Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Bryan Adams, perhaps more than ever, knows how to take an audience on a ride of musical exuberance and heart beating songs; always entertaining live, Bryan Adams has become one of Rock’s elder statesmen and he has done so without losing the gift of youthful expression and the energy of a man possessed of charm, confidence and undoubted skill. To lose such attributes would be to diminish the truth behind the musician, to lose them would be depriving one of the great entertainers of his time.

The last night of the latest tour to hit the U.K. was one in which to feel the warmth of Canadian passion ooze out of every pore and watch as it tip-toed and then scrambled for position in the hearts of the full to bursting Echo Arena’s audience, the clamber of excitement almost becoming overwhelming at times and one that only relented during the softer, during the subtly of the acoustic numbers that Bryan and his band offered the crowd during the expansive and jam-packed set.

Tracks such as Heaven, the fist clenching Summer of 69, Cuts Like A Knife, the appeal of glory that rides throughout It’s Only Love, Somebody and the standard bearer for a time when the charts actually mattered, (Everything I Do), I Do It For You, were all so well received that at one point Mr. Adams might have even considered pulling up a comfortable chair and allowing the vocally strong and emotionally charged audience to continue the gig for him; such was the crowd’s enthusiasm for each song, even those perhaps that arguably have not hit the absolute heights imagined.

A night that captivated and cajoled the spirits, one that scaled the Rock emporium and one that spoke softly with the embarrassment of riches available to a man with many years of experience behind him; a night when the rock anthem was king of all it surveyed and titillated and an evening when the raw power of the well placed acoustic number gave hope and a poignant, touching embrace.

Bryan Adams may be an elder statesman of the genre, however such is power over a audience, such is the finely regarded electric that runs through both crowd and musician, that the evening was one and only for each person; the greater good feeling the vibe, the individual relishing in the demonstration. A night of great promise fulfilled; one in which to be thankful that you were there for.

Ian D. Hall