The opening track of Adam Lambert's debut album since attaining the runner-up position on
American Idol does an excellent job of presenting this amazing singer's intentions. The track is called "Music Again," and it begins as an electronic pop/rock track without a whole lot of distinction. A lot of fun, surely, but not a whole lot. But wait, what is this? The verse changes into the pre-chorus, sounding an awful lot like some power pop from the 80s before throwing in some serious Freddie Mercury falsetto. Wow. What? That's a crazy amount of talentedness that has been thrown into just one song, and it wasn't even the lead single from
For Your Entertainment. "You make me wanna listen to music again!" he sings triumphantly. I never really stopped, but yeah, Adam, you do.
Glamming For Your Attention
There isn't much the average American doesn't know about Adam Lambert at this point. Part of the purpose of the show is to connect the audience to the singers, so I don't feel the need to introduce you to him. For Your Entertainment gained a lot of attention before it was even released, but not because it was Adam's debut, and not exactly because people were so excited to hear his music, but because of the album cover.
For Your Entertainment is covered in pure glam rock, and that's what Adam is selling us now. I wish the album was more glam rock than it is, but the cover is a bold statement and quite fun on its own.
Cooks In the Kitchen and All That Jazz
For Your Entertainment involves hands from a LOT of people. And each track makes a lot of sense based on who was involved with that track. "Music Again," for instance, was solely written by the former lead singer of The Darkness. "Fever," a dark and insistent pop track, elicits similarities to another artist that dropped new material on November 23rd, Lady Gaga. And well it should, as she cowrote the track. The swelling, epic feel on "Soaked," both instrumentally and with Lambert's delivery, mirrors the style so often heard by the band Muse. Matthew Bellamy, who carries the songwriting credits on "Soaked," happens to sing for that band. The power pop feel of "Whataya Want From Me" wouldn't sound out of place on a Pink album, having been cowritten by Pink and Max Martin. Adam's hands, not just his voice, were involved in four tracks. "Strut," "Pick U Up," "Aftermath," and "Broken Open" are all cowritten by Lambert. What this means is that every track has its own distinctive feel and also that Lambert's instrument is pushed, pulled, twisted, bent, strung up, and strained in every possible way to fit those tracks. Strangely, Lambert pulls it off to make a solid listen from start to finish.
The Breakdown
"For Your Entertainment" is the lead single from the album, and it sounds like a male "Womanizer." Take that as you will. To me, it is a detriment. "Womanizer" was so distinctive that to sound like it sounds cheap. Adam proves he can do better on the album, so feel free to skip past this one without feeling guilty. Unless you just want to groove to the beat, which I can understand. His second single is the massive pop ballad that is "Time For Miracles," the triumphant song from 2012. "Strut" is the first appearance of an Adam Lambert-penned track on the album and it's a bit ungainly. "A" for effort though. Rivers Cuomo (Weezer) helped Adam write "Pick U Up," a direct pop rock track that could be a potential hit for Lambert solely based on the energized sing-along chorus. "Aftermath," the third of Lambert's tracks, reminds me of the days when Lifehouse and The Calling were big on the radio. I say that as a good thing, of course. Emotional rock music with a great voice to sing with is always welcome to me. "Broken Open" is the odd man out, being a pulsing and subtly-glitchy electronic ballad that is the most tender Adam sounds on the entirety of For Your Entertainment. "If I Had You" is a nod to the current mainstream with pounding dance beats. Channeling his inner Moby, "Sleepwalker" sounds like the type of eclectic track that could work well on radio. "Sure Fire Winners" and "A Loaded Smile" are filler. Neither track managed to snag my attention.
Summary
A decent offering from an American Idol star. While
For Your
Entertainment sometimes doesn't rise above the sum of its parts,
overall it maintains a good level of energy that keeps the album
flowing along. The debut also carries some good potential singles, so
it will be nice to see what the future has in store for this rising
artist.
Released November 2009 on Octjay Records.
Disclosure: A review copy was provided by the publisher. For more information, please see our Ethics Policy.
