Into the Fire (album)
Encyclopedia
Into the Fire is the fifth studio album by the Canadian rock
artist Bryan Adams
. Released on March 30, 1987 through A&M Records
, the album was a commercial success, albeit somewhat of a disappointment following the huge success of 1984's Reckless. Into the Fire sold over 4 million units worldwide, peaking at number 7 on the US Billboard 200
chart and reaching high positions in charts
worldwide. The album was recorded at Adams' home in London
, England
.
Six singles
were released from the album: "Heat of the Night
", "Hearts on Fire", "Victim of Love", "Only the Strong Survive", "Into the Fire" and "Another Day".
The cover photographs were taken by Dutch photographer Anton Corbijn
at an unknown location.
, Mickey Curry
, Dave Taylor and Tommy Mandel
, used the dining room, bathroom and bedroom to isolate the different instruments. The studio was named Cliffhanger since Adams' house was close to the sea. "Heat of the Night" was recorded September 12, 1986. "Hearts on Fire" was originally written for Reckless in 1984 but was recorded on September 1, 1986. "Hearts on Fire" was mixed in London
, England
on January 11.
By the time Into the Fire was completed, there were only two songs Vallance and Adams were satisfied with: the dark and depressing "Victim of Love", and the upbeat "Hearts on Fire", which was written during the Reckless recording sessions, two years earlier. A significant influence to the album was Adams' involvement with The Police, Peter Gabriel
and U2
on the six-city "Amnesty International Conspiracy of Hope" tour in 1986. After the Amnesty tour Adams wanted to be taken more seriously as a songwriter and recording artist. Adams believed a change in musical and lyrical direction was the way to achieve that goal.
As Adams said to Rolling Stone Magazine "We wanted to make a record with more lyrical depth". Where Adams had previously used guitars, they would instead employ the latest in "sampling".
The song "Into the Fire" was recorded in 1986 at "Cliffhanger", Adams' home studio in West Vancouver. At the recording session Adams and Bob Clearmountain
had problems with the guitar sound. On the demo for "Into the Fire" Adams and Vallance used a Rockman pocket amplifier.
, peaked at number seven on the Billboard 200
. The album was released in March 1987 and featured the singles "Heat of the Night", and "Hearts on Fire". The hit single "Heat of the Night" was nominated for a Juno Award
for Single of the Year in 1987, and became Adams' only single from Into the Fire to chart in mainland Europe. This doesn't mean the album was unsuccessful since the album sold over two million copies worldwide at its time of release while Adams' previous album, Reckless, had sold over 12 million and only in that context can Into the Fire be viewed as a commercial failure. As Adams said:
"Heat of the Night" was the debut single from Into the Fire and was released in the summer of 1987. It was released worldwide in March 1987. The song reached the top ten on the mainstream Rock Tracks
at number 2 and it charted on the Billboard Hot 100
where it peaked at number 6. "Heat of the Night" reached the top ten on the Canadian album
chart and remained in the top ten for five weeks. It attained the highest Canadian chart position Adams had reached and was Adams' first top ten single in Canada. "Heat of the Night" was released the following month in the UK and peaked in the top 50 on the UK Singles Chart
at 50.
"Hearts on Fire" was the second single from Into the Fire. The song become a minor hit at its time of release. The song peaked at number 26 on the Billboard
Hot 100
chart and peaked at number 3 on the Billboard mainstream rock tracks.
"Victim of Love" and "Only the Strong Survive" would be the two follow-up singles to "Hearts on Fire". These singles became minor hits with "Only the Strong Survive" charting in Canada at number 47. The last single from the album Another Day peaked at number 33 on the Billboard mainstream rock tracks and was the last single to be released from the album.
with his backing band. Adams first stop of the UK leg of the tour at the Prince’s Trust charity concert at Wembley Stadium, London. Adams would later head back to the United States to continue the American leg of the tour, Adams appeared on Late Night with David Letterman
. Adams would later sell out two nights in a row at Madison Square Garden
in New York City
and was visited backstage by Brian Wilson
of the Beach Boys, he would later get a sold out show in Toronto
, Ontario
. The tour continued through the Western United States. Adams heads back to the UK on October 13 in Newcastle
, England. Adams sold out four nights in a row at Wembley Arena
in London. Adams starts his tour in mainland Europe and Adams previous album Reckless achieves gold status in Sweden and Into The Fire achieves gold status in Switzerland and later he travels to Dublin, Ireland
. Adams started the Asian leg of the tour and ended up selling out ten concerts, five of which were in Tokyo
's Budokan
. Into the Fire ends up being certified platinum with sales over 100,000 copies sold in Japan. Adams headed back to Europe and played in East Berlin
and later West Berlin
. The last concert part of the Into the Fire tour was played in Locarno
, Switzerland
.
