By 1993, when
Bryan Adams released his first collection of greatest hits, he had enjoyed 12 years in the music business during a span that had seen hot trends like new wave and late '80s hair metal fall by the wayside. Adams managed to stay popular by sticking with an ear-pleasing brand of rock & roll that veered between edgy, bar-band style riff rock to more earnest, American-style roots rock in the tradition of Bruce Springsteen and Bob Seger.
So Far So Good gathers all the essential Adams tracks from his hugely popular '80s albums. This set of melodic rockers, inlcuding "Run to You," "This Time" "Kids Wanna Rock," and "Summer of '69" will be familiar to anyone who was near an FM radio during the era. Adams is a likeable rebel, a tough and tender troubadour singing songs that may not have been taken seriously by rock critics, but which nevertheless had resonance for millions of people around the world. Between ballads like "Heaven" and "Everything I Do (I Do it for You)" and the chest-thumping frat-guy rock of "Somebody," this set shows the immense range of one of Canada's most popular musicians.
The Band At The Time:
Bryan Adams - (Vocals, Guitar, Keyboards)
Keith Scott - (Guitar)
Tommy Mandel - (Hammond B-3, Keyboards)
Bill Payne - (Keyboards)
Dave Taylor - (Bass)
Mickey Curry - (Drums)
(Tina Turner - Vocals on
"It's Only Love")
--- The Review ---
"Summer Of '69" is a rocking starter to this greatest hits compilation. Written in 1984, this song is about his best days in the summer of 1969. Things that come up on this song are like his band starting, how young and reckless he was and all the excitement there was at the time. The song is very uplifting and has great music on it with overdriven guitars making an impact and the keyboard making the melody of the song. The drums makes the powerful feeling that the song is trying to create with Bryan's voice being powerful as well, which is great. The song makes a great start to his greatest hits.
"Straight From The Heart" was written in 1983. This song has a touching sound to it with great lyrics and a nice piano piece. Nice music is put into this slow song which is soothing. Byran's voice still is great here showing the emotion in this song. The voice is the powerful thing here. The bridge is very moving with its nice work on the piano and some nice harmonising vocals are put in to add an extra effect to the song's emotion. A nice straight-forward song to listen to.
"It's Only Love" featuring Tina Turner was written in 1984. This starts with some lovely guitar work on rhythm and lead, with an excellent solo intro. The vocals are excellent with the duet, both of them are exceptional, they give out the rock on this song with power. The lead guitar on this song is fantastic with some great bending and sound. Its a brief song but it never drags and sounds excellent, a great Bryan Adams song.
"Can't Stop This Thing We Started" (written in 1991) starts with a good riff on guitar that is on the high side. The lyrics are great and there is no bad point on this song. The chorus is catchy with mostly starting with "Can't Stop This Thing We....". The rhythm riff is great as it suits the songs feel very well. The music is fantastic as well as the vocals with a great solo and powerful singing makes this a must-listen.
"Do I Have To Say The Words?" (written in 1991) has a warm intro with some very emotional vocal work and it sounds beautiful. The music sounds excellent with some great bass lines and guitar riffs. The chorus is excellent with its great lead guitar with some nice lyrics. The song is nicely polished as a beautiful power ballad as it has beautiful vocals that blows you way and the guitar solo is just amazing. Such an amazing song and it has the same logic as
"(Everything I Do) I Do It For You".
"This Time" (written in 1983) turns away from the power ballad style to a more rock 'n' roll. Starts with some uplifting guitaring and then some great vocals from Bryan. The chorus has some catchy vocals and lyrics. I would say this is a bit repetitive with the same melody all the time but everything else is great. A good song to listen to.
"Run To You" (written in 1984) starts with a great riff on the guitar and then some powerful lead guitaring. The vocals are perfect on this song and adds the power on the song. Musicwise this song is excellent with its catchy riff and great lead guitar work. The drums adds the extra power to the song. The chorus is a bit more uplifting then the verse, then the bridge turns to a darker side to the song with some strange lead guitar and then back to the chorus. This song is pure Bryan Adams in the 1980's.
