BRYAN ADAMS
Anthology
A & M Records 2005
www.bryanadams.com

Sample it here

What’s the 4-1-1?
Double disc collection that highlights the Canadian rockers career from 1980 to 2005.

Genre
Pop-rock / hard rock / rock and roll

The Good
Not having listened to 2000’s Best of Me collection, most comparisons for this release will be made to 1993’s So Far, So Good. Anthology is Bryan Adams first double disc retrospective. There isn’t a hit song or single that was left out (for the most part). The first disc relies heavily on Bryan’s most successful years with tracks like “Straight From the Heart,” “Cuts Like a Knife,” “This Time,” “Run to You,” “Somebody,” “Heaven,” “Summer of ’69,” “It’s Only Love”…you get my point.

He had a bunch of hits, there’s no point in me naming them all. Disc one also features a couple of choice nuggets from Adams’ early career such as the riff and keyboard oriented “Remember (boy does he sound young),” the catchy lyrics of “Lonely Nights”, and the often neglected “One Night Love Affair”. Adams contributions to movie soundtracks are split between the two discs; “(Everything I Do) I Do It for You,”, “All for Love,” and “Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman.”

Disc two is where things start to get a little murky. Not so much for a longtime devotee of Adams, but for more of the casual fan like me. This is because disc two focuses on the nineties and beyond. Let’s face it; the music listening public was starting to get a little tired of Bryan Adams by then. There are still plenty of likeable songs like “The Only Thing That Looks Good On Me Is You,” his duet with Bonnie Raitt “Rock Steady”, and the two live tracks “Rock Steady” and “18 ‘Till I Die.” However, right around track eight (“Back to You”), you can instantly hear Bryan Adams age fifteen years.

He changes from youthful rocker to aging balladeer as you sift through the material from the 90s to last year. The two bonus tracks fall in line with Adams 80’s material. “When Your Gone” is a duet with Pamela Anderson, which is surprisingly a good combination. “So Far, So Good” was a track that was lingering from back in the day and was finally completed. Do your self a favor and snag the limited edition that includes bonus DVD of 22 of Bryan Adams’ videos.

The Bad
For some reason “Do I Have to Say the Words” and “Kids Wanna Rock” were considered hits to be included on So Far, So Good, but not for this collection.

The Verdict
It’s about time that the folks over at A & M Records decided to give Bryan Adams the two disc Anthology treatment. Adams’s certainly made an impact on the rock music scene that’s worth chronicling from his early days to the present. Hell, he made an impact on my life as well.

The chucky guitar riffs of “Run to You” and “It’s Only Love” inspired me to take up the guitar. I think I was around 8 years old, playing along on my mother’s broom when the songs came on. I still play air guitar when they come on the car radio. Despite my personal dislike for his later material, it doesn’t get any better or more complete than this.

Did You Know?
“When Your Gone” was originally released as a duet with Mel C. of the Spice Girls.

Rating: out of 5

--George Dionne