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
artist Bryan Adams
Bryan Adams
Bryan Adams, is a Canadian rock singer-songwriter, guitarist, bassist, producer, actor and photographer. Adams has won dozens of awards and nominations, including 20 Juno Awards among 56 nominations. He has also received 15 Grammy Award nominations including a win for Best Song Written...
. Released on March 30, 1987 through A&M Records
A&M Records
A&M Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group that operates under the mantle of its Interscope-Geffen-A&M division.-Beginnings:...
, the album was a commercial success, albeit somewhat of a disappointment following the huge success of 1984's Reckless. Into the Fire sold over 4 million units worldwide, peaking at number 7 on the US Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
chart and reaching high positions in charts
Record chart
A record chart is a ranking of recorded music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40....
worldwide. The album was recorded at Adams' home in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
Six singles
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
were released from the album: "Heat of the Night
Heat of the Night
This is about the rock song "Heat of the Night", see also "In the Heat of the Night"."Heat of the Night" is the title of a song written by Canadian rock musician Bryan Adams and Jim Vallance and performed by Adams. The song became the only successful song from Adams' album Into the Fire in 1987...
", "Hearts on Fire", "Victim of Love", "Only the Strong Survive", "Into the Fire" and "Another Day".
The cover photographs were taken by Dutch photographer Anton Corbijn
Anton Corbijn
Anton Corbijn is a Dutch photographer, music video and film director. He is the creative director behind the visual output of Depeche Mode and U2, having handled the principal promotion and sleeve photography for both for more than a decade...
at an unknown location.
Recording and production
The recording for Into the Fire started on August 16, 1986 and finished on October 24. It was recorded a studio set up in Adams' house. Adams and his backing band, which consisted of Keith ScottKeith Scott
Keith Douglas Scott is a Canadian guitar player. He is best known for his long-term collaboration with the singer-songwriter Bryan Adams...
, Mickey Curry
Mickey Curry
Michael Timothy Curry is an American drummer. He is best known for his long-term collaboration with the singer-songwriter Bryan Adams, although he has also worked with Hall & Oates, Cher, Tina Turner, Alice Cooper, David Bowie, Elvis Costello, Sam Phillips, Tom Waits, The Cult, Steve Jones and...
, Dave Taylor and Tommy Mandel
Tommy Mandel
Tommy Mandel is a keyboardist who is most famous for playing with Bryan Adams, from 1981 to 1998, starting with Bryan Adams's album You Want It You Got It.He also has played with Dire Straits and others....
, used the dining room, bathroom and bedroom to isolate the different instruments. The studio was named Cliffhanger since Adams' house was close to the sea. "Heat of the Night" was recorded September 12, 1986. "Hearts on Fire" was originally written for Reckless in 1984 but was recorded on September 1, 1986. "Hearts on Fire" was mixed in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
on January 11.
By the time Into the Fire was completed, there were only two songs Vallance and Adams were satisfied with: the dark and depressing "Victim of Love", and the upbeat "Hearts on Fire", which was written during the Reckless recording sessions, two years earlier. A significant influence to the album was Adams' involvement with The Police, Peter Gabriel
Peter Gabriel
Peter Brian Gabriel is an English singer, musician, and songwriter who rose to fame as the lead vocalist and flautist of the progressive rock group Genesis. After leaving Genesis, Gabriel went on to a successful solo career...
and U2
U2
U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...
on the six-city "Amnesty International Conspiracy of Hope" tour in 1986. After the Amnesty tour Adams wanted to be taken more seriously as a songwriter and recording artist. Adams believed a change in musical and lyrical direction was the way to achieve that goal.
As Adams said to Rolling Stone Magazine "We wanted to make a record with more lyrical depth". Where Adams had previously used guitars, they would instead employ the latest in "sampling".
The song "Into the Fire" was recorded in 1986 at "Cliffhanger", Adams' home studio in West Vancouver. At the recording session Adams and Bob Clearmountain
Bob Clearmountain
Bob Clearmountain is an award-winning American music engineer, mixer and producer. He has worked with many prominent names in music including Bruce Springsteen , The Rolling Stones , Bryan Adams , Robbie Williams Bob Clearmountain is an award-winning American music engineer, mixer and producer. He...
had problems with the guitar sound. On the demo for "Into the Fire" Adams and Vallance used a Rockman pocket amplifier.
