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Post by janne on Oct 17, 2015 15:30:16 GMT
I know there was a couple of Bryan Adams threads, but they seemed either really specific (about one new song) or very general ("Bryan Adams"), so I created this thread.
I hope noone minds.
I think we could share reviews of the new Bryan Adams album, Get Up, since it is - of course - produced by Jeff Lynne.
I have listened several times to the album, and unfortunately it is a bit of a trainwreck.
It's impossible to miss that Jeff has produced it, and mostly that is a bad thing, in this case.
It almost sounds like a parody of a Jeff production. The muted drums, the shimmering guitars, the rockabilly rhythm pops up.
The album doesn't sound bad, per se, but it does sound dated - like, 1989... Tom Petty's Into The Great Wide Open revisited.
The songs could, of course, save the day, but they seem very formulaic, Adams and Vallance phoned them in this time, I'm afraid.
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Post by Horacewimp on Oct 17, 2015 15:46:24 GMT
I've got the album on order but it's not out until the 23rd October in the UK, I'll give my review once I received it  |
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Post by Chippa on Oct 18, 2015 3:06:43 GMT
I have the album ordered, but was able to hear the thing in it's entirety thanks to a friend in Australia. My review...
"You Belong To Me" - Nice rockabilly raveup, similar to some of the stuff Jeff did with Dave Edmunds. Nothing fancy, but that's ok.
"Go Down Rockin" - Sounds like something from "Reckless"-era Bryan Adams. Good touch with the piano(played by Jeff, presumably?). Again, nothing fancy or groundbreaking, but it's a solid rocker with some really good guitar work.
"We Did It All" - The melody kinda reminds me of Tom Petty's "Christmas All Over Again" meets "I'm Alive". This is the best track, so far. Really good, evocative ballad with a gooey, yummy melody, and some sweet slide guitar.
"That's Rock and Roll" - Sounds like something from Ringo's "Time Takes Time" album(which JL co-produced). A nice mix of retro power pop with some modern touches.
"Don't Even Try"- 60's ballad in the style of Roy Orbison. This could be a JL solo song, actually.
"Do What Ya Gotta Do"- Great pop song with some interesting melodic turns. The most modern sounding song, so far. Jeff adds some nice backing vocals, as always. Love the sitar that rings in towards the end.
"Thunderbolt" - Jeff's drumming style fits this song well. Relentless hard rocker with some nasty little guitar riffs. In parts, it reminds me of "Long Black Road".
"Yesterday Was Just A Dream"- Good melody, but somewhat boring in parts. Needs some more, interesting chord changes. One thing I notice anout this album is how Bryan's voice pretty much sounds the same as it did 30 years ago.
"Brand New Day"- Shiny, ringing guitars and melodies light this song up. Another really good pop song.
The highlights, for me, are We Did It All, Do What Ya Gotta Do, and Brand New Day. Overall, I'd give it a strong 8/10.
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Post by thewordsofaaron on Oct 25, 2015 19:55:34 GMT
I know there was a couple of Bryan Adams threads, but they seemed either really specific (about one new song) or very general ("Bryan Adams"), so I created this thread. I hope noone minds. I think we could share reviews of the new Bryan Adams album, Get Up, since it is - of course - produced by Jeff Lynne. I have listened several times to the album, and unfortunately it is a bit of a trainwreck. It's impossible to miss that Jeff has produced it, and mostly that is a bad thing, in this case. It almost sounds like a parody of a Jeff production. The muted drums, the shimmering guitars, the rockabilly rhythm pops up. The album doesn't sound bad, per se, but it does sound dated - like, 1989... Tom Petty's Into The Great Wide Open revisited. The songs could, of course, save the day, but they seem very formulaic, Adams and Vallance phoned them in this time, I'm afraid. hi got the album a couple of days ago and have listened to it a few times now.... couldnt disagree with you more....im not the greatest bryan adams fan but he does chuck out some great rock music along the way...and this...for me...is a fabulous album....some great lyrics, good sing-a-long stuff and some nice tunes too....i even like the acoustic versions thrown on to the end of the album. i have seen it somewhere someone complaining its too short for an album....really?....i know even adams has put out looooong albums (time-wise) before and there seems to be a trend at the moment to shove a 15 track + album out by lots of people....but i dont mind...this isnt beyonce or some such and if people want an hour of that sort of tripe then they are welcome to it...me...i will stick with this stuff....nothing wrong with it.... jeff seems to be putting out a lot at the moment...and for the past couple of years, comparative....a couple of albums of his own and plenty of production on others....its like he has woken up..... one thing i think jeff has fallen down on now and then is the drums....sometimes he cant seem to get the timing right and i have often said he should get a drummer in....im sure there would be a queue if he said he needed a drummer...luckily jeff has got the drum timing right this time round and from the couple of tracks ive heard of his own album....so thats nice....really nice... my one criticism....having said all that, and especially the last bit....jeff does need to get a drummer in.....other than that he can play everything else if he likes.... |
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Post by Horacewimp on Oct 25, 2015 21:36:03 GMT
I got the album a few days ago, played it once and was reasonably impressed, sound like there is some good tracks on it, I think it will be a grower.
