David, who usually expresses uncertainty when talking to fans about his upcoming music, is overcome with excitement in his latest video blog when talking about his upcoming album:

I just can’t wait for you guys to hear these songs! … I feel you guys will really get to feel me in these songs because I’m… a part of the writing, and so part of my ideas and just how I feel are in these songs.

Aside from the involuntary joy one feels while viewing a David video blog, one can’t help but feel enormous anticipation with this one as well. For David—who is a perfectionist in many things and admires the musical greats of the past—to feel a sense of accomplishment and joy in sharing his own musical production can only bode well for the quality of his second pop venture. David’s unique choices in selecting and styling his songs reveal an impeccable musical instinct.

How many frikkin songs has David written already? It seems like it’s almost every day we receive a tweet announcing a new song that David helped write. David’s first album was largely written for him, and recorded in hasty sessions at different stops over the course of the 2008 Idol Tour. David had very little time and/or experience to “find his voice” in the decision-making process regarding the larger choices for the album. Now, David’s initial forays in wielding a hand in his own destiny in both business and music will show their first fruits. David, Part Deux promises to surpass the original.

Okay, so David says that the next album will better reflect him? That we’ll “really get to feel” him in these songs? What will come from David’s self-admittedly and wonderfully “weird” and “spacey” mind? What should David’s confession of “me-ness” tell us about the musical styles and lyrics we can expect on the album?

Hardly anything at all, I’m afraid.

We have even less of an idea of what music is in store this time around, precisely because David has had such heavy involvement in the process. Any look at David’s musical and thematic inclinations will show that they are wildly varied. He can command a variety of genres, best exemplified during his American Idol days. One of the sources of excitement in following a young prodigious talent like David is the constant potential for surprise and discovery.

David has provided us with no hints. We’re left with looking back at what David has written or helped write in the past, to get any idea of what might be on the menu for his next album. So, shall we?

1. “Works for Me” – Sassy, Bluesy, Attitudy David?

How many of us thought David had a song like “Works for Me” in him? The song was co-written with Daniel Bedingfield and, with its soul influences and bluesy guitar hook, calls for strutting and finger-snapping. We also hear little bluesy, soulful touches that David brings on in full glory in his covers of “Crazy” and “Waiting on the World to Change.” All that’s missing is a glimpse of the Archuneck that David whipped out while singing “Shop Around.” In one interview, David has said that his new album will show more how he thinks. Looking at the lyrics to WFM, we see a witty, confident, and humorous side of David. Perhaps we’ll get to see some of this David in the album?

2. “Somebody Out There” – David the Love Balladeer?

Surprisingly, David’s first album did not include a ballad that had strong radio potential, especially given that this genre was the box many people put David in after his singing “Imagine.” It will be interesting to see whether David and the label opt for a strong ballad as one of his singles this time around. I thought that “Somebody Out There,” co-written with Mike Krompass, may not have had the potential of becoming a pop hit, but still it was the most musically interesting and lyrically strong of the three love ballads on David’s first album (though this was only on an extended version of the album). The lyrics and music expressed a simple, earnest, generous affection, spoken as if in an intimate conversation, that one doesn’t hear in many love ballads. Perhaps we will hear David bring some new ballads on his next album. The pop world needs a fresh, sincere voice like David’s.

3. “Don’t Tell Me” – The Rhythmic Pop Supah-Dupah Star?

This is another possible route that David and his management could use to establish some early commercial success off his album. While a young teenager, David apparently wrote the melody and lyrics to “Don’t Tell Me” while another musician filled out the arrangement. With a catchy melody that progresses well from one section to the next, it is an amazingly proficient piece of pop work, especially considering it came from such a young artist. When I first heard this, I immediately thought it was influenced by Christina Aguilera’s “Stripped” album – David probably could rock some rhythmic pop if wanted to. The verses to “A Little Too Not Over You” – also co-written by David in tandem with Mike Krompass – also show his melodic creativity in this mode of music.

4. “Falling” – David the Soul Artist at the Piano?

In my opinion, this song, though it didn’t cause a sensation in the fandom (see #5), gives the clearest glimpse of the heights David can potentially reach with his music. The MUSIC (ahh, the music!), with its dramatic chord passages and his tenor voice soaring above them, show a David that is prepared to and entirely capable of bringing forth big emotion in his music. Perhaps David will bring us something spiritual and transcendental? A message of social relevance? Or something exploring the painful side of the human experience? We shall see.

