(Album cover for the August 1972 release Alive! by Chuck Mangione Quartet).
High Heel Sneakers was written by Tommy Tucker, along with being first released by Tucker in 1964. The upbeat presentation nearly extends to eleven (11) minutes of joyous energy. The multiple movements of this presentation offers range among the performers, featuring an extemporaneously jazz flavor.
(Musician Gerry Niewood).
Legend of the One-Eyed Sailor was recorded live for this album, as were the other songs presented here. The sentiment here is more subdued than High Heel Sneakers, though the energy remains strong. The August 1972 recording of this song, coming in at slightly more than eleven (11) minutes, occurred at the Nazareth College in Rochester, New York.
Sixty-Miles-Young offers the clearest example of the style easy listening on the full album. Playing for more than twelve (12) minutes, the song stands in as much contrast to the other songs of this album as the album does in contrast to Mangione‘s better known albums. That the performance of this is rare is no understatement; that rarity perhaps makes this song my favorite on the album.
(The album Reckless by Bryan Adams was first released on Monday, November 5th, 1984).
One Night Love Affair opens the album with a straightforward song about a single night of physical intimacy. Opening the album Reckless with a style that expresses the larger meaning of the album, the song introduces a candid moment of self-memory and consideration. The notion that this night concealed deeper feelings that were felt between the couple adds to the sense of mystery and recklessness.
(One Night Love Affair was the fifth single released in support of the Bryan Adams album Reckless).
She’s Only Happy When She’s Dancin’ follows the album opener by questioning how satisfying the choices of life truly can be. The desire for independence and seeking gratification through dancing animates the sense of angst and opportunity offering this song its impact.
Run to You charted sixth in the United States and eleventh in the United Kingdom. Adams wrote the song with collaborator Jim Vallance of Chilliwack, British Columbia, Canada. As quoted here on Songfacts, the two originally “wrote the song for Blue Oyster Cult,” later modifying “the riff down to E-minor, later adding a capo to achieve an F#-minor tuning, which better suited Bryan‘s vocal range.” When both Blue Oyster Cult and .38 Special declined the offered song, that Bryan Adams made a go of it led brought legitimate success.
(Run to You was the first single from Bryan Adams‘ fourth album, Reckless).
Heaven charted first in the United States and thirty-eighth in the United Kingdom, actually having been written for a movie titled A Night in Heaven (1983) that didn’t amount to much. Originally a power ballad as presented by Adams, “in 2002 it was recorded by DJ Sammy, whose version went to #1 in the UK and #8 in the US.” DJ Sammy is originally from Mallorca, Spain. The song itself resonates lyrically by defining a romantic relationship that has blossomed into something meaningful and sustaining.
(The third single released for the Bryan Adams album Reckless was Heaven).
Somebody charted eleventh in the United States and thirty-fifth in the United Kingdom. While the song itself is about pursuing and maintaining romantic relationships, song co-writer Jim Vallancementioned as quoted here that “the second verse is about World War I. Said Vallance: “Adams and I are both interested in First World War history (Bryan‘s grandfather served with the British Army in WW1). As a result, lyrical references to that war occasionally appear in our songwriting. It’s not always in context, and it doesn’t always make sense.” The song itself was inspired by the success, or lack of it, that people have in nightclubs aiming to attract relationships.
(Somebody was the second song released to support the Reckless album by Bryan Adams).
Summer of ’69 charted fifth in the United States and forty-second in the United Kingdom. As the title itself invokes a pair of images, it becomes fair to note that Bryan Adams was born in November of 1959. As quoted by Songfactshere, Summer of ’69 “[is] a very simple song about looking back on the summertime and making love. For me, the ’69 was a metaphor for making love, not about the year. I had someone in Spain ask me once why I wrote the first line ‘I had my first real sex dream’… I had to laugh.”
(The fourth single released from Reckless by Bryan Adams was the song Summer of ’69).
Kids Wanna Rock offers a clear statement of Bryan Adams‘ musical sensibilities as a performer. While the song approaches a hard rock sensibility without quite landing there, the clear lyrical and sonic aim achieved here is to call out that the sound delivered is more aggressively guitar and drum based than something disco or dance-pop based.
It’s Only Love features Tina Turner, originally of Brownsville, Texas. The song charted fifteenth in the United States and twenty-ninth in the United Kingdom. As noted by Songfacts here, “[t]his song takes a nontraditional approach to healing from heartache, reminding us that it’s only love, and life goes on. Refreshing words for anyone worn down by songs that remind us that love is his towering emotion that rules our lives.”
(The Bryan Adams duet with Tina Turner, It’s Only Love, was the sixth single released from the Reckless album by Adams. The released single included a live version of the song from 1985).
Long Gone offers a production value as close to a rock & roll and country fusion as any song on the album. The notion underpinning the song is that relationships look destined for breakup, yet not all attempts at romance are lost when the need for love is viewed through the lens of a second look. While the song doesn’t call this desperation, the notion that needs are needs definitely calls this song a friend.
Ain’t Gonna Cry reflects the tenth and final song for the Reckless album. The song plays in the sandbox of one-night stands, with Adams‘ sense of worth telling him losing a night’s sleep isn’t worth the possibility of a single night of physical intimacy. The sense is no way, no how. That Bryan Adams isn’t going to cry sizes up his closing thought about how this instance, and some in general, struck even him at this point in his life as fleeting.
Matt Lynn Digital 