"Heaven" (written in 1983) is a well known song of Bryan Adams with its great lyrics and vocals. The start is very heart-warming with its piano and brief lead guitaring. The verse is full of emotion to kick off the well-known chorus that is amazing. The song is beautiful and one of Bryan Adams very best ever. Its just that the song is very beautiful to listen to when you are alone. It really puts up your mood when you are down. Excellent stuff, a classic song.
"Cuts Like A Knife" (written in 1983) is a moderate rock song. The songs intro is slow with some good music to it. The vocals are excellent as always with some powerful stuff in the chorus with the guitar being strong and the vocals emphasising "Cuts". Brings the power out of the song. The guitar solo is great as it brings out the variety of the song. The song picks right towards the end on the 3:30 mark when the song shines with some real Rock. The song takes a while to pick up but the song is great.
"(Everything I Do) I Do It For You" (written in 1991) is Bryan Adams most famous song as it topped the UK Charts for a massive 16 weeks! This is the longest running #1 ever in the UK and no one has ever gone near it, it also spent seven weeks at #1 in the U.S. This song is the theme tune for the film
"Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves" This starts with a nice piano intro and then some magnificent vocals by Bryan. The song picks up all the time after every verse as it picks up the power of the guitar and vocals. The drums come in to put in the extra emotion. The whole song is truly a classic with its beautiful guitar solo and some great vocal moments. No wonder why it topped the charts no problem. At the 4:00 mark, an instrumental (Reprise) starts of the song, it is some powerful stuff with its excellent guitaring. This is one true classical power ballad.
"Somebody" (written in 1984) goes back to the Rock style of the typical Bryan Adams style. The song is an mood lifter from the recent song, this song has some great lyrics and brilliant music. The chorus is quite catchy with its use of "Somebody". The guitar solo is great as always but brief and effective. The song is great to listen to if you are a fan of Bryan Adams Rock side.
"Kids Wanna Rock" (written in 1984) is the most Rock song with its driving drum fills and some rock 'n' roll guitaring. The vocals are full of power and it sounds so good. The song is very brief but it makes a great impact in its short amount of time with its great guitar solo and vocals. This song is a great stadium song and the most uplifting on the greastest hits.
"Heat Of The Night" (written in 1987) starts with some catchy drum beats and great usage of piano. The guitar gives that hot feeling to the song. The vocals are excellent here and the guitaring here is superb. The bass line gives the power to the song and the lyrics are very clever. Guitar solo is great as always. The song crosses between a power ballad and a slow Rock song. This song is strong its great music and excellent vocals.
"Please Forgive Me" (written in 1993) is the last song on this greatest hits album and this song finishes perfectly. This song is so beautiful with its emotional vocals and some fantastic lead guitaring. This is a power ballad and one of the best I have ever heard of this genre. Its just that the vocals are amazing and the music is so emotional and it fits perfectly to the song, it makes me wonder how Bryan Adams writes amazing tracks like this. The chorus is so full of power but with some sadness in it. The guitar solo just brings out the emotion in the song and it makes the song sound so superior. This song is another classic of Bryan Adams and as I said, it is a perfect finisher to the greatest hits.
--- Overview ---
Here are the Ratings of the songs:
1. Summer of '69 - 4/5
2. Straight From The Heart - 4/5
3. It's Only Love - 4.5/5
4. Can't Stop This Thing We Started - 4.5/5
5. Do I Have To Say The Words? - 5/5
6. This Time - 3.5/5
7. Run To You - 4/5
8. Heaven - 5/5
9. Cuts Like A Knife - 4/5
10. (Everything I Do) I Do It For You - 5/5
11. Somebody - 3.5/5
12. Kids Wanna Rock - 4/5
13. Heat Of The Night - 4/5
14. Please Forgive Me - 5/5
Overall, this greatest hits compilation is outstanding really compared to the other ones that try. This has truly the best that Bryan Adams made in his first 12 years of his career and it shows that he had an amazing 12 years with the songs he made and they are fantastic. He is a great musician like him or not, this is shown by this. Excellent compilation so it gets:
Overall: 4/5
