Review Summary: Idol's champ takes a tuneful debut, filled with accurate hits, but rarely takes any risks, and leaves a little boredom behind his back.
A fact: American people love country music. If here in Brazil, pop rock is the one with keep-it-simple lyrics, soul grooves and sweet little ballads with a fall for self-help, there the determinant factor to determine a song or artist as "pop rock" is the country influences. This way, artists such as Train, The Script and Lady Antebellum, who rarely come up as a success around here, there is routine pop rock.
It's on this niche, for almost all his debut album, that the winner of American Idol's 8th Season, Kris Allen, tries to fit in. He does it by composing some sweet ballads, too, but without forgetting of the taste of American public for the unusual country of broken beats and unexpected instrumental interventions. A style that still has its strength, as Train and theirs "Hey, Soul Sister" showed us. The hit by the Californian band is an obvious reference for "Alright With Me".
Getting a long story short, Allen shoots at every target he finds, and has to deal with some bad shots on the way, as one would expect.
He rarely takes on a stronger guitar line, but when he does it is to give us two of the best songs in the album. "I Can't Stay" may bring to the pop-world versed the memory of urban Maroon 5, but not for long: Allen's voice is powerful enough to put the song on a context of his own. "Red Guitar", on the other hand, is the only solo composition Allen got on this debut recording, and therefore his most personal, captivating vocal performance. It's a shame that the production takes a heavy hand at the arrangement.
Lack of boldness is probably the greatest weakness of the album. "Bring it Back" is the clearest example of why. It's a romantic ballad without any punch or differential to be noted, with a beautifully melodic piano but a cold/superficial performance by Allen and shallow lyrics. When the Idol's winner takes the challenge to be a pop performer, however, he gives us "Written All Over My Face", an interesting mix of subtle, efficient instrumental and carefully-structured lyrics to sound like a perfect hit. The bridge is something that Katy Perry would do with both hands tied, but the chorus strangely matches Allen's voice, in great shape here.
Another familiar-sounding song is "Is it Over", one that could be easily identified as a well-made collage of the glam-ballads from less known Lady Gaga repertoire. Bur there's a lot of James Morrison here too, and still Allen escapes from the formulaic with an intense vocal performance and a demonstration that sophisticated production doesn't always mean lack of punch. "The Truth" is composed by Train's staff, and it showcases a more aggressive groove for a modern ballad, subtly taking Allen's sound closer to the arena rock without letting any of the finesse behind. The transition from a guitar-driven to a piano-driven ballad is beautiful, but it doesn't erases the fact that the song is a bureaucratic experience, as much as "Let it Rain" and "Live Like We're Dying" (a cover of The Script's song).
To redeem his sins, however, the closing of the album couldn't be better. "I Need to Know" is the most brave and authentic Allen ballad, with his voice at perfect shape and delivering a emotive performance. Here, almost everything is piano-and-voice, and when the rule takes an exception, is for the subtle touch of a guitar and the sweet intervention of strings by the end. It's pungent, touching material, no matter labels of genders.
And it takes the risk of being the best in the album, if it weren't "Heartless", Kanye West's song, which Allen takes to a whole new level as a talented interpreter and musician. Production is creative and epic, and there's no doubts left that the version was born to be a classic. It's a shame it leaves, at least a little, the predictable lamentation: "Why the hell the whole album wasn't like this?".
Well, try it the next time, Kris.
