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17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Adams Services An Album Roomed With Darkness, May 16, 2005
Prime Cuts: Flying, I Was Only Dreaming, East Side Story
Emptiness, loneliness and despair are some of the words that emerged when listening to Adams' 11th studio release. The years of his itinerant life and in his own words "living out of a suitcase" has its toil on this gravel-voiced rocker. Aptly titled "Room Service," Adams' first full length studio album in six years, finds a craven Adams detailing his weariness in seriatim with a diary-like frankness. Recorded in hotel rooms and back stages while on tour in Europe, "Room Service" has a more organic feel relative to his more polished efforts from the early 90s. Further, unlike most of his albums, Robert "Mutt" Lange, aka Mr. Shania Twain, only has a hand in co-writing and co-producing only one track ("Flying"). Providing the musical muscle this time is Adams and Bob Clearmountain.
Though it is does not reed with the same immediacy as previous hits such as "Summer of 69 " or "The Only Thing That Looks Good on You," lead single "Open Road" is a typical Bryan Adams rock number aplomb with aggressive sounding guitars and propulsive drums. "Open Road" is not the only song that deals with the despair of life. With caliginous lines such as "I'm riding in the back seat-black limousine/staring out the window at a funeral scene/.../ah-it's a lonely, lonely road we are on," "The Other Side of Paradise," a more subdued rocker, continues Adams forlorn outlook on life. To show that he's no longer the dreary eyed romantic who sings about "All for Love," "Not Romeo Not Juliet" is a realistic song of acceptance of a romance full of warts.
While many artists have expressed the loneliness of touring in song, the title track is Adams' take on it. Though melodically not too memorable, it is perhaps Adams' most bona fide track. Lines such as "I've been on the road nearly all my life/Been around the world `bout a thousand times/Still a knock on the door makes me nervous/I think I'll see you standing there-but no/It's only room service" certainly will chill your spine with the scour of loneliness. Also of note is that Japanese and UK pressings of "Room Service" boast the inclusion of a bonus track "Blessing in Disguise," a rock and roll number with an uncanny melodic resemblance to Elvis' "All Shook Up."
Over his inveterate career, Adams has been known for his ballads. And here there is a couple; though one would wish Adams would cut more of those heart tuggers. Gretchen Peters, who is a notable songwriter in her own rights, teams up with Adams to write the soul searching "I Was Only Dreaming." An ode to a make-believe relationship has an added poignancy as it features a string arrangement and oboe from Adams's friend and long-time collaborator, Michael Kamen, who died last year. The other ballad "Flying," which is also the second single, is a Lange/Adams composition. "Flying" gives the enervated heart a rest as it is the sole positive entry here celebrating the joys of a heartfelt love. Though not as strong as his other ballads "(Everything I Do) I Do It For You" or "Have You Really Loved a Woman," "Flying" finds Adams at his romantic best.
Overall, "Room Service" though it is not as strong melodically as "18 Till I Die" or "Wake Up the Neighborhood," it is perhaps Adams' most veracious effort. For a man to admit such pain and loneliness, it is definitely noble and heart warming. But if art is a reflection of life, let's hope Adams will find true happiness and hope. But in the meantime, if you like to ponder these issues of life and hope or the lack thereof, here's a platter.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Despite some shortcomings, his best effort since "Waking Up the Neighbours", April 14, 2006
Following 1998's "On a Day Like Today", Bryan Adams would embark on the longest hiatus' in his career in terms of releasing new material. With the exception of the soundtrack "Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron", it would be seven years before Adams would release his next album - 2005's "Room Service". This comes more than two decades after Bryan Adams hit the apex of his career. In the 80s, Bryan did some great work on albums such as "Cuts Like a Knife", his signature album "Reckless", his deep album "Into the Fire", and his commercially successful "Waking Up The Neighbours". Following that string of 4 albums, Bryan released "18 Til I Die" and "On a Day Like Today". While these albums kept Adams' core fans happy, for the most part they did not achieve the glory of those past albums. Overall, Adams' "Room Service" is a better album than "18 Til I Die" and "On a Day Like Today", but it still doesn't reach the levels of Adams' hey-day.
