BY JAY ROBERTS (SPECIAL TO LIMELIGHT MAGAZINE)

The Cassette Chronicles is a continuing series of mini reviews and reflections on albums from the 1980’s and 1990’s that I have acquired through Purchase Street Records in New Bedford, MA.

The aim of this series is to highlight both known and underappreciated albums from rock, pop and metal genres from this time period through the cassette editions of their releases. Some of the albums I have known about and loved for years, while others are new to me and were music I’ve always wanted to hear. There will be some review analysis and my own personal stories about my connection with various albums.

These opinions are strictly my own and do not reflect the views of anyone else at Limelight Magazine.

Bryan Adams Reckless (1983)

What can you say about an album that is almost universally hailed as an artist’s commercial and artistic masterpiece? Reckless certainly lives up to that statement seeing as how six of the album’s 10 tracks were bonafide smash hits on the pop chart.

The funny thing is that all these years later, a couple of the songs that did hit the charts seem to be almost forgotten. You had “Summer of ’69” and “Heaven” which I daresay are probably the two biggest songs on the album still getting played today. While the latter song got played to the point of annoyance, it did start off as a relatively decent and sentimental love song. As for “Summer of ’69,” Adams waxing nostalgic for the early days of starting out in music whether it be for his own beginnings or just in general still makes me sing along (badly) to this day. It also is one of three songs that I particularly enjoyed the lead guitar work from Keith Scott. Scott’s leads on “Kids Wanna Rock” and “Ain’t Gonna Cry” are pretty incendiary and give each of those lesser known tracks that much more of a burst of fiery passion. And I thought “She’s Only Happy When She’s Dancin'” had a great vibe and guitar through line.

Of course the “It’s Only Love” song featured Tina Turner during her resurgent period in the ’80s and there’s just no way to criticize anything she did on the song. She and it are just amazing.

I’ve always enjoyed “Run To You”. I’m pretty sure that it was the first song I remember hearing from the album when listening to 92 Pro FM out of Rhode Island, whether on their regular broadcasts or when they aired American Top 40 on Sunday mornings. The intro to the song had a very cinematic feel to it and that was driven home in the video for the song. It was the other song that I still find myself singing along to on the rare occasion I hear it on the radio.

I had mentioned that a couple of the album’s tracks that charted seemed relatively forgotten these days. And that’s a shame to me because I thought “One Night Love Affair” and “Somebody” were actually quite strong numbers. For me, I probably hold “Affair” in higher regard than I ever did “Heaven”.

I was 12 years old when this album came out and I was about two years away from my musical awakening as a heavy metal fan. I loved the songs from Reckless but never actually owned the album. I was reading an article a while back on the release of an anniversary reissue of the album with a boatload of extras and I was intrigued to want to buy it. But I couldn’t find it in any shop (big surprise) and it was pretty expensive online. So, when I saw the cassette in the box, I had to grab it. And wow did it bring back some Sunday mornings listening to Casey Kasem count down the hits.

This album had it all from rockers to the first of the big Bryan Adams ballads. It was just pure rock and roll fun. I’m still looking for an affordable copy of the reissue but until then, I’ve got this cassette and man I’m digging it.

Notes of Interest: Lou Gramm (at the time of the recording he was still in Foreigner) helps out on backing vocals on the song “She’s Only Happy When She’s Dancin’.” Journey’s drummer Steve Smith is behind the kit on “Heaven.”