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Know your Adamses: Bryan’s the cool one with the good songs
By Peter Bothum, The News Journal
Bryan Adams is better than Ryan Adams.
There. That just happened. We just wrote that.
We didn’t say the Canadian ’80s hit-maker was more relevant than the Jacksonville, N.C.-bred twang rocker. We didn’t say Bryan was hipper than Ryan, or that he’s accomplished more than the former Whiskeytown frontman, who will be at the Fillmore at the TLA at 9 p.m. Thursday with his sidemen, The Cardinals.
But he’s better.
Here’s five reasons why:
1.) Bryan Adams didn’t copy anybody. Sure, Bryan’s cutie-boy look — tousled dirty-blonde hair, leather jacket, plaid shirts — landed him on the cover of Tiger Beat and all those other teen-heartthrob magazines. And did he break the mold with his dead-center middle-of-the-road riff-rock? No. But at least he didn’t cop someone’s act, like Ryan did with his Xerox job on Paul Westerberg’s schtick — the flaky behavior, the disheveled hair, the cigarette dangling.
2.) Bryan Adams has better songs. We’re well aware that he had the full arsenal of big record labels, MTV and other influential media behind him.
But we’re not talking about bigger hits. Better songs. You wanna play cards, Ryan Adams? OK, you go ahead and play your best hand — how about „New York, New York,“ (from the 2001 album „Gold“), „Cold Roses,“ (from the 2005 album of the same name with The Cardinals), „A Kiss Before I Go“ (from 2005’s „Jacksonville City Lights“) and „Come Pick Me Up“ and „My Winding Wheel,“ (both from 2005’s „Heartbreaker“).
Now allow me to put down Bryan’s full freaking house, brother: „Cuts Like a Knife,“ „This Time,“ „Straight From the Heart,“ (all from 1983’s „Cuts Like a Knife“) „Summer of ’69“ and „Run to You“ (from 1984’s „Reckless“). Game over.
3.) Bryan Adams is cooler. Not „cool“ meaning hip or with it. But cool like Fonzie. The Canadian Adams began taking a heavy, constant lashing after going lame — really, really lame — with 1991’s „Everything I Do (I Do It for You)“ from the „Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves“ soundtrack. Did Bryan Adams ever flip out on anyone for being called a wussy soft rocker? No. Ryan Adams, on the other hand, goes berserk over poor reviews, being called a Westerberg clone and, oddly enough, being called Bryan Adams by mistake. Grow a thicker skin, Ryan. Better yet, grow a set.
4.) Bryan Adams‘ „worst“ album is actually great. Go into the microfiche and re-read the reviews for Bryan Adams‘ 1987 album „Into the Fire“ and you’ll find that it was slammed just as bad as Ryan Adams‘ 2002 album „Demolition.“ But „Into the Fire“ is a bargain-bin steal to these ears. It’s got loads of sappy-yet-sweet John Cougar Mellencamp-esque cheese rock („Native Son,“ „Remembrance Day“) some killer, classic Bryan Adams riff rock („Hearts on Fire“) and a sweaty „Miami Vice“ stab „Heat of the Night.“
5.) Bryan Adams doesn’t wistfully recall his drug days. In a recent New York Times piece by music writer Anthony DeCurtis, Ryan Adams goes into deep detail about his prior drug use — heroin, coke and both together in speedballs washed down with lakes of booze — while hanging out at the legendary Electric Lady Studios, in Greenwich Village. He almost sounds like he’s bragging. And the best part is that Steve Earle, the country-rock pioneer who almost died himself from such behavior, is in the room. Great. Help another drug addict fall off the wagon.
But saying that Bryan Adams is better than Ryan Adams should not be considered an insult to the latter. Bryan Adams is awesome. He raised the bar high just with the unstoppable single „This Time,“ possibly too high for Ryan Adams to reach.
Ryan Adams continues along the rootsy Americana path with his latest, „Easy Tiger,“ which boasts a loose, thick sound. Fans won’t be disappointed should Ryan Adams fill his set at the Filmore with tunes from that record (Bryan Adams, by the way, will be at Philadelphia’s Mann Center on Aug. 2).
Tickets for Ryan Adams‘ show are $35 at www.livenation. com.
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Dirty, dirty feet from the concert in the grass / I wanted to believe that freedom there could last (Willy Mason)