5. “Zero Gravity” – David the Club King?

Ahh, “Zero Gravity.” Did any of the fans expect David to produce a song that, with the right production, would comfortably fit on the same station with Ke$ha and Lady Gaga? Like “Don’t Tell Me,” ZG’s catchy hooks and natural progressions from one section to the next make it a very strong pop song. But even more than DTM, ZG is such an earworm that it just has you singing along after a few listens – which is a key ingredient for a pop radio hit, and means that this was possibly a lost opportunity for a second successful single. With pop music becoming increasingly influenced by techno and other kinds of dance music, one can see David and his label trying to experiment with a dance track or two on the new album, at least as bonus tracks.

Given David’s wide range of musical inclinations, one wonders how he and the label will come to an agreement as to what will be on his next album. Perhaps David’s album will be eclectic? Or perhaps it will be a cohesive mission statement that declares, “This is me”?

On that, we don’t have an answer either(!). And perhaps everything I have said has been worthless drivel based on wild speculation.

But that doesn’t make speculation any less fun.

So everybody join in!! What do you think will be on the menu? And what are you craving!

-Ronaldsf

When David revealed on Twitter March 5th that “She’s Not You” was from “a while back”—and therefore wasn’t a candidate for the second album—I felt relieved.

No, no, no… it’s not that I hate the song. I like it: it’s catchy, and in particular the melody and the guitar in the verses create a nice vibe. (Though the chorus is a bit too bland for my liking.) When I first heard it, I felt anxiety about the second pop album… was this the direction it was headed?

We now know that it was a track recorded for David’s first album, but still my day or two of not knowing this made it a useful reference point for thinking about where David’s studio production was at 18 months ago, and what new directions it could and should go in now.

“She’s Not You” resembled much of the first album in its level of quality, and in that it was quite conventional—it dealt with simple young boy-girl love, and fell squarely in that space between R&B and pop that characterized much of the album. This approach made sense at the time—it was perhaps the smartest thing to try first to create commercial success, and after all there was little time for David and the label to define jointly the best approach for the album. But now David and the label have the benefit of time to create an album that paints some bold strokes—bold, first in the sense of having some particularly strong, standout songs, and second, bold in expressing who David is as a person and an artist.

Because, let’s face it: we, his fans, know that David is capable of greatness. Still, we have yet to see a musical composition that summons an emotional gravitas that is commensurate to David’s ability to convey it. I am not asking that the perfect song be on David’s second album. However, it is fair to want and expect that a genuine attempt be made.

That means songs that feature David’s voice. Songs that David can connect with. Songs that can summon some of that earth-shaking emotion we know David is capable of delivering.

This doesn’t necessarily mean abandoning the pop route—in fact, if we are to speak of industry formulas, it seems to me that a pop power ballad, putting that stellar voice on a pedestal, would be the best approach. But what can I say? When it comes to what makes a song a hit, I’m not an expert. Still, as amateur fans we know enough to know that some things work for David that should be done.

In terms of arrangement and production, David’s fans are now more aware than before that, when it comes to David, it is often true that less is more. The bare instrumentation of “Contigo” put David’s voice front and center. As listeners, we honed in, not on the melody or the instruments, but on the subtleties of David’s voice. No fancy, expensive studio tricks, no synthesized hooks vying for our attention. Just us, and The Voice—a direct emotional conduit between the listener and the artist.

Another aspect of “Contigo” and of other songs (“Fields of Gold,” “Prayer of the Children,” “Imagine”) is that they were dear to David, on a theme that David could relate to. In my opinion, “Somebody Out There” was a much stronger ballad than either “To Be With You” and “You Can,” which I think comes down to the fact that David co-wrote SOT and could relate directly to what it said. “Falling” is gripping because we know these are David’s words, and that this music comes directly from his heart.

So I hope to see some movement in these directions with the second album. I am not saying that the album should be comprised entirely of soul-wrenching ballads. (Though I actually wouldn’t mind that.) In fact, I am hoping that there is some freedom given to David to express his rich musicality in a variety of musical genres.

In the first album, there was some variation in styles in the official twelve-track version, but they were a bit outside of David’s own inclinations. Unlike songs such as “Desperate” or “Running,” which because of the production were kind of hybrids of other styles, a conventional-pop melody with some stylistic dressing—some of the compositions David himself worked on, from the sassy “Works for Me,” to the club-thumping “Zero Gravity,” to the intimate “Somebody Out There,” jumped fully into the genre, spoke its language, and expressed a clear idea both lyrically and musically. Thus, a unity between words, music, and artist.

