I'll confess that I haven't heard any of his new stuff, but, of the albums I own (specifically, his four previous to this one), I listen to this one the most. It seems a lot more mature than his previous albums, music-wise. The guitars seem less rough and the vocals seem to blend a lot better with the music. This could be a production trick, but it's still true of the album.

There are so many good songs on this album, it's hard to know where to start. There are rockers like IS YOUR MAMA GONNA MISS YA?, HOUSE ARREST, ALL I WANT IS YOU, and DON'T DROP THAT BOMB ON ME. All of these songs are great to listen to...pure rock 'n' roll fun. Then there are the ballads...THOUGHT I'D DIED AND GONE TO HEAVEN, DO I HAVE TO SAY THE WORDS, and (EVERYTHING I DO) I DO FOR YOU. All of these songs are heartfelt and emotional. They are well written, both lyrically and musically. The way the two types of songs are interwoven with each other makes this a really strong album. Most rock 'n' roll albums only have one ballad on them. This one has three, not to mention the fact that ALL I WANT IS YOU is thematically a ballad, but musically a rocker. This album was put together brilliantly with changes in tempo in all the right places.

If you're looking for a good Bryan Adams' album to start with or just a good rock 'n' roll album in general, this is a sure bet.

Before I mention the other songs from this album, my favorite song on here is "Thought I'd Died and Gone To Heaven." It is such a strong record with the bridges and the hanging-with-the-fellows big chorus of woooohhh, wooooooooooodhhhhhhhh. It is one of Bryan Adams' best songs to date and it should have gone higher than No. 13 on the charts in spring 1992. But this album is full of big rockers, solid rhythms, and unique songwriting. I like Do I Have to Say the Words more than the overplayed "Everything I Do (I Do It For You)". Everything's kind of LOUD for a power ballad, but that sappiness is all too obvious on that one. I also like "Can't Stop This Thing We Started", "There'll Never Be Another Tonight" and the big closer, "Don't Drop That Bomb On Me." Three crank-it-to-11 rockers that still sound strong today! Bryan really got better as an artist with this album!

Having been a fan of Bryan's since his "Let Me Take You Dancing", I can safely say that Waking Up the Neighbours is his best album of his career. No other album released since then comes even close! Just wish he'd play songs from it more often in concert, however, he states they are too hard to do too often.........not sure why!

I was surprised to hear one of the negative reviews say this album was so horrible compared to the previous ones. I thought it was a perfect progression from his previous work. I love Reckless, etc. but I also love this album, so I must respectfully but strenuously disagree with that statement.

I also take issue with people who bash Bryan's lyrics, and his "radio friendly" songs. First of all, If a song has great lyrics, that's great, but many people, including myself, aren't looking for thought-provoking poetry here. We're looking for a good, fun song, and Bryan delivers that in spades. And since when is it a bad idea to write songs that work particularly well on the radio? That IS where most people hear them, isn't it? Now you can take this approach WAY too far (Nickelback, etc) but I don't think he does at all.

And as far as the lead guitar work on this album, it rivals that of Reckless. The highlights would have to be "Don't Drop That Bomb On Me" and "Everything I Do," but almost every song on this album has some great solos.

Rhythm work is rock-solid here as well, with some of his patented hooks in songs like "Can't Stop.." "Hey Honey I'm Packin' You In" etc. "House Arrest" is one of the coolest songs I've ever heard, and the lyrics are fun. No need to talk about drugs or having sex like most other musicians do, just a fun ride.

Some of the songs on this album did take a while to grow on me, namely tracks #1,5,6,and 11 but they are some real hidden gems, as far as I'm concerned. If you like Bryans music, get this album. Simple as that. I wish he was still writing music like this.

This Canadian Rocker knows how to write and record songs. With Mega-hit producer, R.J. "Mutt" Lange (AC/DC, Def Leppard, Heart and now producer/husband of Shania Twain), they wrote (Everything I Do) I Do It For You (from Kevin Costner's Robin Hood movie). So what you say? Well, the rest of this album is great, too.

Bryan and the boys seemed like they had a lotta fun on this one. The songs Is Your Mama Gonna Miss Ya? Hey Honey-I'm Packin' You In! House Arrest, If You Wanna Leave Me (Can I Come Too?) and Don't Drop That Bomb On Me are super fun rock'n'roll. Obligatory ballads, Vanishing and Do I Have To Say the Words are there and you can "rok-owt" with Touch the Hand.

This album is the best Bryan Adams next to his Cuts Like A Knife (his best release) and is on par with his greatest hits release, So Far So Good. There is not a bad track on the whole dang thing!