Bryan Adams - The Endless Summer of Adult-oriented Rock

The history of music is crammed with labels that lump together, more or less forcibly, acts that aren't always all that similar to one another. In these cases, the phenomenon usually lasts for a number of years you could count on the fingers of one hand, and the bands involved end up irrevocably tied to that era alone. Getting caught up in this kind of mechanism can be useful in the short term, since it guarantees a certain amount of visibility, but the flip side is a loss of credibility once the bubble bursts. You remain inextricably linked to those years, and if you try to move forward, you're barely acknowledged by anyone.

Adult-oriented rock is one of the classic examples of exactly this. Artists like Boston, Journey, Toto, Foreinger, Steve Miller Band, Huey Lewis & The News, Def Leppard, and who knows how many others one could name, shifted truckloads of records partly because they were all lumped under this label, passed off as a musical genre even though it never really was one. Today, though, even where some of them are still active, most music fans inevitably associate them solely and exclusively with those years.

Not everyone, however, has met this fate, and one artist above all remains, to this day, riding high without necessarily being thought of as an old Aor act. Bryan Guy Adams, like the names mentioned above, had his big breakthrough during Aor's golden age, with albums like Cuts Like A Knife and Reckless and worldwide hits capable of moving audiences, like "Straight From The Heart" and "Heaven", or equally of making them sweat and have fun, like "Summer Of '69" and "Cuts Like A Knife" itself. Yet once the hangover wore off, he managed, thanks to genuine artistic merit (specifically, a thoroughly successful record like Waking Up The Neighbours) and some clever musical, and above all cinematic, synergies, to keep his name warm and never lose the grip on audiences that he still holds today.

The beginnings: meeting Jim Vallance and a still-untapped potential

Bryan was born in Ontario in 1959, and fifteen years later settled in Vancouver with his mother and brother. There he gained some experience in a few local bands, then, in 1978, he met Jim Vallance, with whom he would form a tightly-knit songwriting duo; Vallance also wrote songs for several other established names, such as Kiss, Tina Turner, Joe Cocker and many others. Almost all of Adams's best records feature Vallance's contribution, and almost all of his weaker ones lack it. That alone should be enough to understand how important Jim's work was to Bryan's career.

His debut album, simply titled Bryan Adams, came out on February 12, 1980, while the follow-up, You Want It, You Got It, was released on July 21, 1981. The same observations apply to both records: decent melodies and solid overall catchiness surface, but bite and personality are lacking. The rough, scratchy vocal timbre that would make Bryan Adams famous worldwide is still in embryonic form, and the swagger and intensity that would define his golden moments are not yet in evidence. For that matter, even the musicians who would back him during his most inspired period hadn't come together yet: the debut features none of them at all, while on the second album drummer Mickey Curry and keyboardist Tommy Mandel appear for the first time.

These are clearly “transitional” albums, which Bryan made to find his footing in the music world, both in terms of content and execution. Granted, a path like this would be unthinkable in today's music market, where if you don't come out with a fully defined debut you're irrevocably pigeonholed with no way back, but things were different back then, and it could happen that a label like A&M, still independent at the time, would decide (and could afford) to invest in a promising name and give him the time and space to gain experience.

It's worth mentioning at least a few songs from this phase. First and foremost, the opening tracks of the two respective records deserve a listen, namely “Hidin' From Love” and “Lonely Nights”, which boast rock-solid melodies and a contagious immediacy; then there's “Give Me Your Love” and “No One Makes It Right”, which can't be overlooked since they sound like the starting point for all the great ballads that would follow; and finally “Wastin' Time” matters too, showing at least a touch of rock'n'roll exuberance, along with “Don't Look Now”, a further step toward defining that muscular sound that would make Bryan's fortune.

Broadly speaking, the first record is a bit stronger melodically, while the second one sounds a little better overall. As mentioned, Bryan Adams and Jim Vallance still have to find a compositional inspiration that holds consistently to a high standard, and figure out how best to pair it with a sound that showcases it and truly hits the mark.

