Anthology
Bryan Adams
Universal; double pack Rs 200

The Anthology collects the pulp of Adams’ mega successes through his sparkling career in rock. And it’s been one hell of a consistent career by any standards.

From his younger campus rock days to his emergence as a stadium igniting rock legend, Adams’ graph reflects a smooth and steady incline with a string of memorable cuts stacked on top of each other.

But it’s not just the big hits that make Bryan Adams the icon he is today. The Anthology digs into the vault and brings out a few forgotten cuts that generated a fair amount of heat back in the 80s. Songs like Heat of the night and the title track from one of his most under-rated efforts Into the Fire are two such trailblazing tracks, not to forget One night love affair from his landmark effort ? Reckless.

Expectedly we also find Heaven, Everything I do, Please forgive me, Summer of ’69, Run to you, Somebody and so on. The progression of Bryan Adams is marked by his relentless focus on what he does best ? rock hard with a straight face, without caring a hoot about experimenting unlike other artistes with a similarly extended career span.

An average music lover must have heard at least four to five cuts on Anthology and that says so much about Adams the rocker who has taken his music to a mammoth worldwide audience. Though the younger lot may not subscribe to his honest-to-the-bone rock anymore, it’s still hard to discount the fact that Adams continues to influence musicians across the world. And how!

Sunny C. Dua

Gaan OJibon
Sharmila Roy Pommot
Adarsh; CD, Rs 100

Apart from the songs sung well, there are two more factors, which make this collection of Tagore songs by Sharmila Roy Pommot particularly interesting and worth having in one’s collection. First, the cause. Dedicated to the breast cancer survivors of the world, it’s definitely a noble cause to promote. Then, the packaging. Inserted in the attractive CD box is a thin booklet, with a foreword written by poet Joy Goswami, who commends the singer’s dedication to the genre. That apart, all the songs are not just listed, each comes with a short note attached, which makes for interesting reading, and of course, interesting keeping, as well.

Deepali Singh