Best of Me

Bryan Adams | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 14, 2002)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: A&M
• ASIN: B0000667RO
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (45 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,344 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

If Bryan Adams's no-frills, blue-collar image evokes a Canadian take on Springsteen, his voice--and especially his pop sensibility--recalls Rod Stewart during his post-Faces Top 40 years. There's a deceptively effortless sincerity that masks the sometimes mundane themes of the infectious hits (the cheap nostalgia of "Summer of '69" and the various romantic concerns of "Run to You," "The Best of Me," and "Please Forgive Me") gathered on this updated hits collection. (Just five of the tracks appear on his previous So Far, So Good anthology.) It's hardly surprising to learn that Adams began his career as a tunesmith covered by everyone from BTO and Loverboy to Kiss and Bonnie Tyler. That eclecticism bubbles up throughout this modern compilation, from the flamenco flavors of Don Juan De Marco's "Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman" to the MTV Unplugged classical-strings-backed rendition of "I'm Ready" and the surprisingly effective electronica of "Cloud Number Nine." This collection chronicles Adams's rise from '80s AOR (album-oriented-rock) contender to '90s MOR (middle-of-the-road) superstar, thanks to his Grammy- and Oscar-winning hit "(Everything I Do) I Do It for You" from Robin Hood and harmonizing with Sting and Stewart on Three Musketeers' "All for Love." --Jerry McCulley

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Missing the meat & potatoes...incomplete and disappointing., July 7, 2002

By 

Dennis F. Towle (Hayward, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Best of Me (Audio CD)

This recent release from Bryan Adams is noticably skimpy on the hits, of yesterday. Although I am a big fan of Adams, I have to say that this compilation seems to be focusing more on Adams' ingenious output from the '90s and, therefore, is missing many of the songs - which brought him fame - from the turbulent '80s. His break out hit from '82, Cuts Like A Knife, isn't here! The tender ballad, Straight From The Heart, is absent, also. This Time, Heaven(how could they omit that), It's Only Love(with Tina Turner), Somebody, Kids Wanna Rock, Heat Of The Night, and Do I Have To Say The Words? should have all been included, as well! A 2 disc collection, with all of these songs included, would have been more deserving to Bryan Adams fans, worldwide. I would recommend the So Far, So Good album, for a more '80s based hit collection. We might have to wait another 10 years for a more stellar and complete collection, from the great Bryan Adams! Best Of Me is very disappointing, in the meantime.

18 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best of Bryan - Part 2!, May 14, 2002

By 

jdmurray01 - See all my reviews

This review is from: Best of Me (Audio CD)

Whether you're a Badfan or not (a fan-based reference to "Bryan ADams fan"), this is a great collection of tunes - plus a stellar new one! Basically a "Best of Bryan" part 2 album, with part 1 being "So Far So Good." The bulk of the album is music from his 90's work, as opposed to the primarily 80s-driven "So Far So Good." Three of Bryan's four #1 hits are here, including the timeless "Everything I Do (I Do It For You)" ballad from Robin Hood, the hot latin ballad "Have You Ever Really Loved A Woman," and the spectacular collaborative piece by Bryan, Sting, and Rod Stewart "All For Love" from the Three Musketeers Soundtrack (his other #1 hit was "Heaven," which you can find on the "So Far So Good" CD!). Other top hits and well-known tunes are "Can't Stop This Thing We Started," "Let's Make A Night To Remember," and "Please Forgive Me." The classic and always-popular "Summer of 69" is here, too, although it's a little out of place given the 'second half' angle of Bryan's career on this CD. The lead-off track, "Best of Me" is a brand new single and a solid turn-out from Bryan, letting his fans know he's still got what it takes to write, sing, and play great music. If you're a fan, you've clearly got to own this - I believe it's the first time the hard-to-find "All For Love" has appeared on a Bryan Adams CD; "I'm Ready" is a live recording, and the little-known "Back to You" is also a lively live rendition. All in all, a thoroughly solid album and worthy companion piece to "So Far So Good" - if you're new to Bryan's music, pick up both of them today... you'll get no better introduction to one of the legends of the genre, and one of my personal favorites to boot.

21 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Missing too many key tracks to be a good collection., July 28, 2003

By 

D. Mok (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Best of Me (Audio CD)

This collection is the most glaring example of record companies using greatest-hits compilations strictly as marketing tools rather than comprehensive retrospectives. Leery about damaging sales of the artist's original records, these compilations omit some glaringly important tracks so that, theoretically speaking, you'd have to get the original records on top of the compilations to get the missing tracks.

Let's see...what are we missing? Adams' first #1 hit "Heaven" (are you *kidding*!?); "Cuts Like a Knife", one of his early hits; "Straight from the Heart"; and the underrated, sweeping "Thought I'd Died and Gone to Heaven".

For its hit status, "Can't Stop This Thing We Started" was a no-brainer; unfortunately, the adjective also applies to the songwriting and performance. This song remains one of the penultimate annoying Canadian rock songs, alongside "Enid", "You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet" and "Life Is a Highway". And for song selection, The Best of Me pales in comparison with the earlier Adams compilation, So Far So Good, thanks to the addition of those heinous mid-to-late-'90s Adams compositions: "Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman?", with all those repetitive "reallys", gets on one's nerves fast, especially with the faux-Spanish arrangement; "Please Forgive Me" is melodic and nice, but also covered in syrup; and the worst of the bunch, "All for Love" from The Three Musketeers, where Adams, Sting and Rod Stewart combine to make the most unharmonious, mismatched, and plain grating singing partners of all time. Adams and Stewart's raspy voices already conflict mightily, but add that to Sting's self-conscious faux-reggae phrasing, and you got an aural cacophony. The songwriting is well below par, as well.

I still like the guilty pleasures that form the stronger song choices: Early album-rock track "Run to You", the jam-band favourite "Summer of '69", and the mega-hit "(Everything I Do) I Do It for You". Cheesy? Yes. But also tuneful and a time capsule for 1991. This little song sold three million copies and touched a chord (the world's best-selling single since "We Are the World", a record Adams held until Whitney Houston's remake of "I Will Always Love You").

So Far, So Good would definitely have been a better purchase. I bought The Best of Me from a bargain bin, and even then, it was a waste, given the weak latter-day material and the omissions.