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24 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
So Far, So Great!, October 21, 2005
Arguably Bryan Adams fans are going to be pleased with ANTHOLOGY, the best compilation of his hits spanning (at present) Bryan and the boys 25 years of chart-making sounds. From the humble rarely heard beginning of his career (REMEMBER and LONELY NIGHTS) all the way up to his latest disc (ROOM SERVICE), this two disc set follows Bryan's career and presents a near definitive listen to his best cuts.
As with any "best of" collection, there are some notable absences (Bryan's duet with Barbara Streisand "I Finally Found Someone" coming to mind), but it's hard to imagine these tracks not finally giving his supporters something to sing about. As well, the two-disc set includes a few tracks that didn't necessarily have to be there, but there inclusion doesn't dampen the exciting undercurrent of Bryan's sound.
As to new material, the disc boasts three 'new' cuts, two of which are new recordings of already existing material: a live recording of "18 'Til I Die" is a keeper as the listener gets drawn into the live experience of seeing Bryan in concert (showing how much he enjoys entertaining his fans), while the new version of "When You're Gone" with Pamela Anderson (a boy/girl, audience-member participant favorite of Bryan's since its release) avoids falling flat thanks to its catchy rhythm despite the near-dead weight of Pamela's vocals ... but if you've seen this song in concert then you know that this is probably what Bryan wanted. The sole new cut, "So Far So Good", does get buried a little bit under the weight of his stronger material, but it's definitely worth including here as a bonus to the long-time supporters.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Bryan Adams : Anthology : US version : 2CD, February 24, 2006
Bryan Adams - Anthology
"Anthology" is a career-spanning 2-CD collection, the US Version including 33 classics and three so-called new recordings: "18 'Til I Die" (recorded live in Lisbon, from the concert DVD), "When You're Gone" (featuring Pamela Anderson making her singing debut), and "So Far So Good". The European version includes "I'm Not the Man You Think I am" as a new track instead of the Pam Anderson duet. The complete colletion being newly digitally remastered which is something A&M (Universal) should do with the complete BA catalogue.
European Version includes "When You're Gone" with Melanie C instead of the new version with Pamela Anderson. Also on the Euro Version but missing on the US Version are "All I Want is You" and "I'm Not the Man You Think I am".
Only included on the US Version are "This Side of Paradise" and "Why Do You Have to be So Hard to Love".
Also the tracklisting especially on disc two has been mixed around on the US Version, the European version is compiled chronologically.
Remarks:
All I Want is You: from the Album Waking up the Neighbours, only on Anthology/Euro
I'm Not the Man You Think I am: written & recorded for the movie Colour Me Kubrick, only on Anthology/Euro
So Far So Good: recorded for the compilation of the same title, but remained unreleased till now
Some Hits are missing on this compilation, although they may have been inluded on previous collections "So Far So Good" and/or "The Best of Me":
Victim Of Love - from Into the Fire
Kids Wanna Rock - from Reckless
Diana - from the Reckless sessions, only released as a single in some countries
Do I Have To Say The Words ? - from Waking Up The Neighbours
I'll Always Be Right There
Don't Give up - with Chicane (has been a hit in Europe but not in the US)
Flying - from Room Service
Room Service - from Room Service
I Finally Found Someone - Duet with Barbra Streisand, but released on Sony/Epic (BA's label is Universal)
and the really rare tracks 'Run Rudolph Run' and 'Tears Are Not Enough'
There is also a limited edition 2CD+DVD that includes bonus DVD of 22 of Bryan Adams' videos.
