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Waking Up The Neighbours by: Bryan Adams

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Rating: - Waking up the neighbours

This was the first Bryan Adams album I ever bought. It was released around the same time as the single Everything I Do, which smashed all the record books in the UK, so there was a lot of interest in him at the time. I was about 13 and had never heard of him before but when I first saw him performing on TV I thought he had something very very special - this thought was to stick with me for the rest of my life!

I bought his second single from the album, 'Can't stop this thing we started', thought hey, forget the boybands, I've discovered rock! (as I said, I was only 13!), and then the whole album soon followed. Within a few weeks I was absolutely hooked, and played it over and over until the tape snapped.

That was a 13 year old's perspective, and now, approaching 30 and taking a more mature view, it still remains one of my favourite CDs of all time. Having bought Bryan's entire collection since then, I can see that it isn't a classic like Reckless, that it's massively 'over produced' and Def-Leppard-like in places, and that it sounds very dated compared to his contemporary work like 'On a day like today' and 'Room Service', but despite all this, you just can't argue that Waking up the Neighbours is full of absolutely great songs!

Some people criticise Bryan for being cliched, for "using a rhyming dictionary" bla bla bla so if this isn't your cuppa, fair enough, and I consider myself one of the biggest Bryan Adams fans of all time so maybe I'm biased. I think it's actually the simplicity of the songs that makes them so good - for example 'Depend on me' and 'Do I have to say the words' are simple, heartfelt, instantly memorable love songs. That's what Bryan's critics hate about his songs, but that's what his fans love about them.

The rockers on this album are so catchy that even the most adamant 'anti-bryan' would find themselves singing along. 'Can't stop this thing we started', 'There will never be another tonight', 'Hey honey I'm packin you in', 'Touch the hand' and 'House arrest' in particular are like this. In my opinion they are great for any occasion: parties, driving, just sitting listening at home, even doing the housework to....but whatever the context they always need to be played LOUD!

I think to appreciate this album even more, you should go and hear the songs live. 'Can't stop..', 'House Arrest', 'There will never be another tonight' and of course the legendary 'Everything I do' are still regulars on Bryan's live set list and he gives the songs a more contemporary feel while still retaining that driving, powerchord rock that he does best.

Rating: - Not his best, but still great

Bryan Adams has a unique place in my heart - in recent years his work has been less enticing, but he will always remain great in my eyes since he was part of the soundtrack to my early teenage years, and in turn was partly responsible for shaping my musical tastes for years to come (I discoverd Nirvana later on, but I never abandoned Bryan). This was the very first album by the 'groover from Vancouver' that I bought (on tape, no less) - indeed, it was one of the first albums I EVER bought - and while back then I would pester my parents constantly for the right to play it in the car, when listening to it nowadays I have to say it hasn't quite aged perfectly.

The songs are traditional Bryan - part hard rock, part pop, part chunky classic rock, with enough hooks in there to catch a dozen great white sharks. They're always catchy, and sung with an enthusiasm that has set Bryan apart from other rock artists who've fallen by the wayside, though he has always had a tendency to fall into lyrical cliches rather too often. Still, most of the songs here really hit the mark, and there's a much fuller sound here than on 'Into The Fire' or 'Reckless'. And, of course, we all know what happened when he unleashed 'Everything I Do (I Do It For You)' onto the nation...

The main problem I have with this album is the production. Producer Mutt Lange is not subtle in his approach - big, heavy reverb washes over everything, and with the insistent pounding drums taking precedence over the guitar the result is a thumping wall of sound. This does work with Bryan's raw, rasping voice, and it's a different approach to production for Bryan - both 'Reckless' and 'Into The Fire' were very much guitar driven, not least on the classic 'Summer of '69', a song that still gives me chills whenever I hear that opening jangle. Where Lange's production lets Bryan down is in its complete and total lack of progression; this album was released in the early '90s, NOT 1987, yet it has a distinctly '80s feel to it. Small wonder, then, that when we look back at Mutt Lange's producing credits we find that in 1987 he produced a little album called 'Hysteria' for Def Leppard, and when we hear the backing vocals on the songs that comprise 'Waking Up The Neighbours' boy we sure can tell. Presumably they were meant to add weight to Bryan's songs, and when used sparingly they do, but when 'Cant Stop This Thing We Started' suddenly becomes inundated with heavy chanting it does tend to feel a little too much, detracting from what is otherwise a fantastic song (Lange later went on to produce Bryan's '18 Til I Die', arguably one of his worst albums).

Back in the early 90s, back when I was 13 going on 14, discovering music and girls; back then, when I first owned this record, I would have given this 5 stars without flinching. Somewhere in the mid-90s my musical tastes shifted, I became enamoured with Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden et al, and my opinion of this album then would have been that it was lacklustre, uninventive, and stale. Now, after many years of musical development and repeat listening, I'd have to say that, cliche-ridden though it is, and while it shows a complete disregard for contemporary production values, nevertheless this is exactly the kind of big, brash, catchy rock album that only Bryan Adams can make. In this modern age of throwaway trashy euro-pop featuring animated frogs, 'Waking Up The Neighbours' sounds refreshingly out of place, and all the better for it. In short: classic Bryan, heavy, catchy, irresistable.

Rating: - Bryan Adams Rocks Again

I originally brought this album on tape, but because I have played it so many times its starting to go, so I bought the CD.

I have played it upmteen million times and each time it gets better and better.

In my opinion this is the best Bryan Adams album I have ever heard him do.

Rating: - Could have been a lot better.

I keep buying Bryan Adams albums in the hope that he will again reach the heights of "Reckless". Sadly once again not on this album. Should have realised that the rest of the album would sound like Def Leppard. Shame really.

That'll teach me to read other peoples reviews before I buy.....

Rating: - The Best of Bryan

Five stars does not even begin to cover how much I love this album, it is by far my favourite of Bryan's albums...as I love the song 'Thought I'd died and gone to Heaven'. I would definately suggest adding this one to your collection!!!

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