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.

The album description in the Wal-Mart catalog gives us a unique insight into the marketing strategy in place for David. It was in all likelihood not intended to be published as-is, but rather the result of a lazy or overworked Wal-Mart publishing arm that didn’t bother to re-write the distributor release from the label. Here’s an excerpt:

A series of multi-layered marketing and media campaigns will be implemented in the coming months to assure a chart topping album release. The primary target demographic of teen and tween girls will be reached through a series of high school and cultural initiatives the brand Archuleta as every girl’s “best friend,” “all-American crush” and “future heartthrob.” A secondary demographic of parents will be reached by emphasizing Archuleta’s natural talent as “inspirational,” “genuine” and “refreshing.” The week of release media campaign will include a series of live performances and appearances on morning and late night television programs, and Archuleta will perform at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, post-release.

Although the copy might be tailored specifically to Wal-Mart and similar retailers who expect to be selling to particular demographics, the positioning seems nevertheless to be quite narrow, and makes me wonder if Jive really does understand what they have in David. Perhaps his producers know, but one wonders if that knowledge has been translated to Marketing.

On the one hand, David has plenty of time to evolve his positioning to reflect the true depth and breadth of his work and the nature of his diversified appeal; on the other hand, there’s a risk in getting pigeon-holed as a teen heartthrob (even if it’s distinguished as a “future” heartthrob–that modifier sounds suspiciously like the result of a David-driven negotiation to me…!). Such narrow-casting may well make it tougher to transition to broader, more “serious” markets down the line.

In the language of the current political climate, appealing to the base has limited value. Those constituents will show up anyway. Jive would be better advised to establish a broad base of appeal for David–one that indeed reflects current reality more accurately–right from the get-go.

Angels – Album Version.mp3

Well, I know one thing is for certain. I will not be able to be at work when the full versions of this material becomes available. There’s no weeping at work.

A Little Too Not Over You by David Archuleta

I have to confess to a having been a little underwhelmed by this one on my first review of it last night, even while conceding that I am not the slightest bit close to the target demographic for it. David’s voice has such depth, such complexity–not to mention his ability to color and shade his performances with incredible subtlety and intelligence–that when I hear it being deployed for purposes such as this, I can’t help but lament a certain loss of opportunity. But David, as we all know, is much more than a gifted singer with great skills. He is a consummate musician, a pop music connoisseur, and, lest we forget, still a teenager. This kind of song must be acknowledged as the right kind of vehicle for at least a certain–and, at this point, significant–aspect of his recording career.

On a second listen this morning I liked it a lot more. In particular, there’s a sweetness about it that is incredibly appealing without being mawkish or cloying. David is proving to be very adept at this difficult balance in choosing material. And, as evidenced by the bridge section tacked on to this preview clip, he is also smart to pick songs that allow him some extemporaneous opportunities, not even so much to showcase his melismatic capabilities (which have been overdone in pop music marketplace for some time now), but to include that heart-tugging cry in his voice, which he tends to pull out at the ends of certain vocal riffs. The falsetto in this section just elicits in me one, huge, s#!*-eating grin. At the risk of emphasizing my flair for the obvious, I just love this boy.

The final test of the viability of this one may very well be that after only two listens, I found myself humming the damn chorus while preparing breakfast. If that’s not an indication of market potential, I don’t know what is.

The Album Cover

Um. Wow.

Update #1: While I’m gathering my thoughts (and picking my jaw up off the floor), I give you the following as a soundtrack for your comments on this topic. In honor of the new album cover, the following has been selected as the notingDavid Executive Steering Committee Theme Song.

Those of you on the Steering Committee, you know who you are.

Steering_Committee_Theme.mp3

Update #2: Wherein Rascal redeems himself from his initial, slightly less-than articulate, “Um. Wow.”

Okay, so, I’ve given this a lot of thought and I’ve made my decision. I don’t like it. I love it. This image telegraphs something very specific to the market. Not just from David but from his producers, from his label, from the very people who are tasked with the rather significant responsibility of saying–especially the first time out– “here’s how we think you should consider this artist.”

And the overall message? Serious.

Yes, gosh-dang-it, yes!

It would be easy to talk about things like street cred, or thug rep (if David could look like this in certain areas of my beloved Brooklyn, he’d do just fine), and that’s all well and good, but I don’t think that’s the prevailing message. Seriousness is the message the market should be getting from David’s label on his first time out, even if some of the music is light and fun. This man, despite–and in addition to–his young looks, his tween appeal, his boyish charm, his wholesome lifestyle, and his initial pop-music leanings, is an artist to be taken seriously.

I know all you Mrs. Robinsons out there (God love you) are seeing smolderosity in this picture. And goodness knows (as do most others) that I can see smolderosity in David, too. But I’m not seeing that here. Not nearly as much, anyway, as I am seeing a combination of maturity, sense-of-purpose, real depth, and a degree of certainty that just isn’t possible from lightweights. No, in fact, I suspect that Jive was probably somewhat surprised when the proofs from this photo session arrived; they very likely wanted, and got, a wide range of attitudes and expressions in a variety of outfits. But if this is indeed the official cover shot, then I suspect Jive saw something in this image that they might not have expected to see.

In fact, their surprise may have been perfectly consistent with their experience with David in the production of his music. It’s hard for me to believe (despite the desire that Jive reportedly had for him, and the allegedly good deal he got) that they really and truly had any idea what they were getting. Not, in any case, to the degree that his more serious fans had an idea. I think one of the reasons the Jive marriage has been rocky (and it has), is because Jive had expectations of David that were easily exceeded at every juncture. I can imagine a scene where an underling goes running to management to report, “he’s not doing what we’ve asked for,” and management, after listening to the product of what’s been going on, replies, “You idiot! He’s doing ten-times more than we asked for! Get a better producer!” Of course, that’s just my imagination. But I wouldn’t be surprised.

The release of this image–whether or not it’s the official cover image–is to my mind yet another indication of Jive’s acknowledgment of David as a serious musical artist. It plays against type, but it’s not a misrepresentation. We’ve always all been so amazed at how David can be such a sweet, genial, compassionate, lovely person when he is with fans, or in any situation when he is not singing, and then suddenly, in performance, he turns into this powerhouse of emotion and strength and hunger and pain and resolve and integrity and intelligence. This remarkably serious, intense picture is perhaps the only picture we’ve seen so far that actually captures the David who sings.

And, okay, yeah, he’s hot. Coo coo cachoo.

Team David has been hinting around about it for weeks now, inside sources have indicated its likelihood, and now it seems as if it is all but confirmed. Sources close to the Archuletas have said that we “don’t need to hope any longer,” because the inclusion of at least one of David’s songs on the album is now virtually assured, if still unofficial. This is of course fantastic news. David’s emergence as an artist of consequence will be bouyed immeasurably by the inclusion of his own songwriting on his first album.