Published on Feb 2, 1998
Have you ever seen that commercial with Fabio, and he says “I
can’t believe it’s not butter?” Well, that’s how I felt when I
heard the self-titled album by Bryan Adams, released in 1980. I
kept saying (and I still do today), “I can’t believe this is BRYAN
ADAMS!”
For those who are familiar with Adams’s later albums, his voice
is very worn; that harsh rough voice is evident in songs featured
in his most famous album,
Reckless. When I was in a rock and roll band back in 1985,
our drummer was a huge fan of Adams. As we were driving towards
Chicago, where we used to rehearse, he popped in a tape, as the
three of us (me, the drummer, and the bass player) listened. As
each song played, this album was DAMN GREAT! So, I asked, “Who is
this?” and was SHOCKED to learn that is was Bryan Adams.
The reason why I was so shocked, because Adams’s voice was so
clear on this album, and a lot of the songs were in the high vocal
range. Obviously, it was the
Reckless album that caught my attention as my band did many
of the songs from that album, as well as material from his earlier
albums,
Cuts Like A Knife, and
You Want It You Got It. The songs we did from those albums
featured Adams as rough, both musically and vocally.
However, his debut album features songs that are more pop than
later released albums. “Hidin’ From Love,” “Wait And See” are songs
that are in the pop-rock style of say, someone like Richard Marx.
In fact, all of the songs are in that same pop rock mode.
But when I heard “Give Me Your Love”, I could not believe that
Adams could hit a falsetto note as he did in this tune. Obviously,
he couldn’t hit those notes today. Also, I’m sure that he doesn’t
perform any of the songs featured from his debut album in
concerts.
This album has other great tunes: “Win Some Lose Some,” “Wastin’
Time,” “State Of Mind” are true pop songs that could easily get
airplay on AM radios than FM. Adams started out as a pop artist (so
to speak) with this album. There weren’t any big hits, but after
listening to it, it’s just so different than how he sounds
today.
His second album was
You Want It You Got It. His voice was still clear, yet it
was just starting to break. By the time of his third album,
Cuts Like A Knife, the clearness was deteriorating fast. And
by his fourth album,
Reckless, his clear voice was gone.
In listening to his #1 ballads, “Heaven”, “Everything I Do (I Do
It For You)” and “Have You Ever Really Loved A Woman”, you can
easily tell his voice is not as clear as the years gone by. Singing
such rockers as “Summer Of ’69” and “Kids Wanna Rock”, can pretty
much put anyone’s singing voice out of the clear.
But truly, Adams knows how to rock. He maybe famous for his #1
ballads, but his rough-styled voice matches the rough-rockers that
he produces. How can you not enjoy such rockers as the ones from
Reckless? I’ll have to admit, after performing many of
Adams’ tunes in my band, back then, I became a huge fan, and still
am today.
Sadly, his debut album is not available on CD, but it used to be
at one time.
(Editor’s note: The album is out-of-print in the U.S. as of this
reposting in August 2000, but the CD is available as an
import.) Thanks to a friend of mine, he just happened to be at
one of the local record stores, thumbing through the used CD
section, and saw the debut album. Since he wasn’t sure if this was
the one I was looking for, he approached me (I was at work at the
time) and explained that he had seen the debut album on CD, and
verified the album cover. Quite naturally, I yelled “YES, THAT’S
THE ONE!” It was seven bucks; I gave him the money, and he ran.
I still cannot understand why older albums are not available on
CD, even if they were previously. They say that when they don’t
sell, they pull it off the CD shelves and discontinue them. There
are many artists who have never even seen the CD racks, period. The
only way you may get a hold of these albums is through import ads,
and we all know that they pretty much charge you an arm and a leg
at times. But, if you know these albums will not surface on the CD
laser beam, maybe it’s worth it.
The debut album by Adams is well worth any price. It’s
different, and it’s his first album. It’s a treat to view any
popular artist’s first album, and see the direction they were
heading, comparing to the later albums they released later. Perfect
example is listening to this album and then the
Reckless album…BIG DIFFERENCE!
Discover an artist’s “humble” beginnings… Adams’s debut is an
album you’ll be amazed by: “I CAN’T BELIEVE IT’S BRYAN ADAMS!”