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Bryan Adams is back! He’s gone back to the year 1991, that is! With his new album simply titled 11 you’d swear it’s 1991 all over again! the songs recorded for the new release are what you’d expect from an album with such a plain and unimaginative title. the first thing that strikes you as you start listening to the album is how the songs sound like something straight out of Adams’ 1990s output. these could pass for rejects off of his 1991 album, Waking up the Neighbours. well, it seems that it was exactly Adams’ intention, seeing that he brought back mega-producer Mutt Lange (producer of Waking up the Neighbours) and collaborator Jim Vallance to help him out on a couple of tracks. and yes, one could say it’s great that he can sound like he did back in his prime but ultimately the lack of quality in the songwriting department is what brings this project to a screeching halt. after a couple listens you soon realize how vapid and banal the lyrics are. of course, Adams has never been known for thought provoking lyrics but you’d expect some sort of progression or growth from a singer/songwriter with 30+ years experience. you know, I really don’t want to hear an almost 50 year old man singing stuff like: can’t live without it, no, don’t take it away, I need to breath you in like oxygen (Oxygen), or If loving you is wrong then babe, wrong is right, I ain’t losin’ the fight (I Ain’t Losing the Fight). there’s gotta be more interesting things to sing about, you know what I mean? thankfully there are a couple of tracks that aren’t as cringe-worthy (Tonight We Have the Stars, Mysterious Ways and Walk On By), but not enough to bring me back to this album for another listen.
it’s interesting to note that the U.S. release date for the new album has been delayed a couple months. it seems like a bad business move especially when the album has been release everywhere else in the world. but I guess it has something to do with the recently announced exclusive deal with Wal-Mart. expect the new album at your local Wal-Mart on May 13th.

TrackList:
1 Tonight We Have the Stars
2 I Thought I’d Seen Everything
3 I Ain’t Losing the Fight
4 Oxygen
5 We Found What We Were Looking For
6 Broken Wings
7 Something to Believe In
8 Mysterious Ways
9 She’s Got a Way
10 Flower Grown Wild
11 Walk on By

and here’s the new single by Bryan Adams – I Thought I’d Seen Everything

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music, reviews by retroDan