Release and reception
One of Adams' most successful albums, Into the Fire co-produced by Adams and Bob ClearmountainBob Clearmountain
Bob Clearmountain is an award-winning American music engineer, mixer and producer. He has worked with many prominent names in music including Bruce Springsteen , The Rolling Stones , Bryan Adams , Robbie Williams Bob Clearmountain is an award-winning American music engineer, mixer and producer. He...
, peaked at number seven on the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
. The album was released in March 1987 and featured the singles "Heat of the Night", and "Hearts on Fire". The hit single "Heat of the Night" was nominated for a Juno Award
Juno Award
The Juno Awards are presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music...
for Single of the Year in 1987, and became Adams' only single from Into the Fire to chart in mainland Europe. This doesn't mean the album was unsuccessful since the album sold over two million copies worldwide at its time of release while Adams' previous album, Reckless, had sold over 12 million and only in that context can Into the Fire be viewed as a commercial failure. As Adams said:
"I have to laugh when the press say that LP didn't do well because it did as well as Cuts Like a Knife, but I suppose the perception was it wasn't Reckless II! Who cares? There were some songs that were slightly different than what we had written before ... some were, let's say, slightly more exploratory than we'd written in the past. Vallance was up for the songwriting challenge of not repeating Reckless."
"Heat of the Night" was the debut single from Into the Fire and was released in the summer of 1987. It was released worldwide in March 1987. The song reached the top ten on the mainstream Rock Tracks
Mainstream Rock Tracks
Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks is a ranking in Billboard magazine of the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations, a category that includes stations that play primarily rock music. Modern rock tracks are counted in the Alternative Songs chart.This chart began with the March 21, 1981, issue...
at number 2 and it charted on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
where it peaked at number 6. "Heat of the Night" reached the top ten on the Canadian album
RPM (magazine)
RPM was a Canadian music industry publication that featured song and album charts for Canada. The publication was founded by Walt Grealis in February 1964, supported through its existence by record label owner Stan Klees. RPM ceased publication in November 2000.RPM stood for "Records, Promotion,...
chart and remained in the top ten for five weeks. It attained the highest Canadian chart position Adams had reached and was Adams' first top ten single in Canada. "Heat of the Night" was released the following month in the UK and peaked in the top 50 on the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
at 50.
"Hearts on Fire" was the second single from Into the Fire. The song become a minor hit at its time of release. The song peaked at number 26 on the Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
chart and peaked at number 3 on the Billboard mainstream rock tracks.
"Victim of Love" and "Only the Strong Survive" would be the two follow-up singles to "Hearts on Fire". These singles became minor hits with "Only the Strong Survive" charting in Canada at number 47. The last single from the album Another Day peaked at number 33 on the Billboard mainstream rock tracks and was the last single to be released from the album.
Into the Fire Tour
On May, 1987 Adams started the Into the Fire tour where his first performance was in Shreveport, LouisianaShreveport, Louisiana
Shreveport is the third largest city in Louisiana. It is the principal city of the fourth largest metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana and is the 109th-largest city in the United States....
with his backing band. Adams first stop of the UK leg of the tour at the Prince’s Trust charity concert at Wembley Stadium, London. Adams would later head back to the United States to continue the American leg of the tour, Adams appeared on Late Night with David Letterman
Late Night with David Letterman
Late Night with David Letterman is a nightly hour-long comedy talk show on NBC that was created and hosted by David Letterman. It premiered in 1982 as the first incarnation of the Late Night franchise and went off the air in 1993, after Letterman left NBC and moved to Late Show on CBS. Late Night...
. Adams would later sell out two nights in a row at Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the New York City borough of Manhattan and located at 8th Avenue, between 31st and 33rd Streets, situated on top of Pennsylvania Station.Opened on February 11, 1968, it is the...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and was visited backstage by Brian Wilson
Brian Wilson
Brian Douglas Wilson is an American musician, best known as the leader and chief songwriter of the group The Beach Boys. Within the band, Wilson played bass and keyboards, also providing part-time lead vocals and, more often, backing vocals, harmonizing in falsetto with the group...
of the Beach Boys, he would later get a sold out show in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
. The tour continued through the Western United States. Adams heads back to the UK on October 13 in Newcastle
Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...
