Essential Bryan Adams Songs

For my first Top Ten list of the year, I thought I'd select an artist I saw in concert last spring, which was a performance that ranked among my favorites of last year. It was a great show since it was just Bryan on guitar for most of the performance playing solo, occassionally backed by a pianist, which was awesome since I had recently been engrossed in his MTV Unplugged album. A few of those cuts will make this list, too.

10. "Fits Ya Good" (MTV Unplugged)
Originally on Bryan's second studio album, I prefer this dreamy unplugged version instead. His second album ain't too shabby though, since it found success for him in America. He actually mentioned that at the concert that I saw, and he said in the early days he'd often perform twice a day: radio station in-studio performances or club gigs, then would go play support for bigger national acts.

9. "(Everything I Do) I Do It For You" (Waking Up The Neighbours)
This song may have been overplayed but hey, it's a great song, and I'm not ashamed. I haven't watched that Robin Hood movie since I was real young, but I remember that being cool too. I even had a few of the action figures, and I used the bushes outside of the house as a forest for the action figures. Ah, nostalgia.

8. "I Think About You" (18 Til I Die)
I heard his MTV Unplugged version before I discovered the album version, which is the one I actually prefer. I think the Unplugged version is a bit too uptempo and sounds more like something I'd have heard on HeeHaw; it works better done as more of a ballad.

7. "Don't Leave Me Lonely" (Cuts Like A Knife)
I've heard several Bryan Adams songs over the years but wasn't really a fan til recently, not until I became engrossed in KISS, actually. Bryan Adams actually penned a few songs for the band in the early 1980's when they were struggling to recapture their rock n roll roots, including "War Machine" and "Rock And Roll Hell", which were featured on Creatures Of The Night. Around the time I was listening to every KISS album, I also picked up a cheap copy of Cuts Like A Knife on vinyl. One song credit caught my eye, "E. Carr." This album was released roughly the same time as Creatures, so I wonder with KISS collaborating with Bryan, if Eric reached out to him as well.

6. "Summer Of '69" (Reckless)
"Summer Of '69" wasn't a big song for me if I'd hear it on the radio as a kid. I went more for 1980's bands like Guns N' Roses. These days I'm still into GNR, but I cannot deny the song-writing talent of Bryan Adams. Both Cuts Like A Knife and Reckless are excellent albums without a bad song in the bunch and any song could've been a hit. In fact, half of them were issued as singles. Wow.

5. "It's Only Love" (Reckless)
I hadn't ever heard this song before, on the radio or otherwise, until I happened to catch the music video on VH1 Classic one afternoon. It was a live performance video with Tina Turner, which was actually filmed during a Tina Turner concert. The collaboration won an MTV Video Award and was also nominated for a Grammy as well. Pretty cool.

4. "Run To You" (Reckless)
I got into the metal band Pantera well before I was into Bryan Adams, and ever since I've first heard this song, I always felt like the intro was a sped-up version of the intro to Pantera's "This Love." I'm sure I'm likely tone deaf. Either way, there really isn't a connection between the two artists and I've grown to like Mr. Adams much more.

3. "Cuts Like A Knife" (Cuts Like A Knife)
I'd never been a super huge fan of the song when I'd heard it on the radio growing up, but after hearing the song within the context of his album as an adult, it struck a chord. I used to listen to music just for something "heavy" or "catchy" and only paid attention to the lyrics on occassion. Now as an album, I've paid for attention to the lyrics and what songs have to say. Maybe I'm a sucker for break-up songs rather than a cool solo.

2. "Back To You" (MTV Unplugged)
Written just for his MTV Unplugged performance, this is a pretty upbeat love song, a real foot stomper I think. It was released as a single in 1997 but failed to chart. :(

1. "I'm Ready" (MTV Unplugged)
I have a soft spot for these unplugged releases. My first was the Alice In Chains album, then later I discovered one from the metal band, Korn. I liked how they created new arrangements for their hit songs and really embraced the style of performance. Bryan Adams approached his MTV concert much the same way and worked with film composer Michael Kamen to rearrange many of his famous songs. The version of "I'm Ready" on Cuts Like A Knife was honestly a bit forgettable the first time I heard it, so hearing this version the first time blew my mind.