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Tracks Of My Years (Bryan Adams) | 3.5/5

SINGAPORE - The sandpaper-voiced Bryan Adams takes a walk down memory lane with this album paying tribute to the artistes who shaped his musical youth. Some of the musicians he pays tribute to aren’t that surprising but it’s the selection of songs that will make fans sit up and take notice, as he doesn’t always tread familiar ground. Instead of picking any of their big hits for his nod to The Beatles, for example, Adams goes with the 1964 B-side track from the A Hard Day’s Night album, the oft-ignored Any Time At All. One also mightn’t expect his choice of Berry’s Rock And Roll Music over the more well-known Johnny B Goode or Roll Over Beethoven. But while we all know he can rock ‘n’ roll well (just listen to his take of Eddie Cochran’s C’mon Everybody or Willie Dixon’s You Shook Me), it’s really on the non-rock tracks that Adams’ renditions sparkle. Certainly, his smooth version of Bob Dylan’s Lay Lady Lay is a gem, as his take on that old ’70s dance number made popular by Boney M, Sunny; along with the Smokey Robinson track that this album’s title is derived from, Tracks Of My Tears. Sure, detractors will complain that the performances lack a certain grit (Many Rivers To Cross, for example, ought to have remained a sparse rendition without the full band coming in) and at times, the tracks sound rather vanilla - thanks to producer David Foster, who has left his familiar slick touch all over the songs - but you can almost hear Adams really having fun with all this. And surely, that’s just as important, isn’t it?

Bryan Adams' Tracks of my Years album cover

Bryan Adams' Tracks of my Years album cover

SINGAPORE - The sandpaper-voiced Bryan Adams takes a walk down memory lane with this album paying tribute to the artistes who shaped his musical youth. Some of the musicians he pays tribute to aren’t that surprising but it’s the selection of songs that will make fans sit up and take notice, as he doesn’t always tread familiar ground. Instead of picking any of their big hits for his nod to The Beatles, for example, Adams goes with the 1964 B-side track from the A Hard Day’s Night album, the oft-ignored Any Time At All. One also mightn’t expect his choice of Berry’s Rock And Roll Music over the more well-known Johnny B Goode or Roll Over Beethoven. But while we all know he can rock ‘n’ roll well (just listen to his take of Eddie Cochran’s C’mon Everybody or Willie Dixon’s You Shook Me), it’s really on the non-rock tracks that Adams’ renditions sparkle. Certainly, his smooth version of Bob Dylan’s Lay Lady Lay is a gem, as his take on that old ’70s dance number made popular by Boney M, Sunny; along with the Smokey Robinson track that this album’s title is derived from, Tracks Of My Tears. Sure, detractors will complain that the performances lack a certain grit (Many Rivers To Cross, for example, ought to have remained a sparse rendition without the full band coming in) and at times, the tracks sound rather vanilla - thanks to producer David Foster, who has left his familiar slick touch all over the songs - but you can almost hear Adams really having fun with all this. And surely, that’s just as important, isn’t it?

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