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| Bryan Adams' new album Get Up released 10/02/2015 |
For the first time in 25 years Bryan Adams managed to release a strong album since 1991's Waking Up The Neighbours.Though I wouldn't say it was as big as the one I mentioned and his colossal Reckless back in the eighties,Get Up features a back-to-roots sound for the Canadian rocker.Released shortly after his covers album Tracks Of My Years(2014) came out,Get Up is still graced with 'influences' by rock n roll standards like the opening track "You Belong To Me" that features some Johnny Cash and Carl Perkins guitar riffs.Teaming up with his long time songwriting partner Jim Vallance plus the genius of producer Jeff Lynne,the album has a blend of ELO(Electric Light Orchestra-Lynne's former band),Beatles,Stones, and early rock n' roll fused together,not to mention the incredible string arrangements and some synthesizers.Adams has also been known to work with different producers,hence,giving his albums that unique distinction from each other.
Let's face it,not everyone likes rock music and some of the artists don't rely much on chart singles but rather on album sales.Though Adams has a history of being a hitmaker in the eighties and early nineties,his career started to wane in the mid nineties when he changed his sound and seemed to have abandoned his stadium rock persona and went to a more mellow/adult contemporary type.But this album rather had Adams got back on track by revisiting what he has been known for and making the best out of it.
The album has 13 tracks, nine of which were original compositions written by Adams,Vallance and Jeff Lynne and four acoustic versions on several songs.Perhaps the strongest track there rockwise is "Go Down Rockin'" and "That's Rock And Roll" that is somewhat a reminiscence of eighties and early nineties Bryan Adams fused with Rolling Stones style riffings.Oh,who would not point out "Do What Ya Gotta Do" co-written by Jeff Lynne and featuring the ELO frontman on backing vocals and the Beatlesque "Don't Even Try".But personally,I think the acoustic version of the latter was far better than the electric version.Though I'm not saying that this album is as strong as "Reckless" and "Waking Up The Neighbours",its nice to see Bryan Adams writing about rock again and bringing the good times back.
As a whole,Get Up is best recommended for the rock purist,devoted Bryan Adams fan and simply one disenfranchised bloke who's tired of 21st Century's bitches,spoiled rappers and autotunes.Get Up is simply for a person who is hungry for rock music,something that this era has a shortage of.
OVERALL RATING: 8/1O
TRACK LISTING:
1. You Belong To Me (Adams/Vallance)
2.Go Down Rockin' (Adams/Vallance)
3.We Did It All (Adams/Vallance)
4.That's Rock And Roll (Adams/Vallance/Thornalley)
5.Don't Even Try (Adams/Vallance)
6.Do What Ya Gotta Do (Adams/Lynne)
7.Thunderbolt (Adams/Vallance)
8.Yesterday Was Just A Dream (Adams/Vallance)
9.Brand New Day (Adams/Vallance)
Acoustic versions:
10.Don't Even Try
11.We Did It All
12.You Belong To Me
13.Brand New Day
(c) 2016 Keith Vernon Adagio