The most promising fact about the second album has been David’s extensive involvement in the writing process. This suggests that the folks at Jive/Zomba are trying a different approach and want this album to express David the Individual, whoever that may be. It is thrilling to think of what might be in store.

For now, “She’s Not You” is my new David music fix to sustain me through this long, extended Archudrought. Still, I do this with full knowledge that this isn’t the David that made me fall obsessively in love with him in the first place. Greater things await.

If this song were a person, then it would be the musical equivalent of a rebound—entertaining and pleasant enough for now, but just someone to hold me over while I’m really thinking about someone else.

“He was really nice… but he’s not you, David. I just know you’ll come back to me. I’m burning a candle in the window…”

-Ronaldsf

The human dilemma has always been our innate sense of perfection combined with a vivid awareness of our distance from it: our knowledge of the fall from grace, to put it in the vernacular of this album’s topic. There are those for whom an analysis of the proximity to perfection only emphasizes the curse of our distance from it, and those for whom it emphasizes the blessing of our having a sense of perfection in the first place. I am in the latter category. I tend to notice what’s missing. I undertake a critical analysis of Christmas From the Heart also because it represents, according to all reports (including the liner notes from the singer himself), the closest we have yet gotten to who David Archuleta is as an artist and indeed as a person. If ever there was a moment to take him seriously, this is it.

Ships in the Night
The difficulty in trying to evaluate David’s work at this stage of his career is that he is not yet surrounded by talent that is equal to his own. The production people currently available to him are by no means slouches — Emanuel Kiriakou is a very successful (if not entirely distinguished) producer, for example — but neither are they of David’s caliber. This tends to result in either David sublimating his talents to the requirements of the producer (or the material), or in a disparity between performance and production.

There is obviously much to be happy about in Christmas From the Heart. David’s vocal work is remarkable in many ways, and the arrangements are certainly sumptuous and even inspired in touches. Kurt Bestor’s “Ave Maria” and “Pat-a-Pan” are clear standouts, and it’s great to hear David take on classic material and even a few charming lesser-known pieces. Most engaging, luminous even, is David’s overall approach to the material.

Anandamayi Ma, "Blissful Mother"

These are cherished songs for him, and in a stroke of genius that was undoubtedly instinctual, he treats them like love songs. I am reminded of the way people spoke and wrote about Anandamayi, the 20th century Indian mystic and spiritual teacher, a woman of intense beauty and great wisdom who devoted her life and energy to God. She is described as being in a constant love relationship with Him, and brought to the world a resplendent tenderness that touched everyone she encountered. I think David is in that same relationship. He treats the more religious songs like love songs because indeed they are love songs. Songs of the beloved One.

I only wish that a better understanding of what David was up to had been conveyed in the production that surrounds him. Even aside from the spiritual aspects, from a purely musical perspective David was obviously going for a great deal of intimacy and simplicity with his vocals. Why then, in the name of heaven, does virtually all the production work accomplish precisely the opposite effect? The enormously elaborate arrangements sound as if they were meant for the Metropolitan Opera House, while David is singing with a gentle tenderness like it’s him and the baby Jesus alone in a manger. Despite its many pleasures, the central problem with Christmas From the Heart (and it’s a big problem, at least for me) is that the approach of the artist and that of the production are at significant odds with one another. And the results compromise David not insubstantially.

Much of the album suffers from a heavy handedness that has the unfortunate effect of burying David’s incredibly nuanced vocals to all but those who really listen beyond the extravagant production. “Silent Night,” which contains some unique and really lovely arranging work by Richard Parkinson and Sam Cardon, is suffused with more orchestral gravitas than a James Cameron movie. “What Child Is This,” also arranged by Parkinson and Cardon, begins quite promisingly (if not at quite the degree of simplicity it might), and David does some of his best work here… the vocals are stirring, riveting… but then, with the orchestration at the second verse, it’s as if we’ve been thrust into a glider soaring over the Serengeti watching stampeding antelope while Meryl Streep delivers a eulogy.

I’m not suggesting that David’s voice can’t handle such extravagance, but when you’ve got the sophistication of an Archuleta vocal, especially one where the obvious intent is a close and personal communion of the spirit, it is a contemptible crime to drown it in layers of grandiosity.