Conquering the world, knife-edge first

On January 18, 1983, Cuts Like A Knife is released, the album with which Adams and Vallance finally square the circle and lay the groundwork for the worldwide success that, right on schedule, would follow. Alongside them, two key factors prove decisive: the growing production skills of Bob Clearmountain (already at work on the previous record) and the arrival of two musicians who would stay with Bryan for a long time, namely bassist Dave Taylor and, above all, guitarist Keith Scott. We single out the latter in particular for two reasons: the fluid, swaggering way he plays, and his ability, during live shows, to be the perfect foil for the frontman, trading blasts of guitar riffs and playful banter with him that make the live experience even more engaging, along with an innate charisma that, every now and then, makes him the true star of the show. Scott is the missing puzzle piece needed to launch Adams's career and make audiences fall ever more in love with him.

Cuts Like A Knife is an album mainly known for a trio of singles that carried Bryan Adams's name into the musical mainstream. We're talking about the title track, “This Time” and “Straight From The Heart” — a powerful, adrenaline-charged midtempo, a lighter, more relaxed midtempo, and a romantic, engaging ballad. These are songs that, quite literally, need no introduction, and the great thing is that their success isn't necessarily down to a desire to churn out ultra-commercial hits with no regard for quality: it's true that, as mentioned earlier, they fit squarely within a musical trend that was riding high at the time, but they also carry undeniable qualities, like impeccable melodies, a charismatic and expressive vocal performance, and a sound that leaves the timidity of the past behind to move forward boldly, head held high.

The rest of the album, however, is no less impressive, starting with the perfect opener “The Only One”, which lands a solid blow right from the start, riding a medium-to-fast tempo and stringing together an irresistible run of melodies — the opening guitar riff, the verse, the chorus — instantly energizing the listener, helped along by lyrics that urge facing life's situations head-on, with no frills. The energy of “I'm Ready” is just as gripping and infectious, with rhythm guitars that have just the right amount of grit, capable of making anyone feel truly ready for anything. The romantic side resurfaces in the closing “The Best Was Yet To Come”, and it's true that, for Bryan, the best was indeed yet to come, and it would arrive very soon — but even just with this record, the step forward is remarkable, and the success that follows is thoroughly deserved.

Unsurprisingly, the album sells extremely well and allows Bryan to tour the world. By now the road to success is paved, and with the following album the first number-one hits on the sales charts would start to arrive too.

Vita spericolata

Reckless comes out on November 5, 1984, and is the Bryan Adams album containing the largest number of songs known to the general public. Apart from the opening and closing tracks, the other six are all global hits, which to this day form the backbone of the Canadian musician's best-known repertoire. Let's run through them briefly: “Run To You”, “Heaven”, “Somebody”, “Summer Of '69”, “Kids Wanna Rock”, “It's Only Love”. A run of hits enough to make your head spin, a bullseye so packed that if even one more arrow had landed in that exact spot, it would have snapped the shaft already there.

Once again, it's worth stressing that the results achieved by these songs, and by the album as a whole, aren't simply down to belonging to a musical trend that was still very much in fashion: Adams and his bandmates display an extraordinary level of compositional and performing quality. The line-up is the same as on the previous record, in keeping with the old saying that you don't change a winning team. Listening through, all the strengths of Cuts Like A Knife are still present, but there's also a clear improvement over its predecessor. Where, for the previous year's album, we spoke of impeccable melodies, a charismatic and expressive vocal performance, and a sound that moves forward boldly, here the melodies are even stronger, the vocals are even more compelling and effective, and the sound sweeps the listener up even further.

On top of these improvements, there's another one, perhaps the most pronounced of all, concerning the sheer breadth of ideas. Compared to the previous albums, many more solutions emerge, both in terms of rhythm and arrangements. As for the first aspect, there's more imagination, more flair and more freshness, and the songs no longer simply follow a straightforward pattern as they did in the past: some of them, for instance, display several shifts and variations on the theme. As for the second aspect, there's a much more interesting approach to coloristic elements, such as rhythm guitar, keyboards, backing vocals and even handclaps, which here, far more than before, are used as an essential part of the sound, with parts that don't just accompany the chords and/or main melodies but add shading and depth, lending brighter or darker tones depending on the song.

