Review:

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