CityLife

Bryan Adams - 11 (Polydor)

MR Adams puts up with his fair share of critical brick bats with regards to his song writing ability, particularly his over-reliance on the rock ballad as a form of entertainment.

But if you have seen the bloke live, he can still rock out like the best of them.

His audience demand more of the same and that's what he delivers here with 11. But, even though each familiar guitar riff feels reassuring, giving you more bangs for your buck, there is nothing here to match the golden days of Run To You or Summer Of 69.

As for Bryan himself, he storms through each track as if it's a classic, but occasionally he loses the passionate vocals and sounds like a rock-singer-by-numbers (I Ain't Losing The Fight, in which he sounds like he is on the ropes).

A more apt title for the album could be 'Cliché' as lyrically, they are all here: "Broken Wings… you taught me how to fly."

If someone on X Factor wrote this, they would be derided, publically, then tarred and feathered.

Adams' determination and charm gets him through this workmanlike album, but only for so long.

Rock can be predictable, yet still have the odd track to get your teeth to.

But unless yours are false, there is not much to chew on here, unfortunately.

Released on March 17

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