It’s been six years since Adam Lambert lost the American Idol title to Kris Allen and it matters as little now as it did then, if not more. In the time since then, Adam has gone on to do more than okay for himself. His debut album For Your Entertainment sold a more than respectable 197,000 copies in its first week, ultimately going platinum worldwide. It spawned a top 10 hit, Whataya You Want From Me, which earned him a Grammy nomination and he helmed his own successful sold out solo tour. There were certainly missteps along the way (let’s not mention that American Music Awards performance) but things were going very well.
And then came his sophomore effort Trespassing, a solid, cohesive pop album that many critics raved about and I absolutely loved. However, for a myriad of reasons we may never truly understand, none of the songs really took off and soon after, Adam officially split with RCA Records. However, he quickly found success with global rock icons Queen, acting as temporary front-man for the group for a very successful mini-tour and along the way, signed a new deal with Warner Bros. Records.
The label put him in touch with Max Martin and Shellback, sure fire hit makers and The Original High, Lambert’s third official solo album, was born. The album will not officially be released until June 16, but Amazon was streaming the entire thing for free all week. So naturally, I gave it a listen (or two) and decided to share my thoughts.
Let me just say that I like Adam Lambert. I believe he is a brilliant vocalist, whose first two albums were both very solid and interesting pop efforts. That being said, after multiple listens, I find that rather disappointingly, The Original High does not stack up to his first two solo albums. It is a pleasant enough album, with some interesting gems, but as a cohesive whole, I found myself a little bored. The following is a more in depth song by song review.
Ghost Town – The lead single off the album, it’s a pleasant three and a half minutes, but I find myself forgetting about it once it’s over. It has an interesting and unexpected vibe about it but I feel like it never truly takes off and makes a solid impact. I was surprised this was chosen as the lead single for an artist who has been off radio for three years. Again it’s good but it does not wow, in my opinion. Cool video though.
The Original High – This has a very 80/early 90’s Euro dance pop vibe to it which isn’t exactly my favorite kind of sound and so I found myself mostly wanting the song to end as soon as it started.
Another Lonely Night – I liked this song – a lot actually. It’s probably one of the most interesting tracks on the album because of the dichotomy between the lyrics and production. The sound is very mellow, laid-back, almost breezy and casual, but the lyrics are actually quite sad and a little dark and depressing.
Underground – This might be my favorite track on the whole album or definitely right at the top of the list. What I loved most about this track, aside from the obvious R&B vibe that Adam captures quite impressively, is the sound is a significant departure from anything we’ve heard from him till this point. It’s probably the one truly surprising moment on the whole album.
There I Said It – The one and only ballad on the album, this is another poignant break-up/heartbreak song. Here’s the thing, Adam Lambert is unquestionably an amazing singer and this song perfectly reminds you of this. However, while he hits all the right notes and the song sounds lovely, it never truly hits emotionally for me or makes me feel something deep and powerful. It’s a nice song but not one that truly affects me in any way. Also, I’m sorry but that “grown ass man” line is really, really bad. Bachelor/ette viewers reading this will know why that term has become like a running joke that no one should use, at least not without irony.
Rumors – A collaboration with current hot up and coming pop artist Tove Lo, the song veers deep into the current bombastic pop sound that is common to Lo and many others. It’s okay and probably makes for a fun song to sing along to while driving around in your car. However, with respect again to lyrics, that “get out of the haterade” line sounds like something a teenager would write and that may be being dismissive of teenagers.
Evil In The Night – I really love this one. It’s just a fun number, with a nice, dance groove to it. This is also another relationship theme song – clearly Adam has a lot of feelings when it comes to his relationships.
Lucy – Considering how often and how closely Adam has worked with Queen in the last two years, we all knew there was bound to be some kind of original collaboration at some point and so it is. The track features the amazing guitar work of legendary Queen lead guitarist, Brian May. However, as good as May’s guitar licks are and they are brilliant, this song feels a little out of place on the album. It sounds more 80’s big arena rock (so more fitting for Queen than Adam’s solo efforts) than the 90’s pop/house sound Adam said he was going for on this album.
Things I Didn’t Say – Like Another Lonely Night, this is an energetic dance number that actually details a bad relationship. Say this for Adam, he clearly does not believe in being maudlin to express his feelings about heartbreak and breakups.
The Light – I really didn’t care for this one. It has a very EDM-like sound to it and like many EDM songs, is very repetitive. I imagine this would be awesome and fun at a rave but for just sitting and listening, it gets very annoying, very quickly.
Heavy Fire – I don’t really love the production on this song. While it clearly aims for a subtle sexiness and sensuality, it lags a bit for me and I find myself craving and appreciating much more, some of Adam’s other and in my opinion, far more superior, darkly sensual numbers – for example, Shady
and Voodoo
So in conclusion, as I noted above, while I like this album, I don’t love it. One of the things I came away with was feeling like I didn’t really hear a number one smash in any of the songs. And don’t get me wrong, that’s okay. Not every album has to be chock full of radio hits to be amazing or to even be successful. However, not only do I not hear a huge smash in any of the songs, I didn’t feel that any were truly unique, bold or daring. In conclusion, it is a good album but I don’t hear an amazing album.
You can judge the album for yourself here and let me know what you think.
PoPnOgR@PhY 