Long before Bryan Adams drove everyone insane with his ubiquitous chart topper Everything I Do (I Do It For You), he unleashed a premium-grade, denim-clad rock ‘n' roll record that catapulted him towards fame, fortune and a credibility sapping date with Robin Hood. The year was 1984 and, should you need reminding, the album was 'Reckless'.
Adams is currently celebrating its 30th anniversary in what’s now the standard fashion, by playing it in full. As the tour winds its way across the UK, it’s a fine time to look back and re-evaluate a record that was a world-beater in its time.
Not to get bogged down in mathematics, but considering 'Reckless' sold over 12 million copies worldwide - including going platinum five times over in the States - and became the first record to shift over a million units in Adams’ native Canada, it's clear we're not talking big here, we're talking massive.
For Adams, it was the culmination of over six years' toil as a solo artist following his short tenure as singer of glam band Sweeney Todd. While his first two albums – 1980’s self-titled release and the following year's 'You Want It You Got It' - both died a commercial death, 1983’s 'Cuts Like A Knife' sliced its way into the US and Canadian mainstream charts, making him a rising force at home, if not abroad. 'Reckless' would change all that.
Prior to entering Vancouver's Little Mountain Sound Studios to record album number four, Adams and his songwriting partner Jim Vallance diligently crafted their next batch of songs at Vallance’s basement studio. They already had a future hit in the shape of power ballad Heaven – which had been included on the soundtrack to flop ‘83 film A Night In Heaven – and after over half a decade of writing together, they knew exactly what they were aiming for
“We'd finally figured out how to write radio-friendly pop tunes, and for much of 1984 that's exactly what we did, 12 hours a day, seven days a week. The result was 'Reckless',” Vallance later observed. He wasn’t kidding.
Its crossover success sprang from a sound that was tailor-made for radio and MTV as producer Bob Clearmountain – who co-helmed the album with Adams – masterfully married rock ‘n' roll roots to a sparkling sonic sheen.
The dark, misty roar of Run To You, Somebody's chest beating stadium bombast and closing double punch of Long Gone and Ain't Gonna Cry showcased a candy-coated, yet spontaneous, rock dynamic courtesy of the songs being performed and recorded live in the studio by Adams and his band: drummer Mickey Curry, keyboardist Tommy Mandel, guitarist Keith Scott and bassist Dave Taylor.
Adams cracked the whip during the sessions, and the end result is a case of art reflecting life as his grafter spirit informs the album's blue-collar sensibilities. “I recorded and re-recorded and recorded and re-recorded until I thought it was as close to being as good a record as it could possibly be,” Adams told Andrea Seastrand of the Aquarian.
That hunger courses through the lyrics on 'Reckless', which mirror Adams’ search for something better. There are stories about looking for love in one night stands and conflicted affairs, and yearning for ways to escape the drudgery of a pallid 9 to 5 existence.
These are songs to soundtrack everyday living, while being unconcerned with any kind of Bruce Springsteen-like socio-economic stance. “For me there was no message, no trying to be a man of the people. I was just trying to write great songs,” Adams told Classic Rock magazine.
That desire for perfection went down to the wire, and even when the record was being refined at The Power Station Studio in New York, Adams felt that it lacked edge. His manager, Bruce Allen, agreed. According to Metal Hammer, three words from Allen - “Where’s the rock?” - changed things. He and Vallance penned the incendiary Kids Wanna Rock and added extra wattage to opener One Night Love Affair and the gloriously nostalgic Summer of 69.
The Canadian rocker now had a record with the potential to make him a star, but a certain amount of fate led to it becoming a reality. For example, Run To You was actually written for Blue Oyster Cult, who rejected it. The track subsequently became the album's first single, landing in the upper reaches of the US chart.
A soul legend also had a hand in 'Reckless' breaking through. It's Only Love found Adams and Tina Turner delivering a rip-roaring duet, which then led to Adams supporting the iconic vocalist when she was touring her big comeback album, 1984’s 'Private Dancer'.
“I’ll be forever grateful to her for taking me on tour with her in Europe after that because it broke the album. The record company had kind of shelved it by that point,” Adams added in his Aquarian chat.
Looking back, Adams has shrewdly noted that 'Reckless' 'was the right record for the right time'. Released on November 5, 1984 - the day Adams turned 25 - the musical climate of the day played a large role in its runaway success.
For starters, Springsteen's cerebral blue-collar rock anthems were making sizeable waves in mainstream waters, with 'The River’ yielding his first hit single, Hungry Heart, and ‘Born In The USA’ crushing all in its path. Although Adams didn't possess the Boss’s storytelling sharpness, nor the widescreen artistic vision of his 1970s albums, he was equally adept at crafting Jukebox-shaking everyman anthems. 'Born In The USA' – released five months prior to 'Reckless' – handed Adams an open goal.
Furthermore, at that time the mega-selling likes of Journey, Survivor and Foreigner were delivering a similar, albeit more polished, mixture of rocking guitars and whopping melodic choruses, allowing Adams to reach the broadest possible audience as he was almost the missing link between gritty ‘70s bar room rockers like Bob Seger and those commercial ‘80sAOR acts.
Today, 'Reckless' sounds energetic as ever, with the quality of songwriting, performances and Adams' gravelly Rod Stewart rasp still impressing. Aside from Heaven's classically ‘80s strains, a few twinkling keyboard touches and the lyrical anachronisms of Kids Wanna Rock – new wave haircuts and disco – it's aged respectably and doesn't feel as dated as some of those synth-heavy Springsteen numbers.
In terms of his musical legacy, 'Reckless' is as important to Adams now as it was when he was making it. Following his clinical ‘90s efforts with producer Mutt Lange - and that Robin Hood ballad - he's been unfairly pegged as a hollow rocker and soppy love song merchant with little substance and integrity.
'Reckless' is the case for the defence, acting as an enduring testament to some stellar rock ‘n' roll credentials and forming a storming rebuke to all those who dismiss him because of his later work. While it paints in broad lyrical strokes and makes no pretensions towards profundity, the authenticity and genuine belief that courses through its 10 tracks can't be denied. They are songs to sing, dance, drink, party and make love to. They are pure, unadulterated escapist entertainment and, most importantly, they rock with a reckless abandon.
Bryan Adams Upcoming Tour Dates are as follows:
Fri November 14 2014 - GLASGOW SSE Hydro
Sat November 15 2014 - LIVERPOOL Liverpool Echo Arena
Sun November 16 2014 - NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE Metro Radio Arena
Tue November 18 2014 - SHEFFIELD Motorpoint Arena Sheffield
Wed November 19 2014 - BIRMINGHAM LG Arena Birmingham
Fri November 21 2014 - CARDIFF Motorpoint Arena Cardiff
Sat November 22 2014 - LONDON O2
Sun November 23 2014 - MANCHESTER Phones 4u Arena
Tue November 25 2014 - LEEDS first direct Arena
Wed November 26 2014 - LONDON SSE Arena, Wembley
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