Throughout his career, Adams has always surrounded himself with a top band of musicians. These musicians have included Keith Scott (guitar), Mickey Curry (drums), Dave Taylor (bass), and Tommy Mandel (keyboards). For "On a Day Like Today", Mandel would no longer be a part of the band. For "Room Service", Dave Taylor was dropped - leaving Scott and Curry as the only mainstays. Adams takes over the bass playing duties himself - along with guitar, piano, and harmonica. From a songwriting perspective, Adams brings back many of the songwriters who worked with him following his split with longtime songwriting collaborator Jim Vallance. These songwriters include Robert "Mutt" Lange, Phil Thornalley, Gretchen Peters, and Eliot Kennedy. While the Adams/Vallance combination might be one of the all-time greatest collaborations, this album might have some of the best lyrics since the days of Vallance. Finally from a production standpoint, Adams produces the album solo with minimal help from Thornalley. Normally I think a co-producer is important when an artist wants to produce himself because the co-producer will often challenge the artist to get the most out of him. However Adams still does a creditable job.
One unique thing about "Room Service" is that the vocals were recorded in hotel rooms throughout the world (thus the album's name, "Room Service"). The tracks were recorded in both concert halls and recording studios. While I think this is a great thing that Adams took an unorthodox approach to recording this album, I don't really see the difference. However I give super "mixer" Bob Clearmountain a lot of credit for helping engineer a smooth product. Overall I wouldn't view this recording approach as negative - just a non-factor. For the most part Adams plays it very safe. He doesn't venture into uncharted territory on this album. He uses a guitar-laden sound that is basically in step with the music of the mid 2000s. While Adams has always had a hard edge to his guitar sound, no doubt he is mellowing with age - and it reflects on this album. From a vocals standpoint, you still get the classic raspy style Bryan Adams vocals.
Here is a track by track review:
East Side Story: This is one of the album's underrated tracks. This song discusses the interactions of what goes on in the big city. It focuses on one interaction where Adams sees a woman from a window in a coffee shop and wonders how his life would change if he met that woman. Unfortunately as soon as he sees the woman, she gets on a bus and takes off.
This Side of Paradise: This is probably the best song on the collection. It is destined to be an classic among his fans. The world flies by and you have no control - so all you can hang on to is the constant.
Not Romeo Not Juliet: This is a song about two lost souls who won't admit that they are in love. I found this to be a very catchy song.
Flying: This is one of the weaker tracks on this collection. Although not a bad song, it didn't do much for me.
She's a Little Too Good for Me: This is a song that talks about a girl who is intimidating and presents a challenge to a man.
Open Road: This is another terrific track and easily will be up there as an Adams classic. The use of the "road" is a symbolic for making choices to go in one direction or another.
Room Service: As mentioned above, this song is symbolic for the way this album was constructed. However it discusses, all what it is like to be behind closed doors and alone.
I Was Only Dreamin: This song deals with someone who was in love with a woman who is now long gone, but still is clinging on to the memories.
Right Back Where I Started From: This song had a bit of a feel of "Back to You" when the song opens up. It also had a feel from some of Adams' older songs - thus the title.
No Where Fast: This song talks about how life passes one by so fast while taking someone you care about for granted.
Why Do You Have to Be So Hard to Love: This is a song that deals with the a person in love with someone who is difficult to love.
The liner notes contain all of the lyrics to each of the tracks. The songwriting and production credits are included. The names of the hotels, halls, and studios where this album was recorded are also listed - however there is not a track by track correlation with the locations. There is also some of Adams amateur photography included in the liner notes. Overall, despite some of the shortcomings, this is a very good album by Bryan Adams - certainly his best full studio album since "Waking Up the Neighbours". Highly recommended.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A bit short, but the best Adams CD in 10 years, August 10, 2005
I am a longtime Adams fan and know the guy's work inside out, but am not one of those slobbering & idolizing "ohmygosh, Bryan can do no wrong" fans, so I always try to critique hs work. Room Service is a marked improvement over his last full-fledged studio album, 1998's On A Day Like Today. It isn't as mellow and melancholic as that last album, has more variety, better melodies, catchier songs, and more uptempo numbers. I'd give it 4.5 stars, but Amazon doesn't allow half star ratings.
