Ralphy's C.D. Reviews

Review date 04-01-1999: Bryan Adams - C.D. On a day like today

On "On a day like today" we find 14 new songs of Canadian rock-icon Bryan Adams. It's his 10th studio-album and it has a much more soft sound than his previous albums. Some songs (especially "Cloud number nine" falls in the easy-listening category) could even be called "middle of the road", so as a fan of some of the more rockier songs from Bryan's past like "Run to you" I would have liked to see some more heavier songs on this album. Although his hits have almost always been rock ballads ("Please forgive me", "Have you ever really loved a woman?", etc.) the rough stuff was, to me at least, an essential part of his albums. That's why my favorite album by him still is the superb "Reckless", which should be a must-buy for new fans, who are not familiar with his older work, not a bad song on that one.

Any comments you might have on these reviews

Visit my message board: Ralphy's Music and Stuff Forum

The harder stuff on the album is excellent though. The second single-release "When you're gone" is well on it's way to be a major European hit. He sings it together with Melanie Chisholm (Sporty Spice), but it's not really a duet, she's more of a glorified (maybe for publicity reasons dragged in) backgroundvocalist. The other outstanding rock song, in my opinion, is "Getaway". From the ballads I like the opening song "How do ya feel tonight", the first single and titlesong "On a day like today" has (although it flopped in Holland) a nice edge to it and is different from anything Bryan made before, while the smooth "Where angels fear to tread" sounds like a sequal to his biggest hit "Everything I do, I do it for you".

What is your opinion about the CD's I reviewed? Vote for your favorite CD in this booth! You can only vote once a day.

Ralphy's CD Review Voting Booth

I think I also should make a retraction here. In my review of the Matchbox 20 album I stated that they never would make it to the real major league, if they only made songs about girl troubles. Well Bryan Adams is living proof that you can make a highly succesful career in the music business without ever tackling a serious subject (perhaps this isn't the right word as I do take love very serious). Don't get me wrong, I love his work, but were his lyrics ever about anything else than love-related issues? The rating I give to the album "On a day like today" by Bryan Adams is a 6.5 .

Back to Ralphy's C.D. Reviews Page

Back to Ralphy's Cool Music Site