All this also allows Bryan Adams and his team to explore new stylistic avenues, stepping outside the usual boundaries of rock from that era and revisiting more traditional genres like rock'n'roll and country with a modern touch. Listening through, then, the album is varied, engaging and free of filler, starting with the opening track, a “One Night Love Affair” that was also released as a single but without reaching the fame of the other songs mentioned, while still proving very solid in terms of melodic quality and immediacy.

As mentioned, though, the best material lies in that fantastic central core, which opens with a dynamic, unsettling “Run To You”, perfect in the way it lays bare, without filters, the state of mind of someone who just can't stop being unfaithful. Next comes “Heaven”, one of the finest power ballads of the entire '80s, which, incidentally, marks Adams's first brush with the film industry, having originally been written for the movie “A Night In Heaven”; “Somebody” marks one of the rare occasions on which Adams tackles a groovy rhythm, and he rides it as well as anyone could; then there's “Summer Of '69”, in which everything works together perfectly to embody what the lyrics describe: the song's structure, with that voice-and-electric-guitar-only opening followed by the sudden entrance of the rest of the instruments, the style of the melodic lines, the carefully judged rises and falls in intensity — all of it helps the listener experience the sense of warm nostalgia at the heart of the song.

“Kids Wanna Rock” finds Bryan more unleashed than ever, yet, once again, it's also very carefully constructed, with those constant stop-and-go breaks that make it impossible to resist dancing; “It's Only Love”, finally, is a thoroughly successful duet with Tina Turner, with whom Bryan forms a pairing of voices that seem made to sing together.

The last important aspect of Reckless worth highlighting is a further leap in quality in the lyrics. On previous records, it almost seemed obligatory for the songwriter to talk about himself in some way and come across as someone capable only of good feelings. Here, instead, on one hand he tackles the theme of romantic infidelity without filters, and on the other he brings out a playful, party-loving spirit without fear of seeming superficial.

The album's success is, of course, immense, and it propels Bryan Adams's name into the pantheon of global superstars. At this point, cliché would have it that the resulting pressure brings on difficulties, and indeed that's exactly what happens.

The Fire Risks Going Out

On March 30, 1987, Into The Fire hits stores; sales are good, but certainly not comparable to those of the previous record. Critics, too, aren't shy about handing out negative reviews.

The fundamental problem is that Into The Fire gives the impression of a work team too worried about pleasing everyone at all costs, to the point of making the senseless choice of sacrificing the exuberance of Reckless in favor of seemingly safe solutions that in practice sound forced and expressively empty. On the production side, the collaborative, ensemble approach of the previous album is abandoned and replaced with a series of guitar flourishes from Keith Scott, with just the occasional keyboard touch and the rest of the musicians playing only flat, predictable parts. Presumably the aim was to follow the trends of the time, but the result is bloated and dull, sliding rapidly from Adult-oriented rock into its negative incarnation of "dad-rock."

From a thematic standpoint too, the aim is to play it safe and conventional, as if sensing the danger of exposing too much of himself. In doing so, though, Bryan Adams loses too much of his identity and fails to forge that connection with the listener which, up to that point, had been one of his greatest strengths.

Into The Fire is certainly a listenable record, but nothing more, and it disappoints all the more because it follows an extraordinarily effective album like Reckless.

Among the tracks, three stand out in particular, thanks to more inspired melodies, vocals with just the right edge, and sharper lyrics: we're talking about the single "Heat Of The Night," moody and enveloping in just the right measure, the dark but intense "Victim Of Love," and above all "Home Again," a song that has everything it needs to match the success of the artist's other major ballads, yet is inexplicably thrown away as the closing track of the album and isn't even chosen as a single. Neglecting a song in which, for once, everything is exactly in place amounts to a genuine commercial suicide, and makes it clear that, as has happened before in cases like this, such huge popularity wasn't managed in the best way.

In any case, Bryan Adams's name is still riding high, and consequently the number of concerts around the world keeps growing. In 1988 a live album also arrives, titled, with little imagination, Live! Live! Live! The recording comes from Rock Werchter, aside from one song recorded in Tokyo, and documents the band's excellent form at the time and the enthusiasm it was able to generate among fans. It would have taken much more than a less successful record to derail Bryan's success, and this album is the right release at the right time to hammer the point home for anyone who missed the shows.