Granted, it doesn't reach the heights of classic Adams albums like Reckless or Waking Up The Neighbours (but then again, that's like asking U2 to release another Achtung Baby, or Def Leppard another Hysteria - not going to happen). But still, it's still a highly enjoyable piece of work and a return to form. My only true criticism is that it's a bit too short...the album really needs two more tracks or so for it to feel like a nicely rounded out package. In that sense, it feels a bit thin, but the contents are good.
Ratings are out of 10 - 10 does not mean a "perfect" song, just the best in terms of the album as a whole, and in relation to what a fantastic Bryan Adams song should be. The second half of the album is much better than the first.
1. East Side Story 9/10 A really fresh way to kick off the album. A simple tale about a guy who wonders about a girl he saw and didn't quite catch by the time he realized he wanted to talk to her. By the time the na na na's roll around at the end, you're pretty much hooked. Infinitely better than the cheapo electronic version he did with Chicane.
2. This Side of Paradise 8/10. Not a very catchy or commercial song - this is a melancholic track that has an existential theme running through it. A more grown-up Bryan reflects on the road of life, with all its mysteries and loneliness...and how we turn look for answers in so many empty things, when all we really have is each other while we're still around. Not initially a favorite of mine, but it is definitely a grower. On repeated listens, it creeps up on you and is very enjoyable, especially for those introspectve moods.
3. Not Romeo, Not Juliet 7/10. Decent, I guess. About two oddballs in love, they're not a starry-eyed romantic couple, just two ordinary people who really dig each other. This is a normal midtempo pop rock track with an just-okay chorus. Grows on you a bit, but isn't anything to write home about.
4. Flying - 6/10. Meh. I had high hopes for this one, since it was written with Mutt Lange, but this is the standard Bryan Adams Sappy Ballad. Syrupy to the max, it's one of those run of the mill ballads that gets old fast. Don't get me wrong, I love many Adams ballads such as Thought I'D Died and Gone to Heaven, Inside Out, or the great I Was Only Dreamin on this disc, but this is one is by the numbers. Flying is pegged as the second single, which is a shame, because like Everything I Do, it's the sort of song that has made Adams's image that of a Michael Bolton-style ballad crooner. While BA is undeniably commercial in style, he has much more to offer than that. The song isn't awful but nothing special either.
5. She's A Little Too Good For Me 10/10. Nothing too complex or deep - just a catchy little rocker with a tongue in cheek self-deprecating lyric. In other words, Bryan Adams doing what he does best. It's great to play in the car, tapping your foot and singing along to. Fun.
6. Open Road 9/10 - Great song, and the lead-off single. With an opening reminiscent of "Run To You", this is a midtempo road rocker about freedom. Driving on the open road, going your own way, endless possibilties out there, that sort of thing. Has a really big chorus and is highly commercial....the harmonica solo in the middle gives it an earthy feel (ala Tom Cochrane's Life Is A Highway).
7. Room Service 8/10 Nice feel good rocker, and catchy, but inexplicably gets old very fast. About the oddity of spending your days and nights on tour for years on end, hopping from one hotel to another.
8. I Was Only Dreaming. 10/10, wonderful track, definitely one of the album highlights. "She left her shoes out on the beach, she left my dreams just out of reach..." It's a poignant mid-tempo ballad, with an instrumental arrangement by longtime Adams collaborator Michael Kamen, who died earlier this year. Whoever said in a review below that it's about an "imaginary relationship" really missed the boat. It's about looking at the traces someone left behind, and wondering if they were ever really there at all. The memories of the relationship start to fade and get hazy like dreams do. It's a haunting song about saying goodbye to someone - excellent, and destined to be a classic for BA fans.
9. Right Back Where I Started From 10/10. This is a vintage Adams summertime rocker. With its catchy beat and sing-along chorus, it's an instant favorite....think about classic BA uptempo tracks like Can't Stop This Thing We Started, Somebody, Before The Night Is Over, etc. Great stuff.
10. Nowhere Fast 7/10 - Good tune, just a decent song that chugs along and is nice while you hear it, but forgettable. Not really an album highlight.
11. Why Do You Have to Be So Hard to Love 8/10. Slow ballad...very nice for mellow moods, and reminiscent of one of those old Motown tunes, or even the slowish stuff Rod Stewart is doing nowadays. A different style for Bryan Adams, but showcases a very good vocal performance despite the mellow crooner thing.
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by Bryan Adams 