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great collection - Nice bang for the buck - 2 discs plus DVD, September 25, 2006
THE BAND: Many band members or guest artists have joined Adams over the years. The main band players being - Bryan Adams (vocals, guitar, bass, piano), Jim Vallance (co-writer, guitar, bass, drums, keyboards, percussion), Keith Scott (guitar), Dave Taylor (bass), Brian Stanley (bass), Tommy Mandel (keyboards), Phil Nicholas (keyboards), Robbie King (keyboards), Mickey Curry (drums), Pat Steward (drums). Guest artists have included - Sting (bass, vocals), Mutt Lange (guitar), Tina Turner (vocals), Bonnie Raitt (vocals, guitar - actually, the song is Raitt's song and Adams is just borrowing it), Pam Anderson (vocals... if that's what you call it), and Rod Stewart (vocals).
THE DISCS: (2005) 2 discs clocking in at approximately 154 total minutes (disc-1 at 77:45, disc-2 at 76:32). Included with the discs is a 22-page booklet containing song titles/credits/notes, a 2-page intro, several Bryan Adams photos with band members, what songs came from which albums, and thank you's. Digitally remastered sound. Two versions of this release are available. The U.S. version has the 2 music compact discs (only). The U.K. version contains a bonus DVD of Adams in a 2005 concert recorded in Lisboa, Portugal (22 songs, 105 minutes). Label - A&M Records.
ALBUM REPRESENTATION: Bryan Adams/Debut (1 song); You Want It, You Got It (1); Cuts Like A Knife (3); Reckless (6); Into The Fire (2); Waking Up The Neighbors (4); So Far So Good (1); 18 Til I Die (4); Unplugged (2); On A Day Like Today (2); The Best Of Me (2); Room Service (3); Movie Soundtracks (2); Bonnie Raitt's Road Tested/Live (1); Unreleased (2).
COMMENTS: Canadian born (Kingston, Ontario) Bryan Adams was biggest back in the early to mid 80's. He had a string of hits starting with his "Lonely Nights" from the "You Want It, You Got It" album (1980). Adams became a household name with "Cuts Like A Knife" (1983 - 4 hits), and reached global stardom with "Reckless" (1984 - 6 Top 40 hits and selling 5+ million units). Adams had a string of Top 10 charting albums with "Cuts Like A Knife", "Reckless", "Into The Fire", "Waking Up The Neighbors" and the compilation "So Far So Good". The standard rockers are here - "Lonely Nights", "Cuts Like A Knife", "This Time", "Run To You", "Somebody", "Summer Of '69", "One Night Love Affair", etc... as well as the sap drenched ballads - "Straight From The heart", "Heaven", "(Everything I Do) I Do For You", "Have You Ever Really Loved A Woman", etc. For me, Adams was always a middle of the road rocker (one of those musicians that back in your school days you never admitted you really liked for fear he wasn't cool enough). He could certainly rock, but his success with the ballad(s) made him soft in my eyes. Not to take anything away from him though... he's road tested and had much staying power and success over the past 25 years... not to mention writing and playing some incredibly catchy melodies. Being a much bigger fan of his 80's material, I truly believe his best music (outside of a scattered hit here and there) is well behind him. Disc 1 sees Adams in his glory years - all studio tracks from 1980 through 1991. Disc 2 is an oddball collection of his later era hits, movie soundtrack songs ("Spirit - Stallion Of The Cimarron" and "Three Musketeers"), 4 live tunes, and 2 unreleased songs. The good - the live "Unplugged" songs are excellent (especially "I'm Ready" with the orchestra behind him); digitally remastered sound is sharp; and most importantly so many great tunes all in one place. The bad - many casual fans will listen to disc-1 much more than disc-2... not that that's a bad thing, but disc-2 is so up and down; "Cuts Like A Knife" (with 3 tunes) and "Into The Fire" (with 2) are severely under represented here... I would've liked to see at least 1-2 more songs here from each; the duet with Pam Anderson, "When You're Gone", is a joke and borderline embarrassment... really - this should have stayed in the vault... better yet burned to a crisp and then shot up into outer-space with no chance of return. The DVD is a true bonus - excellent sound, lots of good songs, but often times gritty film presentation (more so in the dark lit spots). Overall a great collection and this "Anthology" should replace ANY other Bryan Adams compilation you have (4.5 stars).
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