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Post by Chippa on Oct 26, 2015 19:54:44 GMT
"Do What Ya Gotta Do" was co-written by Jeff Lynne.
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Post by soonerorlater on Oct 26, 2015 20:21:07 GMT
Really interesting to hear what others think and I find myself in general agreement with much of what has been written. I certainly share the feeling that this could have been released in the early 1990's which ironically, is when Bryan Adams really was 'king of the hill' in the charts. I find myself thinking, ' that one sounds like Dave Edmunds, that one sounds like Tom Petty, that one could have worked with Del Shannon' etc but, is that really such a bad thing?
My standout tracks are We Did It All, Don't Even Try (Beatles-era George Harrison anyone?) and Do What Ya Gotta Do.
I must eventually get off my high horse about the album's running time but it really is poor and the fact that there are four tracks repeated in acoustic form I think, is a terrible admission in this regard by the record company. Back in the early 1990's there would have been two or three singles released from this album and they would probably have used the acoustic tracks as B-Sides and expected BA to have recorded more for the original album in the first place! |
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Post by 88keys on Oct 27, 2015 15:32:19 GMT
I'll review it when I get it in a couple of days.
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Post by 88keys on Oct 30, 2015 19:38:31 GMT
Do What You Gotta Do and We Did It All are the two outstanding songs so far. I'll give it another listen but none of the other songs really grab me.
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Post by bhabs on Oct 31, 2015 16:54:17 GMT
The album is a joke.
28 minutes long, and most of it isn't even that good. There's a few good songs, but overall it sounds like a half-assed Jeff Lynne solo album. Joe Walsh's "Analog Man" was way better.
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Post by Chippa on Oct 31, 2015 18:30:35 GMT
The album is a joke. 28 minutes long, and most of it isn't even that good. There's a few good songs, but overall it sounds like a half-assed Jeff Lynne solo album. Joe Walsh's "Analog Man" was way better. Honestly, I enjoyed most of the album. However, I will say that it's the weakest piece of work Jeff's had his name attached to in years. |
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Post by queenofthehours on Nov 20, 2015 18:38:29 GMT
This is a strange album. Despite having a soft spot for Bry since "the Robin Hood song" (the first single I ever wanted to buy) I can't say I would have have touched this album if it hadn't been for Jeff's input.
"You Belong to Me" is very Jeff. It sounds like something straight off a Wilbury album. I like it very much. For a Bryan Adams track, to me this is one of his best. I’m very surprised in fact at how well the Jeff Lynne sound suits Bryan. I also like "Don’t Even Try" a lot. It is extremely Jeff. I didn’t fully realise until now how strong the Lynne-production saturated the songs even when they are not his own. Did Bryan write this with Jeff already in mind? It sounds like something Jeff may have written in the late 80s and rejected (not in a bad way!). I get what Janne says about the album sounding dated but for me this is a good thing – a revisit to the classic Jeff sound of yore is just what my ears need to hear right now.
"Go Down Rockin’" sounds a little bit mid 90s but is saved (just) by the great production. Perhaps one of the weakest tracks but still fun. With "We Did It All" you could take the vocals off and the music is instantly recognisable as having had Jeff’s hand on the control desk. A bit of a Bob/Wilbury sound here. Maybe that’s why Bryan works so well with Jeff – he has that rough sound we already know and love from Dylan.
"Brand New Day" is more Bryan. While there is some nice Jeff-style drums and guitar (produced modestly and effectively as usual), the vocals and lyrics betray the fact that Jeff’s only involvement here is in production. "What Ya Gotta Do" – Now, this is a good song. Can I hear Jeff there in the background? This sounds rather Tom Petty. For some reason, I’m not as much a fan of this song as many of the other tracks on this album.
"Yesterday Was Just a Dream" might be my favourite despite sounding the least Jeff-like. Maybe I like it because of this? It does get rather tiresome hearing so much "essence of Jeff" without any actual substance.
What I feel is strange is how much the album sounds more like classic, olde-Jeff than the master's own new album (from the little of it I've heard so far). However, it's a perfectly acceptable album to add to Mr Lynne's list of greats I think. It's not bad at least.
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, but we're OK. 
Apparently it's quite hard to see them with the naked eye, you need to be looking through a camera or other type of lens?