Room Service (Bryan Adams Album) - Critical Response

Critical Response

Elysa Gardner of USA Today gave the album two-and-a-half stars out of four, noted how many of the songs were similar to much of Adams previous work, calling the songs "solid, digestible meat-and-potatoes rockers delivered in the '80s pop icon's immediately familiar rasp." BBC reviewer Michelle Adamson gave the album a mixed review, claimed the album had a reasonable beginning but quickly descended to its low point on track four, "Flying". However, she liked the nearly "cliché-free lyrics" of "I Was Only Dreamin’" which offered a little variety from the normal Adams treat. Adamson wrote in her conclusion that she felt there was to little to win over new fans, while acknowledging it would sink well in with old ones. David Wild of Rolling Stone gave it two-and-a-half stars out of five and noted, "Adams' approach on Room Service sounds more hip in theory than in practice -- apparently he recorded the album in assorted hotel rooms and backstage areas while touring in Europe (where he remains in greater demand). The result: a disc that sounds less like Jackson Browne's Running on Empty (which was recorded in a similar fashion) than a very ordinary Bryan Adams album. For the faithful, at least, Room Service still delivers."

Stephen Thomas Erlewine from AllMusic gave the record two out of five stars, saying the album "evaporated" after listening to it, as no songs were memorable, and because Adams was playing it "safe" with this record, no songs were bad nor good, just "pleasant and professional". He did, however, conclude that long-time Adams' fans would enjoy it but also ask the question; "why he even bothers to record new albums if he doesn't have anything new to say?" British music magazine Uncut also gave it two stars out of five and, while noting the album's "inherently conservative nature", ended the review with, "Room Service is still a better record than you might imagine." Entertainment Weekly gave the album a C−, writing that Adams was still releasing albums which "cuts like a butter knife", a reference to his earlier single, "Cuts Like a Knife" from 1983. Nancy Miller, the reviewer, considered "Not Romeo, Not Juliet" to be "hokey" and "Nowhere Fast" as a "bland power ballad".