You Want It, You Got It

Despite a slight new wave flavor on its title track, the debut record by Canadian singer-songwriter Bryan Adams is a solid, well-played slab of straight-ahead, four-on-the-floor rock & roll. On tracks like catchy opener, "Lonely Nights," Adams shows how he can take a pretty basic riff and get the most out of it through his heartfelt, emotional delivery. Thematically, Adams alternates between the spurned lover, the wooing lover, and the fed-up lover whos not gonna take it any more; but the emphasis here is on the simple pleasures of rock played and sung with workmanlike dedication. Following a pattern he would continue throughout his rise to the top of the charts, Adams alternates between punchy rock in the spirit of same-era Bruce Springsteen ("Jealousy") and what were soon dubbed "power ballads," such as "Coming Home" and the touching closer, "No One Makes it Right." Co-produced by Bob Clearmountain, who would be one of the hottest producers in the business by the middle of the decade, YOU WANT IT has the pleasing oomph of American power rock and a radio-ready sheen.