisters are no longer callous. It's heartbreaking to hear his sibling & mother speak in the beginning, but it's words that a lot of us, including myself, need to hear. He has always lead by example & continues to do so, proving that God is here for even the greatest of sinners. If he could love the damaged person, if Adam was then, well, anyone can earn his love. God bless Adam & Club Galleria for setting their differences aside to gift us with these moments in time, these remnants of who he used to be. These records were so close to being time immemorial; let us bask in all his glory.