Definitely sick. To take my mind off it, here's a post about another underground album, but one with a strange history. Full on pop culture confessional, readers.
David Cook was my favorite contestant (and winner) of the divisive phenomenon that is American Idol. While initially drawn in by my better half, I remember seeing the dude do an amazing reworking of Lionel Richie's Hello and thinking "Okay, this guy's special, he's not like anyone else I've ever seen on this show." I know what you're thinking - a cheese ball 80's ballad, how could it be any good on a singing competition? Check it out for yourself. He wasn't some precocious show-tune belting teenager with a heartbreaking story (as is often the case on that show) but an actual musician taking full advantage of the rule change that allowed contestants to play instruments. Over the course of the season he continued to show amazing talent for reworking well known songs and making them his own, from the insipid (making Mariah Carey's 'Always Be My Baby' into a phenomenal ballad that works even better from a male perspective) to the impossible (covering the legendary 'Eleanor Rigby' and making it into a fresh, heavy rock version) to the transcendent (turning 'Billie Jean' into a moody and haunting tale of betrayal). He finished the season with a moving rendition of the excellent 'World I Know' by Collective Soul. No joke, this guy was a breath of fresh air on the show, made all the better by upsetting the shoe-in David Archuleta, whose youthful exuberance was all but guaranteeing him the crown. Dude barely even looks like your typical Idol contestant:
So, Cook wins and releases a good, but rushed, album, as is typical of the Idol machine. You give the winner a mobile studio (for endless tour and press obligations) and a stable of collaborators (presuming the contestant either has no songs or natural writing ability) and churn out a record to capitalize on their name as quick as possible. Of course I say all this with admirable derision, as Cook's self titled release does feature some great songs, among them the single 'Declaration' and the lurching and massive 'Bar-Ba-Sol' to name a few. Here's the trick with David Cook, though - he already had a fantastic solo record out and couldn't sell it. Midway through his run on the show it had come to light that Cook, like many of the contestants that year, had a long musical career already. Having formed the band Axium (releasing four albums) and splitting off to form the successful Midwest Kings (putting out six records), Cook eventually wanted full creative control of the music he was making and wrote a whole album and released it under his own name, calling it Analog Heart.
The album was received incredibly well in his home state of Oklahoma (gaining several awards for album of the year in Tulsa and online sites) and showed him to be a strong, creative writer with a distinct voice and style of playing. It really does deserve all the praise it received. Recorded, produced and released in Tulsa, Cook relied on former band mates, friends and trusted engineers to craft his sound and the results paid off. Released in musical wasteland that was 2006 (the death of the album and the rise of the hipster), it was a hidden gem of an album that the Idol execs pulled from Amazon & other online stores because of supposed fairness issues. Interestingly other contestants were allowed to have their albums available during the competition but Cook was not. In the press he remains very genial about the whole affair, but you have to wonder what the impact would have been if they just let it go. Only a minimal amount of searching online lead me to a genuine copy of Analog Heart and I was genuinely impressed with how great it sounded.
All this cloak and dagger business aside, the album is fantastic. It's the rare guitar-driven album that still feels passionate and relevant, a modern singer-songwriter who doesn't come across as incredibly niche or purposefully obtuse. Cook has a skill for heavy yet melodic tunes like the album opener 'Straight Ahead', whose title almost acts as a signpost for the lack of gimmicks the listener will be subjected to. The songs are left to speak for themselves. The track 'Searchlights' would feel completely at home on Alt Nation or terrestrial radio - it's a building, living song with a chorus that build every time it repeats. By the finale it's a wall-to-wall anthem. Lighter affair like the genuine and melodic 'The Truth' still have their weight and crunch to them, but allow for a sense of intimacy to them. Hands down, though, the stand out track is 'Don't Say A Word'. The guitar immediately hooks you with it's staccato riffing over distorted chords, leading into heavy and riffing verses. The chorus is irresistibly catchy and crawls into your head like any professionally crafted song could. It stands out among the album as an early indicator of what Cook was capable of.
Seriously, this album is a hidden gem of pop-culture side-stories. Here's this talented musician, hard at work on his own great album. He accompanies his brother to American Idol and not only is corralled into auditioning but somehow works his way to the top, almost through happenstance and sheer talent rather than executive meddling (weird, right?). He then gets said album barred from sale, releases another album, and then never really mentions the initial one again. I love the secretive nature to it, this undiscovered thing that was kept from the public, tracking it down was a great way to hear what an artist could do when left to his own devices. Cook is currently putting the finishing touches on his second post-Idol album and I'm really hoping its as good as his previous efforts. Fingers crossed, let's see what he can do.
