Thursday, February 20, 2020

The evolution will not be televised - Bryan Adams and AllMusic

If you poke around on the Internet, you can find this odd FAQ:

Why can't I find Bryan Adams on AllMusic?

Due to the request of Mr. Adams, we are no longer permitted to display his information on AllMusic.


Not that musicians haven't requested removal of Internet information before. They obviously have, especially when money is involved. And musicians can take legal action when something is defamatory or libelous.

But, to be honest, we really don't know why Adams made his request to AllMusic. Everything2 even looked at cached versions of the deleted AllMusic pages and couldn't find anything out of the ordinary.

What becomes obvious quickly is that AMG did not slag off Bryan Adam's entire catalog (see appendix) - the first few albums actually received positive reviews. His mid-80's releases, with 4.5 out of 5 stars each, even get close to the top rating.....Further AMG reviews generally claim that Adams did nothing new after the 1980s and that his more recent albums sounded simply like rehashes of his old style. But, again, this is not an unusual claim at all if a music journalist tries to look at a longer career, it's one of the most common criticisms in the field.

Oddly enough, in a 2018 interview Adams claimed indifference to his image:

Q. Many recording artists today are more conscious of their image that their music. You’ve always placed your music before your public image. It’s kind of take it or leave it.

A. To be honest, I’m not really conscious of even that much. I am that way, but only because I don’t know any better (laughs). It’s what pleases me the most and it’s the easiest thing to do. It stems from the early days when I tried different things clothing wise and I just felt like a total pratt. I felt uncomfortable so I just decided that I’d go out with what I’d wear everyday onstage and it just made much more sense.
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