The Change Of Partnership Reawakens Inspiration (And The Neighbours)

The spotlight is certainly useful when things are going well, but when problems arise it magnifies their effects and brings on even more. In this case, not long after the release of Into The Fire, word gets out that Adams and Vallance are at loggerheads, with Adams having no qualms about publicly voicing all his dissatisfaction. After all, Bryan understands perfectly well that he can't afford to fail again, on pain of fading into obscurity, and the fact that, in 1989, A&M gets acquired by Polygram certainly doesn't help his remaining chances should the next record fail to succeed, since, of course, a major label like that shows no mercy to anyone.

There's nothing left to do but make a painful yet necessary choice: part ways with Jim Vallance and find a new partner. The right man for the job turns out to be Robert John "Mutt" Lange, who proves capable of reviving Bryan Adams's inspiration and talent. Lange also joins the team as producer, replacing Bob Clearmountain, who had done excellent work on Cuts Like A Knife and Reckless but, as mentioned above, also bore much of the responsibility for the poor outcome of Into The Fire.

The other key turning point in the Canadian artist's revival comes thanks to film, specifically when the producers of "Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves," starring Kevin Costner, ask Adams and Lange for a song to serve as the film's theme. The result is "(Everything I Do) I Do It For You," a ballad that's little more than decent but which hits the mark.

Let's say it right away: Waking Up The Neighbours, released on September 24, 1991, would have been an excellent album even without that song, but here we're talking about the scale of success and, above all, about never again being dismissed by a mass audience. That outcome would hardly have come about without that single, which therefore proves decisive for Bryan Adams's commercial fortunes, and it matters little that its quality is probably inferior to that of some of his other ballads, especially since the song has its own merits, despite coming across as overly sappy.

As for the album itself, starting with its title, it aims to revive the more disenchanted spirit of the project, which had come through clearly in Reckless but had been almost entirely set aside in Into The Fire. Jim Vallance's contribution is still present on four songs, but the extensive work done with the new team is reflected, first of all, in the sheer size of the album, which contains fifteen songs for nearly 75 minutes of music. The most important aspect is the return of collaborative arrangement work, with all the musicians making significant contributions so that the sound once again displays a brilliant, engaging robustness. Compared to the past, there's less attention to detail and nuance, and this comes across as a deliberate choice, a way of breaking free from AOR conventions and delivering a rock record in the broadest sense of the term.

The best-known songs are all ballads (“Thought I'd Died And Gone To Heaven”, “Do I Have To Say The Words?”), or, at most, midtempo tracks like “Can't Stop This Thing We Started”, but the album is actually also full of playful moments that even go as far as mocking so-called good feelings, like the scornful irony with which the narrator chooses to end a relationship in “Hey Honey – I'm Packin' You In!”, or the glorification of someone who throws a house party so disruptive that the police have to step in, in “House Arrest”. It's a shame that, of this important side of the record, the singles only give us a glimpse through the devastating “There Will Never Be Another Tonight”, but partly those were the rules of the market, and partly it was impossible not to exploit the incredible pull of “(Everything I Do) I Do It For You” to introduce that side of the project to the wider public.

Those who went beyond the singles and listened to the whole album nonetheless found a reborn Bryan Adams, capable of delivering rock music with all the qualities needed to sound timeless in the most positive sense of the word. The one area where the AOR legacy is still felt is in the vocals, since, quite often, the backing vocals beef up the lead on the choruses with the classic harmonies you can hear on so many records from the Eighties.

So far, so good

Bryan Adams's popularity is at its peak, making this the perfect moment for his first best of, after one had already come out exclusively for the Japanese market. The collection is enriched by a new track which, unsurprisingly, is a slightly saccharine but overall solid ballad: the hugely popular “Please Forgive Me”. So Far So Good comes out in November 1993 and, rightly, draws heavily on his three best albums, bringing together fourteen simply irresistible songs that cement Adams's worldwide stardom. The compilation is also significant because, from here on, the quality will drop noticeably: there will still be a few good records, but nothing comparable to the trio that produced this compilation. So Far So Good is the true turning point of Adams's career, after which he will largely coast on past glories, though he'll keep getting almost every commercial move right.