Orchestral software reportedly used for CFTH

And not even real grandiosity, mind you, but in most cases synthesized grandiosity (only Kurt Bestor’s few tracks contain a live orchestra recording, of the Prague Philharmonic). It is ironic that synthesizers replace a cost-prohibitive orchestra when the approach of the artist might have been better served by small group accompaniment, both affordable and real.

Follow the Voice
Let us consider for a moment two of the performances in the Archuleta canon that have galvanized audiences far beyond his core constituents: “Imagine” and “Contigo en la Distancia.” The common denominator of these two, apart from the fact that both were live rather than studio takes, is the accompaniment of what is essentially a single instrument (violins emerge toward the middle of “Imagine,” but with enormous restraint). David Archuleta’s voice has so much subtlety of expression that its impact is most intense when accompanied by smart, elegant arrangements, not a wall of sound better suited to the 360 voices of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Lest anyone think I am suggesting the extreme minimalism of, say, the lone guitar on “Contigo en la Distancia,” I don’t necessarily mean that at all. There are ways to incorporate meaningful orchestral accompaniment without having it feel like a sweeping movie soundtrack, a style that is just all wrong for this vocalist singing these songs in the way he chose to interpret them.

To all producers here and now and forever more who work with David Archuleta: Follow The Voice. Follow The Voice, follow The Voice, follow The Voice. Shall I say it again? Follow The Voice. David has, for the most part, unerring instincts regarding how his instrument best interprets material. My one and only equivocation in this has always been his tendency to leave a certain scope of dynamics outside the studio room door, relegated to the stage alone. This self-limitation has never been more in evidence than on Christmas From the Heart. Had he brought some of his stage-style energy to the vocals, the mismatch with the monumental arrangements might not have been so pronounced, but that would have been a case of the horse following the cart. I do think, however, that even on a production more complementary to David’s own quieter inclinations, that a few strategic moments would benefit thrillingly from his onstage power (my kingdom for a producer who can get that into the recording booth).

It’s hard to know how this profound disconnect might have come about. Perhaps David’s own producers failed to listen to him — not to what he says, but to how he sings. Had they listened — really listened — I can’t imagine they would have gilded the lily so strenuously. Perhaps they were showboating, or just lacking the necessary taste to pull off a level of sophistication that would have been more in keeping with David’s own work. It is even possible, I suppose, that it was David himself, whose well-known ambivalence about his skills and the sound of his own voice might have led to a desire to pile on the layers of orchestration… But when asked in a recent interview about the Utah contingent of producers on the album, he had this to say:

There were a lot of people in Utah who were passionate about the project and wanted to make sure the music told the story the best it could and had as much emotion.

Hmm. As we all know, David has a sense of respect and diplomacy that can render him speaking in a kind of code, such that in order to discern any real opinion one must undertake a fairly deep reading between the lines (a risky proposition, to be sure). To me, this comment conveys quite convincingly that the “emotion” supplied through the arrangements was in fact instigated by the producers, not by David. I won’t go so far as to suggest that I’m hearing, “It’s their fault!” here, but in a vocal arrangement the emotion is supplied not by the accompaniment but by the singer. The story is told in the voice, and the orchestration should be in service to the vocal, not the other way around. And while we are reading between the lines, we might consider the implications of this particular comment, in response to a question about the instrumentation that may be deployed for the tour:

I really feel like real instruments and the live feeling add so much to the music, and to those arrangements, especially.

I’m gonna go out on a limb, here, and interpret this as a thumbs-down from David on synthesized orchestras.

An Ornament
My personal grief is based around the disappointment of a missed opportunity. The material that comprises Christmas From the Heart was the ideal chance to allow David’s voice to shine with unequivocal splendor. Instead, the producers somehow got the idea that a canned version of an orchestra the size of Texas was needed for splendor. David is clearly the only one in the entire enterprise who realizes that bigger is not always better; everyone else needs to study the phrase, “just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.” From a certain angle, it was a near miss. Had the delicate tenderness, the glowing intimacy, the evanescence of David’s beautiful vocal work been followed more closely, with more accuracy, more reverence, we may have had an album of true distinction; of real and lasting consequence. Alas.

But let me not leave the ardent fan with the impression that I think there is little here to enjoy. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if “Pat-a-Pan” got radio play; the more secular numbers in general are lovely, and if one can listen past the production on the more spiritual songs, there are sublime rewards. Christmas From the Heart will undoubtedly live quite nicely in the holiday music collection, to be cherished among family traditions the way a treasured ornament brings a sentimental joy. But it might have been the star at the top of the tree.

