Warning... this is an adult site. If reading or viewing things about what gay men do sexually with one another bothers you - you should not read this blog. This blog is a reflection of my adventures and thoughts. Some are fun, some not so pretty. I won't name names, or kiss and tell... but I will live to tell. And baby, trust me - I am gonna spill it all over your pretty little party dress. Enjoy!
His
talent is undeniable; the range, the tone.
Yes, this man can sing the phone book. Unfortunately, for Mr. Lambert,
in light of his scattershot approach to music, I would have to say that is
exactly what he seems intent on doing (isn’t that exactly what they said about
Babs back in the day?).
While
it is applause-worthy and awe-inspiring that his very brief career span includes
a stint on ‘Glee’ and fronting the legend that is the band Queen, the two disparate
venues would seem to illustrate what’s at the crux of Adam Lambert’s on-going
career stagnant stasis. He’s
theatrical. So those two choices make
absolute sense, and while he is capable of pulling them both off, they also
help shed light on what’s keeping Adam from being fully embraced.
It’s
the distance between the audience and the footlights – he has yet to bridge it. He has yet to appear human – relatable. For the public, he is all eyeliner, geometric
haircuts and sequins. I would argue that
it is that theatrical bent and the distance it creates that prevents Adam from
becoming a more substantial artist.
At this
point, many years from his original launch into the consciousness of
entertainment industry, he remains a talent show wunderkind aiming for the big
time.
Sure,
he’s had a top-ten hit, and successful albums (including a #1). But he’s not growing as an artist.
Need
he?
I would
argue that in order to fulfill his promise and be true to his incredible talent
– the depths of which, I feel, we still have not been given a clue - that yes,
he certainly needs to.
I like
Adam.
I’ve
been rooting for him to succeed from day one on AmIdol. His remains the only season I seriously
watched that horror show and he was the only reason I watched. The man was well-trained. Every time he
stepped on stage, I found myself holding my breath. Adam took command of the stage from day one, although
his musical tastes would occasionally overshadow his performance. It was his Disneyesque-sense of
presentational musical style that seemed to be keeping in him check. It was all surface. There was no true depth.
His
debut album was exactly everything I would have expected from him – it was
safe, current, frequently fun, and frequently catchy. He’d been ‘handled’ well –
current producers, current writers, current sounds. I listened to it quite a bit, but it struck
me as more than a tad shallow.
You
see, when big emotions are put on display constantly – when that is all
you gun for? Well, you end up rendering
them meaningless and they come off rather canned and feigned. In other words – simulated and manufactured instead
of genuine. In still other words? Mr. Lambert in a nutshell.
His
second album? I don’t remember it. . Neither
does most of his potential audience. It felt like he was treading the same
waters.
Commercially
and artistically, his third album seems to be suffering the same fate as the
second. Whether that remains true
depends on how clever his remixes turn out to be.
In its
original version, ‘Ghost Town’ struck me as rather rote. It had elements that worked well, but it felt
flat – an odd assessment considering that Adam’s vocals are first rate, as they
always are. It may be that very
vocal consistency that causes me and some of his audience to take his work for
granted.
However,
the Tritonal Remix of ‘Ghost Town’ turns up the dramatic heat quite a bit,
elevating it above the original version.
Given that, I can’t wait to hear what’s next, as in, what songs from the
album will be remixed and released next.
In the
meantime, I remain flummoxed in regards to Mr. Lambert. Never has there been so much promise.
