I’ve got a couple of leaks here you kids might enjoy from the David Cook fan boards. Thanks to the peeps who brought these tidbits to my attention
A poster at DC-42 with inside access to RCA was able to hear David Cook’s upcoming album (out 11/18) online and posted lyrics for “Bar Ba Sol”, “Lie”, “Permanent”, “Come Back To Me” and “Heroes.” I’ve compiled them HERE. She wrote them down as she heard them, so they probably aren’t perfect.
What strikes me is how deeply personal these lyrics are. They aren’t generic, cookie-cutter pop song lyrics. The themes range from fame (“Mr. Sensitive) Letting go of love (“Lie”, “Come Back to Me”) to love of family, (“Heroes”, Permanent). There’s real emotional heft in these songs, giving Cook the opportunity to deliver some powerful vocals. “Permanent, ” about those hours at the bedside of a dying loved one, is particularly intense.
In the RCA press biography which has leaked to the fan boards, (actually, it was found here) there are quotes from David about specific songs and more information about his writing partners.
I’m also hearing that Kevin Griffin from Better than Ezra wrote “Avalanche”
photo: david-c.com
Here’s an excerpt:
…I went on Idol with a five-card hand and showed three of my cards, Cook says. …Now it time to put down the other two. There a lot I havent shown the world, just as far as who I am and what Im about. I have several layers as an artist and those layers are out there on this record. I dont see myself ever writing an autobiography; Im just going to let the music speak for itself.
And it does ‘ loud and clear. David Cook is a statement-making album, filled with bold, keenly felt songs that showcase Cook powerful vocal chops and considerable songwriting talent, as well as the versatility that made him a star on Idol. The first single …Light On, with its Southern rock vibe, is light years away from the gut-wrenching ballad …Permanent, which couldnt be more different than the swaggering shredder …Bar-Ba-Sol.
Cook also gives props to his songwriting collaborators, an illustrious list that includes former Soundgarden and Audioslave frontman Chris Cornell, Goo Goo Dolls frontman Johnny Rzeznik, Nixons singer/guitarist Zac Maloy, and Our Lady Peace frontman Raine Maida, one of Cook longtime idols. Cook co-wrote three songs with Maida, including …Heroes, which he describes as an homage to his supportive family, and …Permanent, a song addressed to his older brother Adam who is battling brain cancer.
…We recorded ‹Permanent in two takes and everyone in the room was crying, Cook recalls. …I actually had to leave at one point because it was so emotional. As a musician, any time you can create something where the end result is exactly what in your head, well there a heaviness to that moment and it overwhelmed me. Ive been writing songs for ten years and that was the first time Id felt it. I think there an honesty throughout the record that culminates in that song.
…Permanent comes near the end of an album that is full of highlights, from the chiming opener …Declaration (which Cook likens to …me standing on top of a building and declaring my intentions for this album) to the arena-friendly sing-along closer …A Daily AntheM, and everything in between, including the propulsive …Come Back To Me and the poignant …Lie, both of which illustrate the album recurring theme. …It the idea of love amidst separation, Cook explains. …‹Come Back To Me is about loving someone you cant be near, whereas ‹Lie is about being in a dysfunctional relationship that you dont want to end because you still see the good in it.
Then there …Life on the Moon whose lyric …The life that I knew, it through ¦Im alone in this crowded room ¦It like life on the moon feels particularly fitting given how much Cook circumstances have changed since he auditioned for American Idol on a whim back in August 2007. …What I like about that song is that it represents the last year of my life without perverting the last year of my life, he says. …It written so that it could be about the whole Idol journey, but it doesnt have to be.