– Rascal

The first half of the CD is filled with “ye olde classics” such as Joy to the World, Silent Night and O Come All Ye Faithful arranged with orchestrated classical strings and a prom style performance. The second half ventures more into a cut back, groovier take on Christmas songs featuring more modern and unusual Christmas tunes. There is a nice variation between the old and the new, the traditional and the modern, and the lavish and the restrained. Christmas From the Heart is a fantastically balanced album truly possessing something for everyone.

Each track has its own moments of vocal magic. Silent Night demonstrates that soft fuzzy quality to his voice better than any other song I have heard him sing, whilst O Holy Night and Ave Maria enable David to take the bull by the horns and belt.  David manages to capture the spiritual heart of each song so wonderfully, enhancing the beauty of Silent Night and elevating the joy in The First Noel, to name just a couple of songs. Joy to the World lets David put his take on a very traditional Christmas tune and inject some big vocals. O Holy Night gradually ascends into an epic collision of beautiful melody and David’s voice, accompanied by a full orchestra.  This is a track not for the faint of heart. Truly epic.

Towards the latter end of the CD we encounter some more unusual songs with a more modern sound.  Two personal highlights of the album include Pat a Pan, a rather unexpected pleasure, and Riu Riu Chiu. The former includes a snippet of French and the latter is sung entirely in Spanish. Pat a Pan begins with a cheeky little melody but emerges into a grooving soft rock song with some superb dramatic string work and an energetic chord progression. Riu Riu Chiu plays off a simple melodic hook but continues to build to an absolutely superb climax. Spanish is such a wonderful language and David performs this song with strong emotion and understanding.

A jazzy duet with Charice Pempengco, Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas, sits as a highlight of the album.  David has a chance to display his wonderful blues/soul intuition. The two voices blend wonderfully, and Charice shows tasteful restraint. Not quite sure why, but memories of Aladdin and Jasmine spring to mind when listening to this song. Maybe A Whole New World should be next on the list?! Haha.

Ave Maria is one of the most commonly covered songs ever sung. It has been performed by the truly, truly great, and thus is subject to critical comparisons.  It has the ability to pack a powerful spiritual punch but must be executed to perfection in order to do so. David’s vocal performance on this track is nothing short of a masterpiece. At 18 years of age? What can you say, really?

The final track on the album is an original song, Melodies of Christmas. This song is the link the between the debut album and the current CD. The radio beat and simple hook make this track the best one to represent the album. Overall, I like the song. It has a decent melody and chord progression. It gets a little hectic towards the end and the lyrics are a little cheesy but hey, it’s Christmas, so maybe in December I’ll be able to let that pass. David brings an uplifting sense to this song, which I think will go down well when the time is right.

The album ticks a lot of boxes here. Vocally, I think the album is a masterpiece and I haven’t heard a major label commercial release with awesome singing for a very long time. One major box I felt was un-ticked by the first album was the production value. In an earlier review, I raised major concerns with the sound, cohesion and direction of the production of the first CD, but I feel this album is a huge step forward. I was fearful that the orchestras would sound tacky, but was surprised at the lavish sound.  David’s voice sounds pure and the arrangements are, with a few exceptions, tasteful yet powerful.

There is something here for everyone. Some will enjoy the more traditional and orchestrated sound, and others will take more of a shine to the stripped-back modern stuff.  Leaving the merits of the concept aside, the album delivers in the quality. Christmas songs may not be what everyone wants David to do, but in terms of quality, the album merits itself as a very worthy Christmas album. David is growing, you can hear it both technically (Ave Maria’s climax note) and also stylistically (I’ll Be Home for Christmas). The future is looking brighter and brighter and the journey is still young, but I can say for sure – this is a very strong stepping stone along David’s path.

~chenson

(For those few people who don’t know him, chenson is a college student studying music,  and lives in the south of England.  He has hopes of becoming a session musician and writer, and has followed David pretty much since week one of AI.)

Jennifer Barry was inspired to make a promo video for Christmas From The Heart. Jennifer – thanks for sharing this with us. <3

O Come All Ye Faithful will be greeting the children when they visit this Halloween. And families will be carving turkey to the sound of Joy to the World. Mm-hmm.

