I read a review this morning of the latest Bryan Adams album “So happy it hurts” and I take the reviewer’s point:
“…Coming out of two years of a once-in-a-century pandemic to face the greatest threat to global peace since the Second World War, being glued to the news filtering out of Ukraine and trying to hold on — with increasing desperation — to hope for the people there, it isn’t easy to feel optimistic right now. Unless you are Bryan Adams. “I’m so glad, it’s outrageous. You know, I think it’s contagious,” gushes Adams on So Happy It Hurts, an Eighties drivetime anthem complete with rocking guitar, the kind of beat that makes you want to punch the air and say, “Hell yeah!”, and lyrics about taking to the open road, driving all night, and other things that suggest the biggest problem in life is where to stop for the next cheeseburger…”
In the middle of a war, and with Covid still terrifyingly in action, a cheerful, “so happy it hurts” vibe might seem a tad out of step.
The Times reviewer clearly thinks so:
“As the album equivalent of a 40-minute session with a motivational speaker, however, there is only so much you can listen to someone telling you how great everything is before it starts to seriously bum you out.”
But you know what?
I love it.
And I have downloaded it.
And I played it this morning while working out.
I am as frightened as the next person about The World Out There (plus I haven’t seen my children for over 2 years, thanks to Covid restrictions).
But sneering at upbeat music isn’t going to change thing, so I’m all for “So happy it hurts”.
Not bummed out at all 🙂