RSSDavid Cook Offers Up Light Rock Set
Nov 19
Music Album Reviews, American Idol Comments Off
Light On, the first single from David Cook’s self-titled release, is actually the most generic track on the set. Which is too bad because most of the tracks on David Cook are actually respectable rock-lite offerings. Come Back to Me is a nice grunge ballad “I’ll be right here waiting to see, when you find you, come back to me.” I Did It For You is a little formulaic but gives us hints of Cook’s tuneful personality.
Handled by the likes of Ed Roland (Collective Soul) and Jason Wade (Lifehouse), it’s not really a surprise that the album sounds an awful lot like Collective Soul and Lifehouse, with a heavy dose of anything Chris Cornell has ever had his hands in. Cook doesn’t distinguish himself on this album the way Chris Daughtry did on his first post-Idol release, but it is certainly one of the better Idol debut albums.
Overall, my hands down favorite track of the set is the Bar-ba-sol. “I feel sick, I feel nervous, I know just what I did to deserve this. But I know it’s not a dream.” It’s a little heavier on the guitars, a little more melodically off of the beaten path that Cook is clearly traveling. Avalanche is another track that just feels more authentic than the rest. This is where Cook shines, and manages to imprint his sound on top of the otherwise same old rock formula that has been dominating radio since post-Pearl Jam heyday. But come on, you can’t blame Cook for going with the mainstream since he was custom built by the mainstream. For all that, David Cook is pretty damn good.