Naturally, a tour to celebrate the collection follows, and it proves to be a genuine triumph. For Italy, the show at the Forum di Assago (Milan) in April 1994 remains unforgettable, a concentrate of sweat, adrenaline and fun that is certainly still close to the heart of everyone who was there.

Adams's popularity also fuels an increase in his forays into cinema. Two more singles tied to films follow: “All For Love” for the Disney version of “The Three Musketeers”, and “Have You Ever Really Loved A Woman” for “Don Juan De Marco”. The former features two equally important names, Sting and Rod Stewart, and while it's a fairly ordinary song in terms of songwriting, the combination of the three voices and the positivity it radiates still make it a pleasant listen; the latter, on the other hand, never escapes that same ordinariness and shows no communicative power whatsoever.

Of course, though, these are two more hits, and at this point it becomes hard to blame Bryan for wanting to make the most of the golden goose without putting too much effort into the songwriting. That's just how it is: he's already got plenty of great songs to his name, so now it's time to think about profit, not quality.

On June 4, 1996, an album arrives anyway. 18 Til I Die finds almost the same team as the previous record, except for the absence of trusted keyboardist Tom Mandel and the return of Bob Clearmountain for mixing. The impression this record leaves is that, this time, Bryan is keen to highlight that jovial side which, as we said, was very much present on Waking Up The Neighbours but had since faded into the background. The title says it all, and so do the lead single “The Only Thing That Looks Good On Me Is You” and other songs, like the title track and “It Ain't A Party… If You Can't Come Round”, with a decidedly rock'n'roll attitude and plenty of lightheartedness in the lyrics too.

The problem with this record is that the three tracks mentioned above are the only ones that really work, precisely thanks to the usual strengths of top-tier Bryan Adams production: strong melodic quality, a genuine sound, well-built arrangements and expressive vocal delivery. In the rest of the songs, by contrast, these qualities appear faded, if not forced, with notably less vibrant tones and generally weak melodies. Even when the sound stays natural, as on the powerful “We're Gonna Win” or the romantic “I Think About You”, there's no solid songwriting to give the tracks real credibility as a whole. Not even the excursions into territory marked by arpeggiated acoustic guitars, on “I'll Always Be Right There” and the aforementioned single “Have You Ever Really Loved A Woman”, achieve good results.

Ultimately, 18 Til I Die feels like a work made to meet some contractual deadline by a team that, in reality, has other things on its mind, namely how to keep milking the glorious past with effective marketing synergies. It's not an unlistenable record, but it leaves nothing behind, mainly because it's far too out of focus in terms of both songwriting and production.

At least live, or at any rate at the show held once again at the Forum di Assago, Bryan and his band are in perfect form, still able to put on a show of real quality. The crowd sweats, has fun and sings along, and the musicians give it their all, forging a very intense connection with the fans.

A bird in hand

In the Nineties, good marketing strategy called for the release of an MTV Unplugged, and Bryan Adams was certainly no exception. The record duly arrives on December 9, 1997, and at the very least has the merit of bringing a bit more naturalness back into the Canadian rocker's music. Of the four new tracks, at least two, namely “Back To You” and “When You Love Someone”, turn out well, and it's almost a shame about the second of these two songs, which flew somewhat under the radar when it could have been exploited better, since it's a proper ballad, the likes of which hadn't come from Bryan's pen in years. “Back To You”, on the other hand, would go on to become a hit.

As mentioned above, Adams can't help but keep releasing albums, while always trying to follow the most commercially profitable strategies. His move to London makes possible, for instance, a collaboration with Melanie C of the Spice Girls, and even though cinema has nothing to do with it this time, it's almost unnecessary to point out how much visibility and sales a duet like that could generate, given the Spice Girls' popularity at the time. “When You're Gone” remains, even today, one of Adams's best-known songs, and in terms of quality it stands on the same level as “Everything I Do” or “Please Forgive Me”: that is, it's a bit crowd-pleasing, but still a more than pleasant listen.

