Jumping the Shark-Bryan Adams

[SAT-I need more room!!]

I think Ken may not like doing this one! LOL! It's no slam on Bryan. I just think many (most?) solo singers reach a certain point in their career where they take a turn and do stuff a bit differently and they aren't at the top of their game anymore.

Of course Bryan hit the really huge big time with Reckless. Cuts Like a Knife was certainly no slouch by any stretch of the imagination, as This Time, Straight From the Heart and the title track were all big hits. But it was a sort of a stepping stone, much like ELO's Face the Music was for A New World Record.

With Reckless, no less than 6 of the 10 tracks were hit singles. This was almost Bruce with Born in the USA type proportions. Not to mention a couple other fan favorites in Kids Wanna Rock and She's Only Happy When She's Dancing.

So now that brings up the question, when was the shark jumped? His next album, Into the Fire, I always considered a "dark" album. I barely remember it coming out. Heat of the Night was the only real hit (the other 2 singles failed to crack the top 20) here, and it's not even thought among his elite. True, following up Reckless was BA's following up Rumours or Comes Alive.

It was 4 years before his next release came out. He put out about 4 or 5 or so singles (I lost track as I knew most of the album). I believe Can't Stop This Thing We Started did well and Everything I Do (I Do it For You) was HUGE. But I always joked that it was a rewrite over Heaven, which was a rewrite over Straight From the Heart. He then in turn rewrote it as Please Forgive Me and All For Love. But I think overall, the album may have been "too much" for everyone at 15 tracks. (Remember, this was 91 and many people were still into cassettes.)

If the shark wasn't jumped at this point (critically, not commercially as he was still doing well), then I believe it was after his first compilation. As I stated above, Please Forgive Me was pretty much a typical rewrite ballad of his.

Then he put out 18 'Til I Die, and I didn't think much of The Only Thing That Looks Good on Me is You (although ironically, my dad did who never liked him before) and Have You Ever Really Love a Woman? was one of the worst things I've ever heard.

So I guess I'm saying the shark was really jumped and left behind by 18.


Your opinions?

[Pete70s]

Unfortunately, I can't contribute much here because I've never really liked him much. I always saw him as a hodge-podge of Springsteen, Mellancamp, and Cafferty, with the "Tough guy teen idol" appeal of Corey Hart. Not my style...

I did, however, like "Run To You", "Somebody", and "One Night Love Affair", so if I had to choose a jumping point it would probably be after Reckless.

[KittyKat - RIP Luciano]

For me I don't think I can pinpoint when he jumped by a particular album.
He lost it for me when he started writing/recording songs for movies. His worst songs IMO are the ones that were for movie soundtracks - i.e. Everything I Do and Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman

[Ken]

I don't think Bryan has necessarily jumped but he did go through a period there (like Elton and Clapton) where he slipped into what I call "ballad mode" where he wasn't rockin' like he used to.

Many music critics thought that the Into The Fire album was a failure because it only sold something like 2-3 million copies where Reckess sold something like I don't know 10 million or whatever it was. There's no way you could follow that.There are alot of bands and singers that would kill for a 2 - 3 million seller. I think "Fire" was a really good album that's really grown on me over the years.My oldest brother loves Into The Fire and he's not even that big of a fan.

[SAT-I need more room!!]

kenfrank said:

I don't think Bryan has necessarily jumped but he did go through a period there (like Elton and Clapton) where he slipped into what I call "ballad mode" where he wasn't rockin' like he used to.

Many music critics thought that the Into The Fire album was a failure because it only sold something like 2-3 million copies where Reckess sold something like I don't know 10 million or whatever it was. There's no way you could follow that.There are alot of bands and singers that would kill for a 2 - 3 million seller. I think "Fire" was a really good album that's really grown on me over the years.My oldest brother loves Into The Fire and he's not even that big of a fan.

I'm sorry buddy, I hope you're not upset I did this one.

I agree wholeheartedly about following up Reckless; that's what I was saying up there.

[Ken]

sat said:

kenfrank said:

I don't think Bryan has necessarily jumped but he did go through a period there (like Elton and Clapton) where he slipped into what I call "ballad mode" where he wasn't rockin' like he used to.

Many music critics thought that the Into The Fire album was a failure because it only sold something like 2-3 million copies where Reckess sold something like I don't know 10 million or whatever it was. There's no way you could follow that.There are alot of bands and singers that would kill for a 2 - 3 million seller. I think "Fire" was a really good album that's really grown on me over the years.My oldest brother loves Into The Fire and he's not even that big of a fan.

I'm sorry buddy, I hope you're not upset I did this one.

I agree wholeheartedly about following up Reckless; that's what I was saying up there.

I'm not upset at all No worries

[Dawn]

For me the jumping point would be following Reckless. Up until that time, I pretty much liked everything he had released, but even though he recorded some good tracks after that, it started to become more hit and miss.

[Triple J]

Bryan's always been a fave of mine, too. True, it's damn near impossible to top an album like "Reckless." I do like several tracks on "Into the Fire" and "Wake Up the Neighbours."
"18 Till I Die" is kind of a weak album to me. I've always liked "Have You Ever Really Loved A Woman," but I noticed when I saw the video, Bryan started growing his hair over his eyes and was wearing weird clothes, and at his concerts he was dressed all in white... he just looked weird! Still, I've been to two of those shows and enjoyed the hell out of both. His latest album "Room Service" sounds promising, though. I don't know if I'll buy it or not. I really like one particular track "Open Road." It sounds like he's going back to good ol' fashioned rock 'n roll.
So, when did he jump the shark for me? Um... I think he jumped a... porpoise(?) after "Wake Up the Neighbors," but I haven't given up on him. It looks like he's slowly swimming his way back to the surface. He hasn't quite jumped the big one yet.

[njamateurguitar]

I'm not a huge fan but saw him once on Reckless tour and once on Into the Fire. Which by the way I thought he jumped the shark AFTER Into the Fire. Yes, it was a dark album, but I really enjoyed it: Into the Fire, Rememberance Day, Heat of the Night, Only the strong survive