Order the album David Cook:
ETA: It was a huge sigh of relief I let out after my first listen to David Cook. My initial reaction? It does not suck! Hooray! Faint praise, I know. But consider the fact that newly-minted Idols write and create their first post-Idol albums in a few short weeks while in the midst of a major arena tour, and it’s amazing they get anything resembling music out to the marketplace at all.
While the songs sound familiar on one hand–I hear Lifehouse, the Goo Dolls and Cook’s heroes Collective Soul and Our Lady Peace, the songs aren’t as cookie cutter as they might appear on the surface. There’s some really good songwriting here–“Life on the Moon” is an apt metaphor for life in the Idol bubble, and “Permanent” is just heartbreaking”–Cook is telling us stories about his life that don’t sound hackneyed or dull like so much of the so-called “fly-over” rock Cook’s music is compared to.
While the songs boast big, shiny over-produced choruses, (the better to get played on pop radio) some of these hooks I find hard to resist. Some favorite songs: “Declaration” is a fine anthem that should be the next single. “Come Back to Me” has a really sweet hook. “Lie” features a beautiful waltz-time melody and lovely bittersweet lyrics. Bar Ba Sol is the hardest song on the record–I really dig the heavy guitars and Cook’s gritty vocals. “Mr. Sensitive” is another song with a great melody–love the guitar riffs in this one. Cook’s sweet falsetto is on display in “Avalanche” and “Permanent”–dedicated to his brother Adam–is beautiful and heart wrenching.
The only songs I don’t care for are the bland “I Did it For You”, “Life on the Moon” boasts great lyrics, but the melody is straight-ahead butt-rock, and “Light On”. Nope, “Light On” still has not grown on me, and it never will. Needless to say, I’m looking forward to the release of the next single.
Ah! I nearly forgot the sneaky little hidden track! “A Kiss on the Neck” is a nifty little rock gem tacked on to the end of “A Daily AntheM.” You’ll have to order the physical Cd to get it.
Also, the iTunes bonus track “My Last Request” has clever lyrics and jangly guitars that sound a touch Brit Pop. I LIKE!
Yes, the album sounds generic and formulaic in spots. But as Cook promised, he and his team managed to throw in a few twists and turns that show Cook’s great potential and make the album unmistakably his.
