CD REVIEW:Daughtry’s first efforts fall just short
Chris Daughtry, an eliminated contestant on last year’s “American Idol,” has put together a surprisingly OK debut album. It brings together the catchy predictability of “American Idol” and the over-emotional earnestness of commercial alternative rock acts like Nickelback and Live.
Not winning the competition may have actually been a blessing for Daughtry. This album avoids the watering down of the artist’s image to please mainstream “Idol” audiences that has plagued previous “Idol” winners like Fantasia and Kelly Clarkson, both of whom did much more interesting and confident sophomore albums. However, the album still is highly produced and has a commercial sheen to every track.
The songs, which were largely written by Daughtry and his producer Howard Benson (who has also worked with My Chemical Romance and All-American Rejects), are mostly simple contemplations on love and relationships gone wrong.
The lyrics offer clichéd metaphors like, “I’m gonna crash into you/ like a runaway train” as he sings on “Crash.” However, he manages to emote as loudly and confidently as other rock crooners like Chad Kroeger (Nickelback) or Scott Stapp (formerly of Creed).
Although the album breaks no new ground, it treads familiar territory competently and will please many commercial alt-rock fans as well as Daughtry’s devoted “American Idol” fans.
Tom Liljegren is a music critic for The Stateman.
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