After a hit like that, Bryan can basically afford to do whatever he wants with his next album, and that's exactly what happens — but this time, unexpectedly, the result is a record that, despite the limitations we'll see, sounds like the expression of genuine artistic freedom, with nothing pretentious or contrived about it.

On A Day Like Today arrived on October 27, 1998, and is heavily influenced by the late britpop that was dominating the UK scene at the time. There's nothing strange about this, given that the artist had by then settled permanently in London, and he would state in interviews that it was entirely natural for him to draw inspiration from the music he heard most often on the radio and TV. Still, considering his musical history and the fact that every choice he'd made up to that point had also been made to please a fanbase with evidently different tastes, this turn towards British musical territory comes as quite a striking shift. And yet, especially in the first half of the record, one is reminded, in turn, of the more melancholic Oasis, of Travis, of early Radiohead, of Verve, and more than once the whole thing is dusted with a touch of classics like Paul Weller or David Bowie.

Most fans are, understandably, thrown off, but it's worth remembering the presence of that one strong single on the album, which, at least in some countries, carries the sales of the whole record. Tellingly, it nearly cracks the top 10 in Britain, while in the United States it doesn't even make the Top 100.

The quality of this ample first half of the record (8 songs out of 14) is nonetheless good. With new producer Bob Rock, Bryan skillfully draws out an evocative, intense and effective sound that leads the listener through a narrative made up of explicit cries for help ("How Do Ya Feel Tonight"), a desire for redemption (the title track), the will to withstand adversity ("C'mon C'mon C'mon"), and the need to resolve romantic ambiguity by facing situations fearlessly and with resolve ("Fearless").

All of this is wisely interspersed with lighter musical moments, where the clouds part and more relaxed, positive tones peek through — although, looking closely at the lyrics, even these songs tell of situations dominated by difficulty and unease. Starting with the aforementioned massive single "When You're Gone" and another song that would become far better known thanks to a well-judged remix, namely "Cloud Number Nine".

Unfortunately, the remaining six tracks are decidedly bland and unremarkable, except for a couple of choruses, namely that of "Before The Night Is Over" (which sounds like a rehash of "One Night Love Affair") and that of the closing "Lie To Me". On these tracks, Adams reverts to his usual style, offering a compendium of everything he'd done so far, between energetic songs, soft midtempos and ballads. Unfortunately, inspiration is entirely lacking, and one wonders whether it wouldn't have been better to release an eight-song album, if the rest had to sound like this. Still, the naturalness of the sound never falters, which is already something.

The tour once again stops at the Forum, and is notable for being performed as a trio, with Bryan Adams on bass alongside only Keith Scott and drummer Mickey Curry. All three dressed in white, and it's already clear from what's been said so far that the show is a far cry from the tremendous rock'n'roll energy of previous tours. The concert nonetheless turns out to be good.

The Forgettable 2000s

From this point on, Bryan Adams's musical activity becomes rather sparse, with few releases, and certainly not of outstanding quality. Over the past 24 years, in fact, there have been only six albums of new material, and of these, as we'll see, only a couple turn out to be anything other than mediocre and forgettable. In terms of sheer quantity, the 2000s account for half of this output, with the soundtrack to the film Spirit: Stallion Of The Cimarron in 2002, Room Service in 2004 and 11 in 2008.

Qualitatively, this is undoubtedly the worst decade in the Canadian rocker's career, with songwriting that clearly shows minimal effort and dull arrangements. There's really just one word for all three of these records: banality. These aren't bad songs in the literal sense, but there's truly nothing interesting about them, and everything feels far too predictable and obvious. Even vocally — one of the main strengths of Bryan's style — there's a clear tendency to stay safely within the lines, never daring to take a risk, almost as if trying not to disturb anyone, so that these records end up being, in every sense, background listening that demands no attention and expresses no emotion whatsoever.

