cuts like a knife

Bryan Adams sliced his way to success and had his big breakthrough with this barbed blend of brashness and balladry.  'Cuts Like a Knife' was co-produced Bryan Adams and Bob Clearmountain at Little Mountain Sound in Vancouver, Canada with Bryan Adams on vocals, guitars, and piano; Jim Vallance on percussion and electric piano; Mickey Curry on drums; Tommy Mandel on organ and synthesizer; Keith Scott on guitars and vocals; and Dave Taylor on bass guitar; with Alfa Anderson and Foreigner's Lou Gramm on background vocals. Adams recalls:    "When we went in the studio I'd written songs around the idea of playing them live so what you have on 'Cuts Like a Knife' is a record of songs which are very accessible live; and we went out and did them, wrapped that record and toured again around songs that were fun to play live.  It was fun!"

'Cuts Like a Knife' chopped its way up to fifty-two in Australia, twenty-four in Germany, twenty-two in Sweden, twenty-one in the UK, and eight in Canada and the US.  Adams reflects on the relative success of his ballads over the rockers:   "There was never a shift in direction. If you listen to my albums, they all rock and there are the occasional slow numbers. My first hit was 'Straight From the Heart' and my first number one was 'Heaven'.  I've always done them. The difference between the 80's and the 90's was radio just played my slower numbers instead of the rockers, so I had a cascade of slow songs that were hits instead. No worries, happy to have gotten played at all... I have a friend who says he'd like to be me...except for the first twenty years. In other words, there was a lot of work before I got anywhere. We toured incessantly, doing three shows a day sometimes. Noon concerts, supporting another band, and then doing our own club show; that sort of schedule. The early MTV days were ok, but remember no one had MTV when they started up!"







https://www.bryanadams.com/

"Cuts Like a Knife" came about during a jam session between the songwriting partners where Adams randomly came up with the title line and Vallance added the "but it feels so right".  The single went to fifty-five in Australia, fifteen in the US, and twelve in Canada.  He performed the song at Live Aid:  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m36qRP7zPEk

Drivin' home this evening

I coulda sworn we had it all worked out

You had this boy believin'

Way beyond the shadow of a doubt

The I heard it on the street

I heard you mighta found somebody new

Well who is he baby - who is he

And tell me what he means to you

I took it all for granted 

But how was I to know

That you'd be letting go

Now it cuts like a knife

But it feels so right

It cuts like a knife 

But it feels so right

There's times I've 'bin mistaken

There's tines I thought I'd 'bin misunderstood

So wait a minute darlin'

Can't you see we did the best we could

This would be the first time

Things have gone astray

Now you've thrown it all away

Now it cuts like a knife

But it feels so right

It cuts like a knife 

But it feels so right

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VZhSkREYBc

"Straight from the Heart" went to ninety-eight in Australia, fifty-one in the UK, twenty in Canada, and number ten in the US.  Adams recalls:      "I wrote it when I was 18 and it was one of the first complete songs I'd ever written. I'd been living in Vancouver and teaching myself piano and this came out. Sometime after I had written the song, my friend Bruce Fairbairn was producing an album for an artist called Ian Lloyd, and wanted the song for him. The song went on to be recorded by many people including Bonnie Tyler, and I didn't actually record 'Straight From The Heart' until 1983 for my 'Cuts Like A Knife' album. It was my first top 10 record."

"This Time"  went to forty-one in the UK, thirty-two in Canada, twenty-eight in Ireland, and twenty-four in the US.  

'Cuts Like a Knife' 

full album:

https://play.spotify.com/album/1cOoULSHoRR2NgjeFRfJk2

http://www.last.fm/music/Bryan+Adams/Cuts+Like+a+Knife

https://myspace.com/bryanadams/music/album/cuts-like-a-knife-3929

All songs written and composed by Bryan Adams and Jim Vallance except where noted. 


1. "The Only One"   3:16
2. "Take Me Back"   4:41
3. "This Time"   3:20
4. "Straight from the Heart" (Adams, Eric Kagna) 3:31
5. "Cuts Like a Knife"   5:17
6. "I'm Ready"   3:58
7. "What's It Gonna Be"   3:40
8. "Don't Leave Me Lonely" (Adams, Vallance, Eric Carr) 2:58
9. "Let Him Know"   3:11
10. "The Best Was Yet to Come"   3:04