An artist who means well is not the same as an artist who can make a listener think. As much as Bryan Adams makes his point clear on A Little More Understanding, the simplicity of his writing lets him down. The Summer of ‘69 hitmaker is calling for a lot more peace, a drop of love, and a little understanding on his new song. Like the Elvis Costello cover of (What’s So Funny About) Peace, Love and Understanding, but without the warmth, energy, or inclination for quality. Adams is a rock and roll hitmaker who thoroughly believes the genre is alive and well. He has not noticed the wires leading to a machine the size of a hired skip, keeping the beat alive for a generation whose distaste for new music is the main reason rock and roll is on life support. A Little More Understanding is a brutal listen for those who want more than a black and white look at the world.
For a man so well-connected to the issues of the day, and seemingly on the right side of history when he speaks on everything from Palestine to LGBTQ+ laws, Adams rarely, if ever, manages to bring those well-meaning stances into his music. He asks for understanding, but does not have the words to express how, ironically making it difficult to understand what he stands for. Previous single Roll with the Punches called on people to do as the title instructed. Adams is no deeper than the track names, a sincere shame, as he can use his platform for more than white noise paired with a vague but socially acceptable message. Adams has rarely dug deeper than this, and the cringe-inducing So Happy It Hurts period, where John Cleese represented God, has passed. In its place comes a list of overused sayings. Taking a walk in someone else’s shoes rang so true with Adams that he uses the phrase twice in just as many lines.
Modern man Adams sounds behind the times when it comes to rock and roll. He fills the empty spaces between his worthless writing with standard rock and roll fodder. A keyboard solo features, as though this were The Animals or an album from Bob Dylan’s religious period. A Little More Understanding manages to say nothing, even with such a simple message at its core. That much is truly impressive. The problem with Adams’ work of late is that he is all too comfortable with a style of rock that made him big in the 1980s. It carries on more because of nostalgia than anything else. His inability to shift with the times brings his instrumental work, and his fine enough thoughts on the world, down to the most rudimentary of performances.
It is easy to mock Adams for this one, but it is worrying that this is the best he thinks he can do. At a time when guitar music is overhauled by Geese and Geordie Greep, or played up well with honest commentaries from Sam Fender, it is difficult to see where Adams’ spot is beyond a nostalgia act. He has heard the changing times and failed to express any interest in pursuing a new groove or momentum for his music. That much is fatal. You can ask for all the understanding in the world, and as nice a message as it is, it will never apply to an artist frozen in time. The real letdown is hearing Adams is stuck where he is. He has not evolved his sound, nor his instrumentals. He is behind not just those whom he influenced, but also his work from thirty years ago. A Little More Understanding proves it.
