Renaissance Man

The time is ripe for Canadians to come to terms with the artist that is Bryan Adams.

Without question, Bryan Adams is a huge international star. And without question, the Kingston, Ont.-born, Vancouver-bred Adams is a Canadian. But do we appreciate and celebrate our Canadian star enough?

Oh sure, Adams has received his share of official Canadian recognition: the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, 18 Juno awards, the Walk of Fame, the Order of Canada. But when it comes to the raw popularity, attention and love we accord to other Canadian icons, we have failed our Bryan.

Yes, when the book gets written about Canadians and our ambivalent relationship with our celebrities, Bryan Adams will surely rate a chapter of his own. Despite his massive success and popularity around the world, sustained over decades, somehow Adams’ name doesn’t leap to our lips when it comes time to brag of the celebrities we proudly claim as Canadian.

Consider this: last year, the CBC ran, with much hoopla, a contest to determine the Greatest Canadian, and ended up with a list of the 100 greatest ever. To the country’s credit, our Bryan made the list, slipping in at No. 90. But consider who we placed ahead of him.

Of course, it’s not fair to compare Adams with the likes of Frederick Banting or Lester B. Pearson, but even among entertainers, Adams should have done better. Shania Twain, who has sold about as many records as Adams but has much more modest achievements outside of music, placed 18th. Pro wrestler Bret “the Hitman” Hart managed to make it to No. 39. Even Céline Dion — a celebrity sure to arouse a mixed response if ever there was one — made it to No. 27.

So why don’t we give Adams his due as an artist? For some, it may be the wedding factor. For an entire decade, Adams owned the wedding dance floor, first with his monster hit from the Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves movie soundtrack, “(Everything I Do) I Do It For You,” and then with “Have You Ever Really Loved A Woman?” from the Don Juan DeMarco soundtrack. During the 1990s, you simply couldn’t escape the man.

“Why don’t we give Adams his due as an artist?”

Some may carry memories of the time when Adams, justifiably upset that his aforementioned monster hit did not meet Canadian content rules, dismissed CanCon as “a disgrace” that was “breeding mediocrity.” Some thought maybe our Bryan was getting a little too big for his britches.

And this really gets to the heart of the matter. Bryan Adams has always sought success on his own terms. He’s never been content with the asterisk that comes with the label “Canadian star.” Instead, he has judged himself by his own standards. And so, in escaping the fate of being less of a star because he is Canadian, he has somehow become, in our eyes, a little less Canadian for being such a huge star.

But this navel-gazing, this obsession over what it means to be a Canadian — it’s so 20th century. We are a bigger, better nation than that today, or so we should hope. So now is the time to remind ourselves what makes Bryan Adams great.

The Music
Go ahead, take another listen. Those old rockers still sound great. The guitar-propelled “Run to You” sounds very much at home on the radio today, as do “Summer of ’69,” “Cuts Like a Knife,” “One Night Love Affair” and “Can’t Stop This Thing We’ve Started.” You forgot how many big hits he had, didn’t you? For a treat, check out his 2005 DVD Live in Lisbon, to see how well the music — and his talents as a live performer — stand up.

What’s more, our Bryan isn’t finished yet. Early this year he released his 11th studio album called, well, 11. The catchy lead single, “I Thought I’d Seen Everything,” shows Adams still has his songwriting chops.

“That’s right, Bryan Adams is a photographer. In fact, he’s a great photographer — think Annie Liebovitz without the frippery or Yousuf Karsh with better looking models”

The Photography
That’s right, Bryan Adams is a photographer. In fact, he’s a great photographer. Check the credits on the pictures in this article — he took ’em all. He’s had his work published in Vogue, Vanity Fair, Esquire and many other top publications. He’s had exhibitions at the Royal Ontario Museum (twice) and the Saatchi Gallery in London, among others.

His specialty is portraiture of famous people, from Lindsay Lohan to Queen Elizabeth II, who sat for an Adams shot that ended up on a Canadian stamp. Think Annie Liebovitz without the frippery or Yousuf Karsh with better looking models. Adams even has his own style publication, Zoo Magazine, based in Germany.

The Good Works
If you look carefully on his official website (maybe some Canadian modesty at work?) you’ll find a link to the Bryan Adams Foundation, a charitable organization that has done an astonishing amount of work in its two years of operation, from tsunami relief efforts to supporting orphanages and children’s hospitals. All that glamorous photography goes to support the Foundation (which probably helps to get all those beautiful people to pose for his camera.) Oh, and maybe you remember an old song he co-wrote in the 1980s for African famine relief, called “Tears Are Not Enough.”

So next time you’re at a wedding, and the inevitable Adams ballad comes on, grab a partner, enjoy the song, and whisper in your date’s ear, “This is Bryan Adams. He’s a Canadian, eh?” •