Daughtry --- Daughtry --- 2006 (RCA)
Yeah, I know what you're all thinking, as am I: anything affiliated with the dreaded X-Factor or American Idol is generally to be avoided, scorned, put down, reviled, and usually I would agree with that. But a few things may mark this debut out as just a little different from the usual post-competition slew of winners and also-rans that deluges the charts after a season ends. For one thing, though this is the first time I'll be listening to his work, I'm reliably informed that Chris Daughtry, who gives the band their name, can actually sing. So what, I hear you say derisively? Everyone who makes it through the auditions can sing, or thinks they can. True, but he really can. Plus, he's not riding on the musical production muscle of Cowell, having been only a finalist and not the winner of that year's show: he's signed to a
proper label, and also he writes all his own songs. Well, writes or co-writes. Lastly, he's not a pop performer, he's a rocker.
So, enough to perhaps sweep away those talent show prejudices, even for a little while, and give the guy a chance? Well the record-buying public certainly thought so, as this album debuted at number two in the charts when released, and has sold solidly since. Daughtry have since released two more albums, one of which was only last year, so they're certainly not milking the proceeds from this album, substantial as they must have been. They seem like a credible rock band who aren't content to just sit back and let the money roll in. They want to make music. They want to rock.
And so, it seems, they do.
The obvious comparisons to Nickelback are there, and Daughtry certainly follow their blueprint, Chris Daughtry himself sounding very like Chad Kroeger, but “It's not over” has a certain rock charm, with heavy guitars from the man himself, and Phil X, good solid rhythm section in drummer John Freese and bassist Chris Chaney, and “Used to” is a powerful anthem with very memorable hooks, Daughtry's voice having no trouble rising above the music, his rough, gravelly tones perfectly suited to this sort of music. Howard Benson's keyboards come a little more into the mix here, adding a little touch of AOR to the track, but it's heavy all the way. I wouldn't call it heavy metal though, but certainly heavy rock.
“Home” has a definite tinge of country to the melody, veering a little towards Lynyrd Skynyrd territory, a power ballad certainly, a big hit for him in his native USA, as indeed was the opener. Sounds like there are strings in this song, but they may be synth-created as none are credited on the album. “Over you” is a triumphant eff-star-star-kay-you song, where Daughtry snarls
”Thought I'd never get through/ But I got over you!” Great guitar solo followed by a total dropaway to vocal and acoustic guitar before the song picks up again, and you can just see the fists punching the air during any live performance of this.
Somewhat more restrained is “Crashed”, with big guitar sound and measured drumbeat, Daughtry really stretching his vocals on this one, mostly holding the song together by the force of his voice, at least on the verses. “Feels like tonight” has a lot of power and passion behind a fairly straightforward guitar line, but gets rockin' soon enough, while the legendary Slash guests on guitar for “What I want”, adding a real touch of class to proceedings, then things slow right down for the first real ballad in “Breakdown”. Very country-oriented, with what sounds like pedal steel but may not be (again, none is credited on the album), though being a ballad doesn't stop Daughtry cutting loose with a blazing guitar solo! In fact, as it develops, the song becomes less of a ballad and more a rocker. So we have yet to have a proper ballad, if indeed there is one on the album.
Perhaps the most commercial track on the album, “Gone” has a sort of pop feel to it, though it does soon turn into a decent rocker, and “There and back again” opens with a nice funky little bassline then utilises some nice Zeppelin style guitar riffs, but the main problem I'm having here is that everything does tend to sound quite similar. Nothing is really standing out, and I'm unlikely to remember any of these tracks after the album has finished. Still, conversely, none of them are marking themselves out as bad tracks either, so I guess it's a balance delicately maintained, which itself is a difficult enough thing to achieve.
More country influences in “All these lives”, with nice acoustic guitar and keyboards, but I would have thought this would have made a better ballad. Daughtry see fit to crank up the electric guitars and pound the drums, though, and it kind of melts into another standard rocker, while the closer, “What about now”, introduced on acoustic piano and guitar, could very well be that ballad we've been waiting for. It certainly resists the temptation to rock out, and it could end up being a decent finale. Yeah, it is. Pity they didn't include a few more songs like this, nice restrained guitar, keys to the fore, powerful but deep vocal, a song I don't mind being in my head as I close the review.
All in all, I'm not as impressed as I expected to be, given the hype. Yes, it's a good rock album, but it's not a great rock album. It's quite generic really, with little in the way of imagination or experimentation. Perhaps their other albums trod new ground and opened up new horizons for the band, but here Daughtry play it very safe, which, while it will certainly sell records, is no way to announce yourself on your debut, no way to prove yourself a force, a lasting talent in the overcrowded heavy rock market.
To be honest, it sounds like Daughtry listened to all the standard rock albums around at the time, copied the riffs, the tones, the phrasing and ended up with really more of a soundalike to the likes of Nickelback
et al than their own individual sound. In this way, they become something of a clone, and it's more than a little disappointing, considering what might have been. I'm quite surprised that the album sold so well, given its generic rock sound. I should clarify that I don't think it's a bad album, just nothing terribly special, and I wonder had Chris not been on American Idol, would he have got a record deal and if he did, would the album have been as successful as it was? I guess sometimes the power of televison appeal can't be overstated.
A missed opportunity, I feel. But it's still better than listening to Kelly Clarkson!
TRACKLISTING
1. It's not over
2. Used to
3. Home
4. Over you
5. Crashed
6. Feels like tonight
7. What I want
8. Breakdown
9. Gone
10. There and back again
11. All these lives
12. What about now