Reckless (Bryan Adams album)

Development

"Heaven" was the first song recorded for the album, which was originally written by Adams and Jim Vallance for the film A Night in Heaven. As the song was already released on the film's soundtrack album, the song was not initially planned to be included on Reckless, as it was considered too "light" for the album.

Adams and Vallance continued to write and record songs for the album throughout 1983 and 1984, and recording sessions began in March 1984, at Little Mountain Sound Studios in Vancouver. They worked with producer Bob Clearmountain, who had co-produced Adams' previous album Cuts Like a Knife.

Nine tracks for the album were completed in August 1984, after Adams and Clearmountain flew to New York City to record some vocal overdubs at Power Station. However, Adams was not fully satisfied with the album, and he consulted his manager Bruce Allen, who listened to the album and asked him: "Where's the rock?". This prompted Adams and Vallance to return to Vancouver and re-record two songs: "One Night Love Affair" and "Summer of '69", as well as writing "Kids Wanna Rock"; the album was eventually completed later that month.

Promotion

Singles

"Run to You" was released as the lead single from Reckless on 18 October 1984, in North America. The song was Adams' first number one hit on the Billboard Top Rock Tracks chart, a position it held for four weeks; it also reached number six on the Billboard Hot 100. The song also peaked at number 4 on the Canadian singles chart, and was his highest-charting song in Canada at the time. "Run to You" also peaked at number 8 in Ireland and reached number 11 on the UK Singles Chart; it was his second single to chart in Europe.

"Somebody" was issued as a single in January 1985. The song was Adams' second number one hit on the Billboard Top Rock Tracks chart and reached number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100. "Somebody" was in the top 20 on the Canadian singles chart for six weeks; it was Adams' fourth top 20 hit on the Canadian chart. "Somebody" was released in Europe during February 1985 and peaked at number 20 in Ireland and reached the top 40 on the UK Singles Chart at number 35; it was Adams' third single to chart in Europe.

"Heaven" was the third single issued from Reckless, reaching number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for two weeks in June 1985; the song previously peaked at number 9 on the Billboard Top Rock Tracks chart in February 1984, due to its inclusion in the A Night in Heaven soundtrack.

Upon the release of Reckless in November 1984, "Summer of '69" received airplay on album-oriented rock radio stations, reaching number 40 on Billboard's Top Rock Tracks chart. After its release as a single in June 1985, "Summer of '69" peaked at number five on the Billboard Hot 100. "Summer of '69" has been certified four-times platinum in the UK.

"One Night Love Affair" was released as the album's fifth single in September 1985, peaking on the Billboard Hot 100 chart at number 13 and at number 7 on the Top Rock Tracks chart. "One Night Love Affair" had been officially released to Canadian radio stations in February 1985. The song reached the top 20 on the Canadian Singles Chart.

"It's Only Love" was the sixth and final single from Reckless, released on 21 October 1985 in the UK. "It's Only Love" peaked at number 15 on the Billboard Hot 100, and number 29 on the UK Singles Chart.

30th Anniversary edition

In June 2008, the original master tape recordings for Reckless was destroyed in a backlot fire at Universal Studios. Despite the loss of the original masters, a backup copy of the master tape of Reckless was discovered in Adams' home, and was the basis of the album's 30th anniversary remastered edition in 2014.

To commemorate the 30th anniversary of the album, an expanded 30th Anniversary edition was released on 10 November 2014; the first disc includes seven previously unreleased tracks, while disc two includes live concert audio from his 1985 tour, recorded at Hammersmith Odeon, London on 20 April 1985 by BBC Radio 1. The Blu-ray audio release additionally includes a 5.1 surround mix; a Dolby Atmos mix was later made available on Apple Music. A tour, titled the Reckless 30th Anniversary Tour, took place from November 2014 to October 2015, consisting of 87 shows in North America and Europe.

