Growing up less than an hour from the Canadian border brought some different music into my collection when I was in High School. Glass Tiger, Cory Hart, yeah – they made it down here. But I was listening to Platinum Blonde, Parachute Club, and Honeymoon Suite.
And then, of course, there was Bryan Adams.
He changed his music several times before he found something that stuck a chord. None of that was heard in the states. One of his first gigs was singing for a band called Sweeney Todd. He was 17.
His album “Into the Fire” was one of those that never really hit it off in the states. The single, In the Heat of the Night, did ok. It did better on the states than it did in Canada though.
There were no ‘Cuts like a knife’, or ‘Summer of ’69” hits on this one. But the whole album was great. And to me, living close to Canada, it seemed to have more of a Canadian heartland feel to it.
Listen to “Native Son” or “Remeberance Day”. You could feel a genuine sense of pride and see sense of National Identity that I hadn’t heard from any other Canadian bands I’d listened to before.
There were so many miles I’d driven with with this tape in my deck. I actually wore one tape out and had to get another.
Listening is this album makes me want to pick up a guitar and play like Keith Scott, the lead guitarist Bryan has worked with for most of his career. Bryan is no slouch either, but the melodies and solos that Keith played on this album still ring in my head. On drums was Mickey Curry, who has played for everyone – super solid, pocket drummer. Various people playing keys, even Bryan. And yet, there is continuity through the whole album.
If I have a road trip, this is definitely on the playlist to this day.
Dail it in sometime. This is the slightly less cheesy Bryan Adams. Still commercial, but with a lot of heart.
Play with passion, sing with heart