So come on in, take off those autumn shoes, and make yourself a cup of hot chocolate here at The David Chronicles. Join us as we listen to the album, both here and at The David Chronicles Channel.

And should you find your muse, kindly share with us a paragraph on what you think about the album. We will take your mini-reviews and print a compilation here in the Feature section. Please send to adminteam@thedavidchronicles.com.

Do you hear what I hear? It’s Christmas in October.

Thanks vermeer for the artwork!

Click here to download the MP3 of “Somebody Out There”

In very short order there has been broad consensus across the fan community that “Somebody Out There” is easily one of the best releases from David’s first major recording effort. It is in my top three. How, then, to account for the fact that one of the most satisfying songs has been subjected to the least amount of distribution? This track is currently unavailable for purchase anywhere. Not on a hard CD, not on a download. Can’t buy it.

In order to have it, you would have had to have pre-ordered the album on iTunes. I have nothing against channel incentives, but when it effectively takes a superior feature of the product out of circulation, it’s not helping anything–except, of course, Jive’s relationship with iTunes. And isn’t that the point? No, my good and loyal Archies, that is most definitely not the point.

There has also been broad consensus that the so-called “bonus” tracks are in general a better representation of David the way his fans appreciate him than the tracks selected for inclusion on the standard CD. Even if I’m not ready to accede to the emerging belief that they are indeed better songs (a couple of them are, including “Somebody Out There”), I do agree that they amount to a superior showcase for David’s voice. And that’s what it’s all about.

David made a point of setting expectations about this album as a hodgepodge of styles, a potpourri of experimentation–a “who am I?” journey. And while I may have observed more range on the standard release than perhaps a number of critics have, it is incontrovertible that had more of the bonus tracks been included, the standard release would have contained significantly more variety. David knew exactly what he was saying. Jive’s decisions only served in the end to undermine his words by releasing as narrow a version of the collection as possible as the standard issue.

In the creative industries and in the media and marketing world, a lot of people think the word “hack” describes someone who can perform work capably, but without any real inspiration or creativity. In other words, servicable but ultimately sub-standard. That’s not quite accurate. A hack is someone who has the ability to do more thoughtful, more creative, or more inspired work but who lacks any real respect for their audience. Consequently they rationalize short-cuts and rote, standard fare as “good enough” because their clueless audience won’t “get” anything more interesting anyway. A hack is a cynic.

I think Jive has been hack in their treatment of David’s album. They apparently think, for example, that because “Somebody Out There” is organic, soulful, authentic and sweet (precisely the nature and character of David’s most heartfelt work) that his current core market of teenage girls won’t “get it;” that they require something between Chris Brown and the Jonas Brothers in order to respond favorably. What Jive is evidently failing to recognize is that David’s core market is both smarter than they are giving them credit for, and entirely responsive to who David already is, not what the Jive marketing machine wants him to be.

I blame Madonna.

Ever since Madge made production paramount to performance in pop music, the voice has played an increasingly diminished role for all but the boldest of virtuosos. Over the two decades since this sublimation began, arrangers and producers have not only become increasingly adept at making up for a lack of vocal prowess with production technique, they have correspondingly become inept at properly managing true vocal nuance when it happens to show up in the studio. For all its accomplishments, much of this production treats its eponymous star like an ingredient rather than as the main course.

David Archuleta is mainly a bright, engaging compendium of smart, solid pop and pop-rock material that showcases the teenager’s impressive skills as a singer, songwriter, and collaborator. What the album may lack in coherence it makes up for in variety, even if it does, inexplicably, lack even one soaring power ballad of the type that might have been prodigious on a David Archuleta CD. Indeed, the album seems an almost strategic refutation of expectations (this from an artist who claimed to be entirely devoid of competitive strategy during his American Idol participation).

Unlike previous show finalists (Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood) who were rushed through the post-show studio meat-grinder and managed to release albums with enough coherence and virtuosity to please both critics and audiences alike, David is not as easily defined by existing genre categories. Which isn’t to say that he doesn’t have an innate ability to step into a genre and make a success of it on his own terms (a skill that was under-appreciated during his season on Idol), but that the possibility for a quick and perfect match between the talent and the market is much reduced. Given the potential for such an uneasy fit, the album is a victory. But it comes at a cost.

