Music review: Bryan Adams – ‘Get Up鈥�
On the song 鈥淪ummer of 鈥�89,鈥� Butch Walker cleverly confesses, 鈥淪mothering the cover of a 鈥�69 summer/Played through a speaker of fuzz/Nobody knew Bryan Adams wasn鈥檛 cool/The TV just told me he was.鈥�
Propelled by regular video play on MTV and the blockbuster album 鈥淩eckless,鈥� Bryan Adams seemed to be everywhere in 1984 delivering hits like 鈥淪ummer of 鈥�69,鈥� 鈥淩un to You,鈥� 鈥淚t鈥檚 Only Love鈥� and 鈥淪omebody.鈥� I鈥檒l admit, I thought the Canadian rocker was pretty cool in his jeans, white T-shirt and black leather jacket. And I still do.
鈥淕et Up鈥� is the singer-songwriter鈥檚 13th studio album and serves as a departure from his last effort of cover songs that inspired him to become a musician on 鈥淭racks of My Years.鈥� Produced by Jeff Lynne, the new material has the Electric Light Orchestra frontman鈥檚 signature sound masterfully weaved into each track and could have easily been a Lynne solo release. For his first set of original songs since 2008, Adams co-wrote all the tracks with his longtime collaborator Jim Vallance.
The kick-off number has a rockabilly influence that possesses a mellow sound reminiscent of a smooth blending between Tom Petty and Traveling Wilburys.
鈥淕o Down Rockin'鈥� follows with a gritty defiance as Adams expresses that he鈥檚 never slowing down as he declares, 鈥淚f you got a problem, better tell me to my face.鈥�
Over his career, Adams has released his share of great ballads. 鈥淲e Did It All鈥� is another tender number that follows in the footsteps of 鈥�(Everything I Do) I Do It for You鈥� and 鈥淗eaven.鈥�
鈥淏rand New Day,鈥� the album鈥檚 first single, is a melodic rocker that effortlessly captures the vibe of other classic Adams and Vallance penned songs from 1983鈥檚 鈥淐uts Like a Knife.鈥�
The only blemish to 鈥淕et Up鈥� is its brevity. Of the album鈥檚 13 tracks, four are acoustic versions of songs already covered on the album.
Considering the time between albums containing new material, it would have been more satisfying to hear just a little more of Adams鈥� infectious, straightforward pop-rock offerings. In the end, Adams delivers just enough of the goods to keep fans happy and reinforces that if and when he鈥檚 ready to call it a career, he鈥檒l do it going out rocking.
Clint Rhodes is the 缅北禁地 music reviewer. He can be reached at crhodes@heraldstandard.com.