Waking Up the Neighbours

by

Bryan Adams

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I'll confess that I haven't heard any of his new stuff, but, of the albums I own (specifically, his four previous to this one), I listen to this one the most. It seems a lot more mature than his previous albums, music-wise. The guitars seem less rough and the vocals seem to blend a lot better with the music. This could be a production trick, but it's still true of the album.

There are so many good songs on this album, it's hard to know where to start. There are rockers like IS YOUR MAMA GONNA MISS YA?, HOUSE ARREST, ALL I WANT IS YOU, and DON'T DROP THAT BOMB ON ME. All of these songs are great to listen to...pure rock 'n' roll fun. Then there are the ballads...THOUGHT I'D DIED AND GONE TO HEAVEN, DO I HAVE TO SAY THE WORDS, and (EVERYTHING I DO) I DO FOR YOU. All of these songs are heartfelt and emotional. They are well written, both lyrically and musically. The way the two types of songs are interwoven with each other makes this a really strong album. Most rock 'n' roll albums only have one ballad on them. This one has three, not to mention the fact that ALL I WANT IS YOU is thematically a ballad, but musically a rocker. This album was put together brilliantly with changes in tempo in all the right places.

If you're looking for a good Bryan Adams' album to start with or just a good rock 'n' roll album in general, this is a sure bet.

The team-up of Bryan Adams with Mutt Lange should have been a marriage made in heaven. First, the good news - the music is exceptional, the playing fantastic, and the production first rate. Then comes the bad news - the lyrics. Bryan Adams has never been the world's best lyricist, but he outdoes himself here. The mega-hit "Everything I Do (I Do It For You)" points this out pretty well, especially in the "I'd fight for you/I'd lie for you/Walk the wire for you/Yeah, I'd die for you" part. Songs like "Is Your Mama Gonna Miss Ya?" and "If You Wanna Leave Me, Can I Come Too?" (odd note: why are 12 of the 15 song titles complete sentences?) are especially bad lyrically. Several songs (especially "Do I Have to Say the Words?" and "Thought I'd Die and Gone to Heaven")are quire infuriating, as one can imagine them being fantastic with just a slight lyrical makeover. In addition, several tracks go on way longer than they need to, a common problem with many CD's released during this period (it can hold 80 minutes? make it last 80 minutes, seemed to be the rule). Shame, really.