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| Bryan Adams - Cuts Like a Knife Band: Bryan Adams The beginning of Bryan Adams' masterpieces Coming off the heels of his uneven but still great "You Want It You Got It", Bryan perfects that AOR style here. The three hits are pretty well-known, as were their accompanying videos. The short but catchy hard Pop/Rocker "This Time" is pretty much what the rest of the album is like. The longer but still rocking title track, and the perfect Power Ballad "Straight From the Heart", which is the only song here the radio still plays. This is soft but still has some guts, unlike anything he's done recently (using an electric guitar and raising your voice matters)! Nothing wrong with AC stuff, which I do like, but I think it makes people forget he knows how to rock. As for the others, "The Only One" blew me away when I first heard it. A Loverboy-ish song that should've been a hit single. It's a typical (of that time) boyfriend-girlfriend song with high-energy verses and is rocking, but non-threatening. The harder songs are just as good, like "What's It Gonna Be", with a commanding, but not angry tone. The same is true for "Take Me Back" with its background female singers. The fun "I'm Ready" is the hardest song on here and the similar "Don't Leave Me Lonely" is pretty good too. The last 2 songs start to go downhill. The not-quite-a-ballad, but too soft to 'rock' of "Let Him Know" and the piano ballad "The Best Was Yet to Come" are okay but a little depresssing compared to the other 8 songs (which are still fun as Disneyland compared to Nirvana). I'd say this is practically good as "Reckless" and "Waking Up the Neighbors" are. This is the record that REALLY defined Bryan Adams' music! Bryan Adams definitely found his sound in this recording. He had experimented with some different styles on his first album, YOU WANT IT, YOU GOT IT, including New Wave (he doesn't even sound like himself on that album's "One Good Reason"). This album abandons all experimentation in favor of two predominant styles: hard rock and ballad. On CUTS LIKE A KNIFE, we do get more hard rock than anything else. I bought this on vinyl back in the Summer of '83, and it has always been one of My Favorite records from that period. The first track, "The Only One," is sort of a hard-pop song that is fairly forgettable (put it to you this way, when was the last time you ever heard this song, much less played it on your own?). But then things get busy: we get the wonderful "Take Me Back" which has a bluesy-keyboard tune which is slightly reminiscient of Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, with some soulful screaming on Bryan's behalf. "This Time" is a straightforward hard rock/pop song which easily made the Top 40 at the time (it even sounds like a single), but is nevertheless a catchy tune with enough heartfelt singing from Bryan to ensure it never reaches bubblegum status. "Straight From The Heart" is the first of two ballads on this record, and is very good. Interestingly enough, later that same year (1983), Bonnie Tyler did a version of that song on her explosive FASTER THAN THE SPEED OF NIGHT, and while I do like her slightly harder take on the song, I think that the Bryan Adams original is more memorable. Of course, after this song we get the most memorable song on here, the wonderful title track which caused me to sing "na-NA-na-na-na-NA-na-NA" for the better part of that year! After "Cuts Like A Knife," you would expect the rest of the CD to pale by comparison, right? Wrong! The very next track is "I'm Ready" which is the greatest keyboard-hook-and-guitar-lick-laden hard rock track that Bon Jovi never recorded. Bryan Adams screams with Authority "I'm ready!" and he sure sounds like he is ready...to rock us REAL good! :) The next three songs "What's It Gonna Be," "Don't Leave Me Lonely," and "Let Him Know" are all good, but not very memorable. However, just as was the case on his debut album, this record ends with another very good piano-driven ballad. This one is called "The Best Was Yet to Come." It is a heartfelt, plaintive song dealing with the breakup of a relationship that the protagonist Felt was Strong and would have gotten even stronger, that is, until his girl broke up with him. Having experienced this same type of thing myself, and crying myself to tears listening to this song at the time, I must say that this song hit a particularly Strong chord with me. Of course, it is because of this that I have not played the song since-- it's jus Brings me back to my youth.... I absolutely adore this album. I have listened to it so many times, especially my old audio cassette I got in 1983, that I know all the words to every song. NOt that it's hard to learn them, Bryan Adams has a voice you can understand all the words coming out of his mouth..Unlike many of the Artist today.<BR>He is a true rock Artist that emerged from the 80's.<BR>This is an album that Truly defines rock and roll and what it was like back in the early 80's. I Love all the songs on it, and have fun listening to it. While there were so many "one hit wonders" and artists that disappeared with the 80's, Bryan Adams is one rocker that is here to stay. Although he seems more popular now for his movie theme songs. I still Love this album today just as much as I did when I got in 1983.<BR>Definitely worth purchasing for any Adams fan. 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