Love songs with the Wonder Bread of '80s pop

On the surface, there's nothing overtly remarkable about Bryan Adams. The Canadian popster looks like your brother's buddy, the one who played a little minor-league hockey with the Leafs. You can't get more pedestrian (or un-rock-star) than his name — unless, of course, it was Ryan Adams. And almost every song the 49-year-old sings is a single-minded sentiment about love lost or found. In fact, when he plays tonight's intimate acoustic show at Ruth Eckerd Hall in Clearwater, it'll be interesting to see how he intros each tune: "Um, yeah, this one's about love, too. Except this time, uhhh, it wasn't a one-night love affair. Nope, this time, uhhh, it kinda cut like a knife . . ."

And yet, despite Bryan's unerring Adamsness, his songs have been firmly stuck in my melon since his '80s salad days. In fact, for great chunks of my 38 years, my sterling gifts of seduction and woo have been centered around the lyrics of his 1984 album Reckless, the radio-ready high-point of Adams' career. ("Hey, baby, how you doin' tonight? You know, I was thinkin' about all our younger years. There was, like, only you and me. We were young and wild and free. Oh, and naked. Yeah, naked.")

So yes, while he's not that exciting, and he's certainly not that hip, he is, in the end, Bryan Adams. And for better or worse, that seems to be enough.

Bryan Adams performs at 8 tonight at Ruth Eckerd Hall, 1111 N McMullen-Booth Road, Clearwater. $39.75-$47.50. (727) 791-7400; rutheckerdhall.com.