, England. Adams sold out four nights in a row at Wembley Arena
Wembley Arena
Wembley Arena is an indoor arena, at Wembley, in the London Borough of Brent. The building is opposite Wembley Stadium.-History:...
in London. Adams starts his tour in mainland Europe and Adams previous album Reckless achieves gold status in Sweden and Into The Fire achieves gold status in Switzerland and later he travels to Dublin, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
. Adams started the Asian leg of the tour and ended up selling out ten concerts, five of which were in Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
's Budokan
Nippon Budokan
The , often shortened to simply Budokan, is an indoor arena in central Tokyo, Japan.This is the location where many "Live at the Budokan" albums were recorded...
. Into the Fire ends up being certified platinum with sales over 100,000 copies sold in Japan. Adams headed back to Europe and played in East Berlin
East Berlin
East Berlin was the name given to the eastern part of Berlin between 1949 and 1990. It consisted of the Soviet sector of Berlin that was established in 1945. The American, British and French sectors became West Berlin, a part strongly associated with West Germany but a free city...
and later West Berlin
West Berlin
West Berlin was a political exclave that existed between 1949 and 1990. It comprised the western regions of Berlin, which were bordered by East Berlin and parts of East Germany. West Berlin consisted of the American, British, and French occupation sectors, which had been established in 1945...
. The last concert part of the Into the Fire tour was played in Locarno
Locarno
Locarno is the capital of the Locarno district, located on the northern tip of Lake Maggiore in the Swiss canton of Ticino, close to Ascona at the foot of the Alps. It has a population of about 15,000...
, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
.
Track listing
Personnel
- Bryan AdamsBryan AdamsBryan Adams, is a Canadian rock singer-songwriter, guitarist, bassist, producer, actor and photographer. Adams has won dozens of awards and nominations, including 20 Juno Awards among 56 nominations. He has also received 15 Grammy Award nominations including a win for Best Song Written...
- guitar, piano, keyboards, vocals - Keith ScottKeith ScottKeith Douglas Scott is a Canadian guitar player. He is best known for his long-term collaboration with the singer-songwriter Bryan Adams...
- lead guitar, backing vocals - Mickey CurryMickey CurryMichael Timothy Curry is an American drummer. He is best known for his long-term collaboration with the singer-songwriter Bryan Adams, although he has also worked with Hall & Oates, Cher, Tina Turner, Alice Cooper, David Bowie, Elvis Costello, Sam Phillips, Tom Waits, The Cult, Steve Jones and...
- drums - Dave Taylor - bass
- Tommy MandelTommy MandelTommy Mandel is a keyboardist who is most famous for playing with Bryan Adams, from 1981 to 1998, starting with Bryan Adams's album You Want It You Got It.He also has played with Dire Straits and others....
- organ, keyboards - Robbie King - organ
- Jim VallanceJim VallanceJames Douglas "Jim" Vallance, OC is a retired Canadian musician, songwriter, arranger and producer based out of Vancouver, British Columbia. He is best known as the former songwriting partner of Canadian international recording artist Bryan Adams...
- piano, percussion, sequencer - Dave Pickell - piano
- Ian StanleyIan StanleyIan Stanley is an English musician, songwriter and record producer...
- keyboards
Chart positions
| Country | Peak Position | Certification (If Any) | Sales/shipments | ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canada RPM (magazine) RPM was a Canadian music industry publication that featured song and album charts for Canada. The publication was founded by Walt Grealis in February 1964, supported through its existence by record label owner Stan Klees. RPM ceased publication in November 2000.RPM stood for "Records, Promotion,... |
2 | 3× Platinum | +300,000 | |
| Germany Media Control Charts The official music charts in Germany are gathered and published by the company Media Control GfK International on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindustrie... |
7 | |||
| UK UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart... |
10 | Gold | +60,000 | |
| Norway VG-lista VG-listen is a Norwegian record chart. It is weekly presented in the newspaper VG and the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation program Topp 20. It is considered the primary Norwegian record chart, charting albums and singles from countries and continent around the world. The data is collected by... |
4 | |||
| Sweden Sverigetopplistan Sverigetopplistan, earlier known as Topplistan and Hitlistan and other names, is since October 2007 the Swedish national record chart, based on sales data from Swedish Recording Industry Association .... |
3 | |||
| Switzerland Switzerland Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition.... |
4 | Platinum | +15,000 | |
| United States Billboard (magazine) Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis... |
7 | Platinum | +1,000,000 | |
| Austria Austria Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the... |
13 |