Critical reception

Soon after its release, Reckless peaked at number 6 on the Billboard 200 in January 1985, before dropping out of the top 10. The success of the singles "Heaven" and "Summer of '69" in mid-1985 renewed interest in the album, and it began climbing back up the chart, eventually charting at number one in August 1985. Reckless also reached number 1 in Canada and New Zealand, number 2 in Norway and Australia while reaching the top 10 in the United Kingdom, Switzerland and Sweden. In Canada, it entered the top 10 shortly after its release, peaking at number 1 in February 1985, and charted in the top 10 periodically in 1985–86. Reckless has been certified eleven-times platinum by Music Canada, for 1,100,000 copies shipped in Canada, and was the first Canadian album to sell over a million copies in the country. It is also certified five-times platinum by the RIAA for 5,000,000 copies shipped in the U.S., and three-times platinum by the BPI for 900,000 copies shipped in the UK. As of 2014, 12 million copies of the album have been sold worldwide.

The album has received positive reviews from critics since its release, highlighting Clearmountain's production and Adams' songwriting. Ryan Healy of uDiscover Music described the album as a "stadium-sized classic" that showcased Adams' "working-class ethos" and "Springsteen-style knack for storytelling". Healy also noted that Adams and his longtime collaborator Jim Vallance "masterfully" tapped into the "pop/rock, radio-friendly vibe of the middle eighties". Classic Rock Review described it as a "particularly strong showcase for the layered guitars of Keith Scott", praised the "pristine sonic quality" of the album, and highlighted "Run to You" as having "just a tinge of surreal darkness". Dave Everley of Louder noted Reckless as "the one that turned [Adams] from upstart into champ", remarking that "may not have invented arena rock, but he certainly perfected it". Everley also complimented Adams' ability to write "catchy, memorable hooks" and "sing with passion and conviction". In a less positive review, Christopher Connelly of Rolling Stone praised Adams' "born-to-rock" vocals and Clearmountain's production work, but expressed contempt at the songwriting in "Run to You" and "Kids Wanna Rock", with the latter being unfavorably compared to "It's Still Rock and Roll to Me" by Billy Joel.

The album won the 1985 Juno Award for Album of the Year. Kerrang! named Reckless their 1985 "Album of the Year", and No. 49 on their "100 Greatest Heavy Metal Albums of All Time" list in 1989. The album also appeared as No. 12 in the book The Top 100 Canadian Albums by Bob Mersereau. "It's Only Love" was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rock Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group, and won an MTV Video Music Award for Best Stage Performance in 1986.

Track listing

Personnel

• Bryan Adams – lead vocals, rhythm guitar (1–3, 5–10), backing vocals (2, 5, 10), lead guitar (5, 9), handclaps (2), piano (4), percussion (4), harmony vocals (6), gang vocals (7), harmonica (9)
• Keith Scott – lead guitar (1–3, 5–10), rhythm guitar (1–3, 5), backing vocals (2, 5, 10), handclaps (2), guitar (4), gang vocals (7)
• Tommy Mandel – keyboards (1–3, 5, 7–10)
• Dave Taylor – bass
• Pat Steward – drums (1, 6, 7), gang vocals (7)
• Jim Vallance – percussion (1–3, 5, 6)

Additional performers

• Mickey Curry – drums (2, 3, 5, 8–10)
• Robert Sabino – keyboards (4)
• Steve Smith – drums (4)
• Jody Perpick – handclaps (2), gang vocals (7)
• Lou Gramm – backing vocals (2)
• Gerry Berg – gang vocals (7)
• John Eddie – backing vocals (5)
• Bob Clearmountain – gang vocals (7)
• Tina Turner – lead vocals (8)

Production

• Bryan Adams – producer
• Bob Clearmountain – producer, engineer, mixing
• Jim Vallance – associate producer
• Mike Fraser – assistant engineer
• Michael Sauvage – assistant engineer
• Bruce Lampcov – assistant engineer
• Bob Ludwig – mastering
• Masterdisk (New York, NY) – mastering location
• Chuck Beeson – art direction, design
• Richard Frankel – art direction
• Hiro (51) – front cover photography
• Jim O'Mara – inner sleeve photography

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

All-time chart

Certifications

References

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