Review: Bryan Adams – 18 Till I Die (Live at the Royal Albert Hall 2024)
Bad Records (November 15th, 2024)
Reviewer: Grant Foster
Next up from the Live at the Royal Albert Hall 2024 boxset – ‘18 Till I Die‘.
I’m not as familiar with this album as I am ‘Reckless‘.
And as good as ‘For Those About To Rock‘ is, it’s not ‘Back In Black‘.
You get my drift?!
Anyway – the footage is still top quality, as is the editing.
There’s more pop rock on offer here. It’s not as, dare I say it, intense, as ‘Reckless‘.
Don’t get me wrong it bops along nicely enough, but it kinda lacks that oomph.
The title track opener sets things up for ‘Do To You‘, which has that bass line groove. BA wails on his blues harp. It’s just a little too ‘nice’.
I know, who the hell am I to criticise? Keith Scott continuing with some of the best gurns known to man and beyond and also a shout out to drummer Pat Steward, who makes everything look so simple, when it’s plain it isn’t.
The ladies scream large for ‘Let’s Make A Night To Remember‘ and sing heartily during the chorus.
I did mention about BA being the housewives favourite and I suppose it’s songs like this that helped cement that.
What is noticeable is that the standing area is far from full for this date.
‘I Wanna Be Your Underwear‘ just comes across as cheesy. In the hands of Bon Scott it would have been a bonafide classic. BA isn’t edgy enough to deliver this subject with enough conviction.
Another ballad follows, ‘Star‘, and what’s impressive is the sea of lit up mobile phone lights. Unfortunately that’s the highlight of that song for me!
Thankfully things are more up-tempo for ‘It Ain’t A Party‘, although the song is something that BA probably knocked up in his sleep.
The problem with so many slower songs is it disrupts the full flow of the concert. Maybe this album was BA growing up.
That’s not to say that the band don’t deliver the songs in anything less than first rate fashion. But compared to ‘Reckless‘, it just falls slightly flat.
‘The Only Thing That Looks Good On Me Is You‘ and especially ‘We’re Gonna Win‘, show anything like the urgency that BA gave us on ‘Reckless‘. And live the other songs just don’t have that drive.
No doubt there’ll be lots that disagree with me. That’s fine.
But ‘Reckless‘ is Wagu beef, ‘18 Till I Die‘ is probably a ribeye at best in comparison.
Tracklist:
1. 18 Til I Die
2. Do To You
3. Let’s Make A Night To Remember
4. (I Wanna Be) Your Underwear
5. Star
6. It Ain’t A Party.. If You Can’t Come Round
7. You’re Still Beautiful To Me
8. I’ll Always Be Right There
9. We’re Gonna Win
10. I Think About You
11. The Only Thing That Looks Good On Me Is You
12. Have You Ever Really Loved A Woman?
Pre-order the albums – here
Discover more from ROCKPOSER DOT COM!
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
You must be logged in to post a comment.