Through all of his humility, his reluctance to be considered a star or even the center of attention, David is nothing if not game. Whether it’s agreeing to sign all manner of odd items including body parts for fans, dancing “the Wiggelow” with an entire Catholic girls’ school, or cheerfully answering the most inane and impertinent of interview questions, David meets every request with thoughtfulness and generosity. But it took more than a thoroughgoing attitude to prove that he could channel the enormous scope of his talent into the somewhat stringent parameters of contemporary pop music. There were the inevitable difficulties. He got so frustrated with the process at one point that he reportedly wondered aloud how he could consider giving up after God had offered him all this opportunity. Some of that frustration led to explosions of creativity: When he realized there were too few solid song choices from the material offered, he decided to write his own. Several of his compositions and collaborations are now included on the CD, or slated as premium release bonus tracks.

David more than shows up his early critics who dismissed his potential to serve up radio-ready fare with the hit single “Crush” right out of the gate. There is a good handful of potential subsequent singles including “A Little Too Not Over You,” an insanely catchy number that David collaborated on; “Touch My Hand,” another collaboration that sounds like a cross between Coldplay and Sheryl Crow; “Barriers,” my personal least favorite cut, but an arm-waver that is likely to be a young crowd pleaser; and “To Be With You,” which, despite the fact that I am thoroughly unqualified to make assessments about the contemporary pop music market, may well turn out to be the largest-selling single off the album. It’s the only track on the standard issue CD that comes close to showcasing what David does better than almost anyone else, and what the public will inevitably come to treasure him for. The inimitable Archie heart connection is in this one. It’s powerful, even despite the stultifyingly generic arrangement and the unnecessary duet treatment on the chorus (it should be illegal to pair David’s voice with anyone else’s).

The one song that offers a tantalizing glimpse of where David might go musically when he has the time and credibility to ignore conventional parameters is “Desperate,” which sounds as if it belongs on a different album altogether–a more mature album, one with fewer capitulations to current trends. For such a sweet and unassuming guy, David does darkness extremely well. I happen to believe that one of the reasons his “uplifting” songs work as well as they do–”Angels,” “Imagine”–is because of an underlying melancholy, symbolized by that cry in his voice; the feeling that in grace lies an awareness of suffering.

In trying to package a talent as unique and prodigious as David Archuleta, even the most capable effort can wind up feeling inhibited. Add to this the preposterous schedule mandated by a production driven more by revenue opportunity than by artistic integrity, and it is perhaps surprising that David’s first major recording effort is as satisfying as it is. Still, time matters, and would have undoubtedly brought even this material to a stronger place. The ability to accelerate his own creative process was undoubtedly helped by the performance demands of new material every week on AI, but David remains an artist whose work benefits from a slight saturation of time. Look at how “Angels,” which was already an anthem, evolved over the course of the tour to become, in Tulsa, an all-out, jaw-dropping event. In contrast to many of his pop music peers, David is fundamentally a live performance artist. The connection he establishes with his audience is for him a creative conduit. David should ultimately be one of those artists who develops his material in concert and then records, rather than the prevailing reverse route, valued for its higher revenue potential.

I like the album. But what I like about it doesn’t necessarily have a whole lot to do with what I love about David Archuleta. I look it this way: Would I have recognized what I now understand to be the virtues of a once-in-a-generation performer from this collection alone? Not likely. David’s voice, with its enormous nuance and subtlety, is given somewhat short shrift in this collection. Does this material prove that David can be successful, perhaps even consequential, as a standard-fare pop star? Sure. And although I may fully understand and even completely agree why it makes sense at this point to package filet mignon as hamburger, it doesn’t mean I have to love the idea.

Angels.mp3

First, the good news: In contrast to his earlier AI studio performances, David has evolved considerably in his ability to reproduce in-studio the dimensions of power and urgency he locates so naturally in live settings. If only the producers hadn’t done everything in their power to undermine this accomplishment.

The production is shamefully overdone. After a stunning opening, one that holds the promise of sublime nuance and incredible consequence, the vocal is swallowed into the mix like powdered sugar in batter. I feel like a want to throw poor David a life-raft to keep him from drowning. The arrangement itself is tight, if a little thick; the tempo is spot-on. And then comes the chorus… The harmonies are positively ridiculous. And not in the good way. Pure, unadulterated bubble gum.

The travesty of it all is that they’ve taken a magnificent, dynamic, heart-wrenching performance and all but neutralized it with layers of nonsense. Someone needs to clue them into the concept of “less is more.”

If this is a harbinger of things to come, we’ll have to prepare ourselves for some disappointments.