So Happy It Hurts

Great lyrics and sound.

I buy a lot of records and when I write a review on one...you know it's damn well worth your time to listen to it! Bryan Adams has a new album out and I got to give it praise! It so reminds me of his glory days back in the summer of 69...you might say! It even has an appearance of Python John Cleese on the beginning of a tune called Kick Ass...which adds a lot to the song itself! Overall you get twelve tracks here! All of them damn good...no filler! No need to buy the Deluxe version of this record as it only has twelve tracks to! Just extra packaging...so save yourself 4 bucks! Awesome record I have to admit!

Bryan Adam's 2022 release "So Happy It Hurts" is his best album since 1991's "Waking Up the Neighbours" in my opinon. While he has some good albums in between and some less than stellar releases as well, he has never released an outright lemon. I have been a fan of his music since 1982 when I bought "Cuts Like a Knife" on vinyl when I was only 7 years old (I'm old!). His classic 1984 album "Reckless" is one of my all time favorite albums."So Happy It Hurts" sees Bryan teaming back up with legendary producer and hitmaker Robert John "Mutt" Lange who while not actually producing anything on the new album, he co-wrote tracks 3, 5-7 & 9 while also contributing backing vocals to those tracks and playing synthetic bass on track 3 and keyboards on track 7. Bryan played a good portion of the instruments in the album due to recording during the pandemic but his longtime guitarist Keith Scott was still able to add some electric guitar to 5 tracks.Overall the album is quite upbeat with some ballads mixed in but the overall mood is of joy and just plain fun. The last time Bryan Adams sounded like he was having this much fun making an album was on 1991's "Waking Up the Neighbours" which was co-produced by Mutt Lange who also contributed to songwriting for that album as well. There are a lot of sonic similarities between the two album so for fans who had hoped for a spiritual to that classic 1991 release, "So Happy It Hurts" should make those fans happy.Highly recommended!

Great music, just saw Bryan in concert

Adams is every bit as good as he ever was and this is an absolutely incredible album.

Love the artist

A welcome return to form for Bryan Adams. Every song tells a story and fits right in after the reckless and waking up the neighbors albums.The deluxe edition lenticular cover is cool for collectors. The CD production is brilliant and shines on a quality audio setup. I loved it!!!!Wished there were more songs though!

It's interesting, you know, that Bryan Adams ever succeeded. His first two albums made little impact, but somehow, in 1983, "Straight from the Heart", "Cuts Like a Knife" and "This Time" all charted in the Top 40, and that's when I discovered him not only on the radio, but on MTV where the videos for "Cuts Like a Knife" and "This Time" were played often. At the time, those songs could be considered good pop rock songs. At the end of 1984, of course, he had his biggest success with "Reckless" and the songs "Run to You", "Somebody", "Heaven", "Summer of '69", "One Night Love Affair" and "It's Only Love". You couldn't escape Bryan Adams in 1985.But an artist with two non-sellars in a row surely would have been the end, but back then artists were given more of a chance to grow and change. Now? You literally have to come prepared with hits. Although there are still plenty of artists out there who've been around for years and never had a hit song. At the same time, after "Reckless", Bryan Adams' next venture, 1987's "Into the Fire" failed to even come close to the success of "Reckless". Plus, it was about this time that the cracks in his musical foundation began to show--by his fifth album he showed no signs of growth or change as an artist, he was just a pop rocker with nothing much to say, unlike, say, Bruce Springsteen or John Mellencamp, who were similar, also popular, but had far more to say.So, it came as a bit of a surprise in 1991 when he came roaring back with "Waking up the Neighbours" and "(Everything I Do) I Do It for You" from the awful Kevin Costner film, "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves". Yes, Adams had a knack for balladry, it's true. But "Waking up the Neighbours" was diminished returns. Yes, it had several hit songs, but that album was overlong, bloated, and, well, downright mediocre. Yet, Adams learned that the longer he took between album the more the general public forgot and forgave. He would not put out another album until the equally mediocre 1996 album, "18 Til I Die", which also was overlong and bloated, but it had another winning ballad in "Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman?" from the strange Johnny Depp/MarlonBrando/Faye Dunaway "Don Juan DeMarco" movie in 1995. His last American Top 40 hit would be "I Finally Found Someone", a duet with Barbara Streisand, from her 1996 film with Jeff Bridges, "The Mirror has Two Faces". That's 26 years without an American Top 40 hit. Some would call it a day, but not Adams.In 1998, Adams hit an all time low with "On a Day Like Today" so the next time he was heard was for the 2002 soundtrack for "Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron" which contained his last hit in "Here I Am". After that, it's been all downhill for the past 20 years. I mean one forgettable album after the next with "Room Service" (2004), "11" (2008), "Tracks of My Tears" (2014), "Get Up" (2015) and "Shine a Light" (2019).And now we have "So Happy It Hurts". I saw the videos for the title song, "On the Road", "Never Gonna Rain", and "Always Have, Always Will". It seemed promising. After listening to the album all week I will say that he gives it his best shot, but ultimately, after repeated listens, this is another average album. I think the most memorable song I'd add to a Bryan Adams playlist would be "Never Gonna Rain". That song has staying power. Everything else on here is pleasant, but ultimately boring. At this point Bryan Adams should either quit or try something fresh. None of these songs have charted anywhere, and Adams keeps insisting on writing song with Robert John "Mutt" Lange who made Def Leppard huge successes in the 80's. He only writes three songs with hit making partner, Jim Vallance. And still, Bryan Adams avoids writing about anything thought provoking. Content here to comment on domesticity. I get he's 63 now, but I also argue you can still rock out and have something to say in your older age. Nope. Not here.There were some other honorable mentions on here like the title track, "I've Been Looking for You" and "These are the Moments that Make up My Life". Adams does wisely keep it short and sweet at 39 minutes. All in all, it's a decent album, but nothing new or interesting, not even with the addition of John Cleese narrating at the beginning of "Kick A". When you can only pick one or two songs from each new Adams album you have to wonder if he's still worth it.Here's how "Shine a Light" compares to Adams' other works:1980 Bryan Adams: Three Stars1981 You Want It, You Got It: Two and a Half Stars1983 Cuts Like A Knife: Three Stars1984 Reckless: Four Stars1987 Into The Fire: Four Stars1991 Waking Up The Neighbors: Three Stars1996 18 Til I Die: Three Stars1998 On A Day Like Today: Three Stars2004 Room Service: Three Stars2008 11: Three Stars2015 Get Up Three Stars2019 Shine a Light: Three Stars2022 So Happy It Hurts: Three Stars