Despite having written hits such as Summer of ’69, Cuts Like a Knife and Heaven, Bryan Adams doesn’t think much of his guitar work. “I’m a shit player,” he laughs. But he admits his style has some appeal. “I’m really good at accompanying myself. I’m not a schooled guitarist, so my technique is all around the voice.”
His success, which continues with his latest album, Roll with the Punches, proves it’s a good thing he favors instinct over pyrotechnics. “When I worked with [producer] Mutt Lange, he would always make me play rhythm. He liked my feel. I’m technically not very good, but I have a feel that’s intuitive to me.”
Adams’ mindset toward his gear is equally bare-boned. “You can start fiddling around with amps, trying to get a sound,” he says. “But sometimes I like the simple things.”
What keeps you inspired to pick up the guitar?
“Coming up with ideas, then going to the guitar and realizing them. Most of the songs start with a lyric, then I sit down with the guitar and try to find a place for it to fit in that magical little jigsaw puzzle of chords and melodies.”
What gear did you use on your recent single A Little More Understanding?
“The guitar is a 1964 cherry red Fender Stratocaster. The amp is one of the new Supros, and there was just a regular old wah. That song is my message to the world right now – we could all use a little more understanding. Take a walk in my shoes, I’ll take a walk in your shoes.
“It’s a very divisive, odd political world. There’s wars all over the place, and it’s time for more understanding. Whether anybody will ever do it is another story, but it’s what the world needs.”
It's not easy for older artists to get their music heard today, but people are responding to Roll with the Punches. Why do you think that is?
“I’ve always believed that you’ve got to bring the music to the people. We tour around the world, introducing new songs to new audiences, and some to our existing audience.
“The internet is extraordinarily powerful; I believe some of my music has benefited from having had accessibility. Take Summer of ’69, for example – when it came out, it did pretty good in America and Canada. But in the rest of the world, it did nothing. Nothing. But there’s not a pub or a party you could go to now where someone doesn’t play that song.”
If you could go back and change your classic songs to make them more accessible to the rest of the world, would you do it?
“No, I wouldn’t change anything. It’s as far as I could take it. All kinds of people have taken my songs and remixed, rearranged, re-recorded, and done their versions – but very seldom has anyone beaten the originals. The only person I can think of who did a version of Summer of ’69, and did it justice, was Taylor Swift.
“She sang the lead vocal, I sang the harmony, and that was really fun for me because I’ve always thought that the harmony in that song is very subliminal on the record, although it’s there. People don’t realize how important it is. But when I sang it with her, we nailed it. We only had one rehearsal, so she knows that song really well. It’s fantastic!”
You’re known for primarily sticking with vintage guitars. Why is that?
“I really haven’t tried a lot of new gear, if I’m honest. A lot of the guitars on Roll with the Punches were done with my Gibson ES-295. The last two or three albums have been done with that guitar. There’s something about a P-90 pickup that’s pretty hard to beat. Sometimes it’s just a P-90 into a little Fender amp, and bang, the sound is instant.
“I know if I plug this guitar into that amp, it’s going to sound good and it’s going to be exactly what I need. Will it work for every song? Maybe not. I’ll try a different amp, and if that doesn’t work, I’ll try another combination. The only new thing I’ve got in my arsenal is a new Supro.”
One of your more well-known pieces is the Martin D-18 which Johnny Cash once owned.
“A friend of mine once owned it. I said, ‘If you’re ever thinking of selling it, let me know.’ He came on hard times; he called me and said, ‘I’m in a bit of a pickle. I’d love to sell my guitar. But I only want to sell it to you because you spotted it. I said, ‘Let’s go!’ It’s probably been on everything acoustic I’ve recorded since about 2010.”
Is there a vintage electric guitar that you favor?
“I have a 1960 Fender Stratocaster. There were two guitars on Reckless; one was that Stratocaster. Then I have a 1980s Gibson Les Paul that’s stock off the shelf. Those two guitars are really cool.
“The interesting thing about the Les Paul is that around the end of the ‘80s, I thought, ‘I’m never going to use this. I mostly use Strats.’ I’d started to fall in love with my ES-295, and I just didn’t play the Les Paul anymore. So I sold it.
“But then the internet started coming about, and I started seeing pictures of myself playing that Les Paul live. I thought, ‘Shit, I think I sold that!’ And sure enough, it was gone. I had no idea where it was.
“Fast-forward to like mid-2005, and I’m in a record store doing a signing in Toronto. This guy comes up, and I’m thinking, ‘He wants me to sign his guitar.’ He said, ‘Hey, I bought your Les Paul years ago. I’m really in hard times, would you like to buy the guitar back?’ I was like, ‘Oh, yeah!’
You’re going to fall into the groove that you want to fall into, and it’ll happen intuitively. You’ll know where to go
“We did the deal right then and there. It had taken a bit of a beating since I’d had it, but the best thing about getting that guitar back was that I re-recorded Summer of ’69 with it. At first, I couldn’t remember what combination of amp and guitar I’d used. Then I remembered, ‘I only had two guitars back then!’
“So it was either the Strat or the Les Paul. I pulled the Les Paul out of the mothballs, plugged it in, and the amp that I used turned out to actually be a Rockman.”
Was the Rockman a key piece of your tone in the ’80s?
“Yeah – we used it a lot. We used it in combination with another amp, so you’d have two feeds, one to the Rockman and one to the amp; and we’d do a blend. Pulling that Les Paul out and putting it to the amp, I was like, ‘It’s not sounding right.’ Then I thought, ‘Oh, it was through a Rockman.’
“I still have it; it was in a box in the basement. So I pulled it out, plugged it in, and it still worked! It sounded great. There was that sound, bang, right there. I like the practicality of it. But it’s never on its own – it’s always blended with an amp.”
What’s your best piece of advice for young guitar players?
“I don’t know that I have any advice for anybody! You’re going to fall into the groove that you want to fall into, and it’ll happen intuitively. You’ll know where to go. You’ll figure it out. In the end, you know what’s best for you. But if there’s one piece of advice I would give, it’s to learn how to tune your guitar!”
Where do you go from here?
“We have lots more shows. We’re playing in Asia, South Africa, and we’re probably going to play in India, Pakistan, and then probably more US shows, and maybe more Canadian shows. At the end of next year we’ve got a big arena tour around Europe.”
- Roll With the Punches is out now.
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