An apology to Mr Adams and his PR company for the late arrival of this review, but I have a couple of excuses. First up, it’s been a busy few weeks. Second… this is a beast of a collection with three full live performances to listen to! To give you the number: “The Live At The Royal Albert Hall 2024 boxsets include a total of 36 songs across 3 CDs or 4 LPs, complemented by a Blu-Ray disc containing all three concert films and a 32-page photo book filled with exclusive images from the performances. Each film is directed by Grammy Award-winning filmmaker Dick Carruthers.”
Each CD (and spread across the vinyl) consists of a live playthrough of each of three albums. We have Reckless, celebrating it’s 40th(!) anniversary, 18 ‘Til I Die, and at the other end of the age scale So Happy It Hurts which is barely out of nappies in comparison. This is Adams’ second three-night residency at the Royal Albert Hall and he knows how to make it worthwhile buying a ticket for every night! We reviewed the release of the previous one, so how does this second run stack up?
In short, very well indeed. I mean, when you have the history behind you of an artist like Adams, coupled with a great band and all the experience of the best recording techs in the business then you’d have to be trying to make a poor release. I’ve been through the audio files as well as the video releases and they’re both great reproductions of some fantastic shows (that obviously I wish I could have attended).
So Happy It Hurts is a great album, and I’m surprised we didn’t review it. To hear such a recent release played through in full is something that often only happens around the release date at launch parties and the like, but given the strength of it, it goes across rather well. While it’s simply not had time to generate any “classic” songs, there’s nothing wrong with hearing “Always Have, Always Will” going up against the grungy “I Ain’t Worth Shit Without You”. “Kick Ass” will definitely be familiar to those who attended more recent events, as it was the opening track when Adams toured on this album back in 2022. And what a tour that was!
If you like what we do, consider joining us on Patreon for as little as £1 per month!
There are little live touches, such as the addition of a gospel choir to “Never Gonna Rain” and “You Lift Me Up” which is enough to give you goosebumps. The whole show almost looks like it’s “in the round” as well, due to the venue, and seeing the audience enjoying themselves really adds to things.
The songs aren’t played in order, so the relevant disc opens with this AC/DC-esque number, though missing the John Cleese intro. It’s a great kick start, and sets the scene for the remaining 45 minutes. It’s worth noting that each of the three nights wasn’t “one album and night-night”. Once the album has been played through, fans got another set with about twenty more songs. In other words, a 2-hour plus show.
What I’d like to highlight, on the video, is the editing. So many live videos these days seem to think that you have to cut to a new camera every 1.5 seconds. It’s so annoying as you’re trying to watch something that’s caught your eye… and it’s gone. Many of the shots in these videos linger just that bit longer and it makes for a far more enjoyable viewing experience. The music… well, it speaks for itself.
There’s no point in going through the songs on Reckless and 18 ‘Til I Die. You know them all by now and you know how good Adams is live. The point is… is this a live set worth getting? Honestly? Yes. Absolutely. The picture quality is great on the Blu-Ray, and the sound is fantastic on the audio recordings. You can hear the crowd, and there’s a little bit of between-song chat from the band though I have no idea if all of it has been included from the actual shows.
This is a great continuation of Adams’ set of live material, and arguably even better than 2023’s releases (if only slightly). I’d not even say it’s for completists only, the live shows really adding something to their studio originals.
Don’t fancy Patreon? Buy us a one-off beverage!
Bryan Adams – Live At The Royal Albert Hall 2024 is out now
Header image:Â Steven Stanley
Check out all the bands we review in 2024 on our Spotify and YouTube playlists!
Bryan Adams: official | facebook | twitter | instagram | spotify | youtube