The only tangible difference between these three albums is that the soundtrack, naturally, has arrangements better suited to accompanying the images of an animated film (starring wild horses), while the other two song collections have a simpler, more direct sound. Many songwriters and musicians contribute, a further sign that these are soulless works, despite the constant presence of the trusty Keith Scott and Mickey Curry and, remarkably, the return among the writers of both Jim Vallance and Robert John "Mutt" Lange on 11. Not even the simultaneous presence (though never on the same song) of the two pens responsible for everything best in Bryan's career is enough to rouse the Canadian artist from the creative torpor he seems to have sunk into.

A few other releases come out during the decade — a standard live album, an acoustic one, and a compilation of songs. All things already done, and done better, in the past.

The one area in which Bryan Adams can still musically hold his own is live performance, or at least that's what can be gathered from two excellent Milan dates, at the city's arena in the Lampugnano district, in April 2004 and March 2007. On both occasions, the large audience leaves satisfied, because Adams and his musicians simply do what they do best: play with freshness and naturalness, drawing on their innate gift for entertaining a crowd.

Bryan and Jim Get Back Up

After an unremarkable covers album in 2014, in August 2015 a new record was announced, born out of the full-time return of his partnership with Jim Vallance. No fan truly believed the two could make something good again, but when Get Up came out on the following October 2, everyone had to think again: Bryan and Jim had rediscovered their inspiration and put together a solid record.

There's actually not much to say about what makes the album worth listening to, in the sense that Get Up is a particularly direct, simple work, driven by an attitude that's rock'n'roll through and through. Get Up is one of those records you simply have to let play, soaking in its positive vibrations without asking too many questions about why something so immediate works so well on you. It's a matter of chemistry, of interpretive freshness, of naturalness, and probably also of that mental mechanism whereby if you don't set expectations and don't overthink things, they're more likely to turn out well.

There are only nine unreleased songs on this album, and at the end of the tracklist, four of them are reworked in acoustic versions - a choice that might seem odd but actually works remarkably well. The tracks are all fairly short and stick close to the traditional song format, and in this case the idea of going "no-frills" is definitely taken in its most positive sense. A little over 35 minutes in total are enough to win Adams back the favor of his longtime fanbase, who by then had pretty much given up on him.

From the infectious retro-flavored grooves of the opener "You Belong To Me", to the soft romanticism of "We Did It All", to the midtempo brilliance of "Don't Even Try", right through to the adrenaline-fueled stadium rock of "Brand New Day", Bryan and Jim don't miss a beat, and together they're as convincing as they've been since the Eighties.

The live test is passed with flying colors too, at least judging by the Milan show in November 2017. The tour has been going for almost two years by then, but Bryan, Keith Scott and the rest of the band are in better shape than ever, treating the audience to a memorable performance. All in all, fans can hold out hope for a new golden era.

The light goes out again

Instead, when Shine A Light comes out on March 3, 2019, the enthusiasm dies down once more. Maybe it's because Jim Vallance only worked on half the songs, with Ed Sheeran co-writing the title track among others, but this album marks another step backwards in terms of freshness and genuineness. The songs go back to feeling unspontaneous, clunky, uninvolving. The sound is lifeless, the melodies are all weak, and the arrangements come across as mostly forced and overthought. The duet with Jennifer Lopez on "That's How Strong Our Love Is" is a disaster, and when the opening title track is co-written with Ed Sheeran and the second song is, indeed, sung with Jennifer Lopez, the sense of forced calculation is immediately obvious - because, whatever one thinks of these two artists, they're clearly worlds away from Adams' musical universe.

Even on the songs that try to recapture the immediacy and rock'n'roll attitude of the previous album, exactly those intangibles that can make or break this kind of track are missing. On a formal level, there's nothing much to criticize in tracks like "Part Friday Night, Part Sunday Morning" or "No Time For Love", but the real test - listening to them, which is after all the only thing that matters - leaves you cold and unconvinced.

One possible excuse for this album's shortcomings is that Bryan and his trusty collaborator Jim, right after the release of Get Up, had thrown themselves into the ambitious project of writing an entirely new soundtrack for the musical adaptation of the famous film "Pretty Woman". The songs were written between 2016 and 2018, and in August of that same year the musical debuted on Broadway, where it was a huge hit - successful enough to reach Milan more than two years later, complete with an Italian translation.

