Music review: Bryan Adams – 鈥楾racks of My Years鈥�
Bryan Adams delivers his first studio album in six years by paying tribute to the songs that provided him the inspiration and motivation to become a musician.
The vintage arrangements from the glorious days when AM radio provided devoted listeners with a diverse soundtrack certainly make for an entertaining mixture of varying musical styles.
For the most part, Adams honors these carefully selected classics with sincere love and respect. For the album鈥檚 opener, the Canadian rocker offers up some of his infectious, spirited style to the John Lennon and Paul McCartney penned 鈥淎ny Time at All.鈥� The song perfectly illustrates the straightforward rock image of the jeans, white T-shirt and leather jacket artist featured on classics like 鈥淭his Time鈥� and 鈥淐uts Like a Knife.鈥�
Other standout tracks include Ray Charles鈥� 鈥淚 Can鈥檛 Stop Loving You,鈥� Bobby Hebb鈥檚 鈥淪unny,鈥� Smokey Robinson鈥檚 鈥淭he Tracks of My Tears鈥� and Winfred 鈥淏lue鈥� Lovett鈥檚 soulful 鈥淜iss and Say Goodbye.鈥� Adams鈥� stripped-down version of Brian Wilson and Tony Asher鈥檚 鈥淕od Only Knows鈥� is an emotional gem with the 54-year-old singer matching Carl Wilson鈥檚 original vocal performance note for note.
While 鈥淭racks of My Years鈥� is a charming effort, not all the tracks hit the right note. Adams鈥� performance on Bob Dylan鈥檚 鈥淟ay Lady Lay,鈥� John Fogerty鈥檚 鈥淒own on the Corner鈥� and Chuck Berry鈥檚 鈥淩ock and Roll Music鈥� sounds uninspired and bland. The new album also contains an original arrangement written by Adams and Jim Vallance. 鈥淪he Knows Me鈥� is prime Adams reminiscent of earlier hits like 鈥淪traight from the Heart鈥� and 鈥�(Everything I Do) I Do It for You.鈥�
Five additional tracks are featured on the deluxe edition including a tenderly touching cover of Kris Kristofferson鈥檚 鈥淗elp Me Make It Through the Night.鈥� An album of new material from Adams is reportedly scheduled to be released in 2015.
Clint Rhodes is the 缅北禁地 music reviewer. He can be reached at crhodes@heraldstandard.com.