Covid-19 pandemic brought sadness and misery upon the unsuspected world but at the same time it gave the opportunity (and the inspiration) to many artists to take advantage of this downtime and come up with some really impressive records. Bryan Adams is such an exemplar case as his latest studio album appropriately entitled “So Happy It Hurts” is one of the best that the Canadian rocker has released in the last 30 odd years! Yes, you read it correctly…it might not be of the same level as “Reckless” or “Waking Up The Neighbors” (how could it be, really?) but it displays many similar sonic aspects with those classic records and that says it a lot for an artist that he’s been around for more than 40 years!

The first word that comes in your mind upon listening the new record is: optimism! That’s right…optimism. After a two-year melancholic period all over the world, Adams pens some of his most inspired and uplifting songs of his entire career. Once again he manages to combine two worlds, the past and the present without losing anything of his trademark sound. After all, this is something that Adams has been regularly doing in his last 3-4 albums. The second thing that comes to your mind is: the mighty Mutt Lange! Producer-extraordinaire has co-written and co-produced “So Happy It Hurts” and the result is impressive as the sound is crystal clear and the songs stick to your head almost instantly.

So…with an arsenal of inspired and up-tempo songs, an optimistic aura, a powerful production and an overall flawless artistic result, “So Happy It Hurts” is one of the finest records of 2022. Bryan Adams delivered the goods and brought back Mutt Lange only to remind us that we would give the world if only he could do one last record with Def Leppard. Oh well…

Highlight: The legendary actor John Cleese narrates the intro of the great track “Kick Ass” which is really in the vein of AC/DC and the aforementioned Def Leppard.