The musical is genuinely wonderful and moving, and the songs play a key role in its success. Bryan and Jim's style is instantly recognizable, and it's clear here that the two rode the wave of inspiration from Get Up to write another handful of flawless songs. Even those who never got to see the stage show can listen to the songs on record, either sung by the Broadway cast or, from spring 2022 onward, by Bryan Adams himself, in a somewhat more stripped-down instrumental setting.

In both versions, it's a very enjoyable listen: the most emotional and immersive songs - "Anywhere But Here", "Something About Her" and, above all, "You And I" - hit the mark perfectly, and in the Canadian singer's performances there's a vocal expressiveness that hadn't surfaced in a long time. As with Get Up, it's the intangibles that make the difference, and even though it's hard to pin down exactly why these songs work, they simply do: as Adams himself sings in one of the most effective of them, "There's something about her, I don't know what it is, but I think I want it".

A small rebirth

Spring 2022 brings no fewer than three different releases under Bryan Adams' name. As mentioned, there's the album featuring the "Pretty Woman" musical songs as performed by him, then comes Classic, a collection of re-recorded hits released in the wake of a dispute with Universal, which followed his move to Bmg.

The most interesting release, however, is obviously the new album of original material, titled So Happy It Hurts, dated March 11, 2022.

This album is different from all the others because, due to the well-known complications caused by the global Covid pandemic, Bryan couldn't work with his band and found himself forced to play every instrument himself. This limitation pushed him toward more stripped-back solutions, less reliant on dynamics, leaning on arrangements that do end up feeling a bit too flat. There's an upside to this, though: Adams keeps a safe distance from the kind of forced moves that had marked almost all of his previous albums - the sound lacks the necessary depth, but at least it flows along reasonably well, without heaviness or far-fetched choices.

Whether it's the now-familiar take on rock'n'roll conventions in the title track, the equally unmistakable ballad-writing mode of "Always Have, Always Will", a surge of power and electricity in "Kick Ass", or variations on the theme hinted at by country touches in "Just About Gone", it's always an enjoyable listen, and the only real misstep is "On The Road", which strays a little too far into Bon Jovi territory.

All in all, 2022 finds Bryan Adams not fully back to the inspiration of his best days, but certainly showing an energy and drive not seen in thirty-odd years. Someone with his level of fame, and so busy with his side career as a photographer, could easily have just sat back and waited for the band to reunite; instead, he went and made an entire new album on his own and re-recorded enough material for two more. Not bad for a 63-year-old who's been in the spotlight since he was 20.

Billed as a return to his rock roots, Roll With The Punches (2025) turns out to be yet another stylistic exercise from an artist who gave his best long ago and who keeps chasing a formula that's now worn thin, stripped of the spark that once made it compelling. The title track opens the show, a collaboration with producer Mutt Lange that recalls the sound of "Waking Up The Neighbours" from 1991, but which, despite its initial energy, lacks the freshness it needs. "Make Up Your Mind" tackles the dilemma of a relationship: carry on together or turn the page for good. "Never Ever Let You Go" - with a music video featuring Elizabeth Hurley - plays the power-ballad card but without a chorus to match, while "A Little More Understanding" - perhaps the best track here - blends funk and rock to send a message of unity in complicated times.

Among the ballads, "Life Is Beautiful" comes across as a pacifist anthem, while the Springsteen-esque "Love Is Stronger Than Hate" tells the story of war through the eyes of a soldier forced to confront the horrors he's lived through and reintegrate into society. "How's That Working For Ya" aims a critical message at those who give up on themselves, while "Two Arms To Hold You" celebrates the joys of love in a burst of optimism. And while "Be The Reason" tries once again to tread rock paths with a call for moral rearmament, closing track "Will We Ever Be Friends Again" ends things on a bittersweet note, telling the story of a relationship's end and the uncertainty of reconciliation (backed by a video shot in Iceland).

An honest record, but just as flat and lacking in any real spark. Still, it will give Adams another chance to show off his skills as a live performer on tour, while we wait for more convincing records to come.

Contributions by Claudio Fabretti ("Roll With The Punches")

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