After a couple of largely unremarkable albums, Vancouver rocker Bryan Adams paved the way for the global superstardom to come on 1983's Cuts Like A Knife, a record that revealed the gift for radio-ready rock 'n' roll earworms that would propel Reckless to the top of charts around the world just one year later. The title track, "This Time" and "Straight From The Heart" - all co-written with right-hand man Jim Vallance - are so effortlessly tuneful that they were pretty much destined to be hits and really haven't worn out their welcome to this day. In hindsight, the looming success of Reckless was all but inevitable.

First listen: