DECEMBER 2010 ISSUE MMUSICMAG.COM DECEMBER 2010 ISSUE MMUSICMAG.COM Q&A Bryan Adams BRYAN ADAMS Why strip his hits down to their bare bones? He does it for you

A FEW SONGS INTO BARE BONES, and he kept yelling, “I love you, man!” So in audience. Most of the songs were written the live album he released late last year, a quiet moment in a song, he would just tell on acoustic guitar. What I’m doing is just Bryan Adams pauses to make sure the me how much he loved me, and everyone showing everyone a different side of me. audience knows what it’s in for. “I don’t would giggle, including myself. I walked I love the songs in their simplest form, know if you got the memo about tonight’s offstage that night and threw my hands up which is one reason I’ve wanted to do show,” he says, “but this is the band.” By “the and said, “I guess we’re going to have to this for such a long time. band,” the veteran Canadian rocker meant do a couple more nights.” the minimalist lineup of himself and pianist Have you been writing lately? Gary Breit, his lone accompanist. Judging How did that change your approach? I’m constantly creating new things. The by the applause, fans knew exactly what It was good, because if I didn’t like only reason I did the Bare Bones record to expect: heartfelt, unplugged versions of something—if I thought I could change in the first place is because people “Cuts Like a Knife,” “Heaven,” “Summer of a monologue or thought the tempo of a were asking about having a recording ’69” and “(Everything I Do) I Do It For You,” particular song was too fast—I was more from the shows. among other hits. We spoke with Adams conscious of it the next night. I was also during a tour stop in that most rockin’ of able to experiment with lots of suggestions Your parents were English. How did you locales, Damascus, Syria. that came as a result of asking my Twitter discover American music? community what songs they wanted. I discovered it through people I was listening Is Bare Bones from one show? to. For example, I was listening to Humble It’s from different shows. Ideally, I wanted Are you into social networking? Pie, a British rock band that covered a it to all come from one show. However, the I don’t dislike it. In this particular case it was Ray Charles song, “Hallelujah I Love Her fi rst show I recorded was in Norway, and quite useful, even though I wasn’t able to So.” I looked at the credits and saw it was that was more or less an experiment to see fulfi ll all requests. It’s interesting, but where written by Ray Charles. I thought, “He’s not if I liked the way it sounded—and if I could it goes and what happens in the future part of the band.” Then I researched Ray tolerate listening to myself with an acoustic is to be determined. Charles and found out who he was. Or Led guitar. I thought it was OK in principle to try Zeppelin, who recorded Willie Dixon songs. to record one night, and I was happy with Had you played acoustic much? I discovered blues and R&B through white how it sounded. But that night there was one Working with an acoustic guitar isn’t heavy metal and rock. guy in the audience who was really drunk, unfamiliar to me, but it is unfamiliar to the –Russell Hall

‘I’m just showing everyone a different side of me. I love the songs in their purest forms.’ 32

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