David Cook (2008): Album Review

In November of 2008, David Cook released his first post-American Idol album, self-titled David Cook. The album would hopefully fulfill the expectations of fans that saw and voted for David Cook on American Idol. The album cover shows a black and white photograph of Cook starring into the lens wearing a blazer and a white t-shirt. The cover does the job, with David Cook's name in colour, and it stands out completely. A picture of David and his name, simple and does the job. The album starts with the song Declaration, a definite contender for the best song on the album, hands down. Declaration opens the album with a very easy-on-the-ears riff, a sort of similar sound that opens Linkin Park’s “What I’ve Done”. The verse eases the listener into one hell of a soaring chorus with killer vocals from Cook that immediately elevate the song to another level of good. Declaration is the best song for the album to open with and should’ve have been AT LEAST the albums SECOND single. Cook sings his heart out on the track “Heroes”, another upbeat, catchy, pop-rock song that sits perfectly in the front half of the album. Being the follow up to the damn-good “Declaration”, "Heroes" has some shoes to fill and it delivers time and time again, after each and every listen through of the album. As the first single from David Cook, “Light On” was, for most people, including myself, the introduction to Cook’s original material, and a good pick it was. “Light On” gives listeners many different layers of David Cook’s musical, and vocal ability. The lyrical ability is showcased in the rest of the album’s tracks (minus “Come Back To Me”) as “Light On” was one of two tracks that Cook didn’t write on the 12 track debut. The song, along with it’s own layers, also reflects the many layers that the entire album has to offer. “Come Back To Me” is the second single off of David Cook. And I have to admit, it’s a weaker follow up to “Light On” than it should be. In relation to the album, the song is alright, and live is where the song REALLY comes to life, but the track is one of the weaker one’s on the album and wasn’t the best pick, I felt, for a second single, or a single at all for that matter. As the first ballad, four tracks in on the album, the song does alright, but like I said it really gets its due live, and I’ll state that it often gets one of the biggest applauses of the night when it’s played (as I’ve seen live him twice), so maybe I’m just in the minority. Not a terrible song at all, but not a stand out either, at least for me. “Life On The Moon” continues to get better with every listen. Not that I didn’t like it with the first listen, but its one that I didn’t come back to as quickly as I did “Declaration”, “Light On” or “Permanent”, but after every listen to the song/album it starts to make sure it’s invited to the party for a reason. And lately the song has had a stronger personal connection than it ever has and this only adds to the connection between myself and the song as well. “Here in this crowd I’m feeling all alone/turn me around and point me back to home”. Definitely the “hardest” song on the album, “Bar-Ba-Sol”, is the song we were promised when we watched Cook rock out on Idol at the start of the year. The song “rocks out” right out of the gate, with a very catchy drum and guitar beat/instrumental and when the vocals kick in, we’re in for a ride. Once we hit the bridge, the guitar and drum solos compliment each other so perfectly for a slow build back into the final chorus. “Bar-Ba-Sol” is a force to be reckoned with. I believe it was actually a single somewhere in the world, I could be wrong but I feel like I remember hearing from someone that it’s been played on some rock stations in different places, but was never an official single.

Then out of nowhere, “Mr. Sensitive” creeps out from the background, marking the beginning of the second half of the album. We start quite soft, with a simple, four noted, harmonic riff that’s very easy on the ears, followed by some subdued vocals from Cook. The chorus kicks into a sort of softer rock “balladly” sounding one. But once the bridge hits, this is when we realize we’re in for another harder rock song, and I’ve heard that the song actually really comes to life live. The beautiful “Lie”, works perfectly. Cook delivers some insecure but powerful vocals on the track about wanting to keep a relationship from falling apart by lying to one another about their feelings for each other, feelings that aren’t there anymore. I can’t say enough about how beautiful this song is, with it’s bitter sweet message and perfect delivery, “Lie” works on every level. As we move into the latter bit of the album we get “I Did It For You”, a track that is just alright. But even at Cook’s lows he still manages to pull out some great lyrics. “Mile by mile, feelings I just can’t reconcile/My heart’s on a string, these broken wings/Who knew I’d be so fragile/Far away from you”. The instrumental isn’t terrible, but is nothing special, and wouldn’t be the song to show someone that’s never heard of David Cook. I always felt however, that the high harmony in the choruses could have made for an interesting key change for the final chorus. Maybe Cook and the band did try that and didn’t like it but I don’t know. We do get a bit of a glimpse of it however in the final phrase of the song when Cook sings “You’re the one thing that can make me whole”. I feel this is the weakest song of the album and that the song could have been replaced with the hidden track “Kiss On The Neck”, the bonus track “My Last Request” or even the unreleased “Souvenir” that Cook has played live a few times. “Avalanche” was another one I let slip by me on the first couple listens but grew on me significantly since. The track deals with softer vocals delivered from Cook, complimented with a simple chord progression. The track, like “Come Back To Me” and “I Did It For You” isn’t a stand out at all but isn’t terrible either. It sits on the album alright but wouldn’t have a made a good single, and it wasn’t, so there’s no worry. And here we are, “Permanent”. This song is perfect. The performance on this track by David Cook is heartbreaking. The song deals with the emotions of Cook as he deals with the latter half of his brother Adam’s fight with cancer. And the track is even more heartbreaking when taking into account the story that Cook has shared live at the Story & Song Night of Hope. I’ll attach the video below, it’s a must see, if you haven’t already. A definite contender for not only the best song on the album, but the best song David Cook as ever written. The song could have made a perfect single, though I have heard it once in the mall, I can understand why it wasn’t an "official" release as Cook has a difficult time performing it live, understandably. The album closes with the anthem “A Daily AntheM”. The song begins with guitars that sound like they are singing, followed by the drums to kick the song into motion and focus it to the end. The final track is solely written by David Cook, and it’s notably different. From the anathematic sound it gives from start to finish, a 3/4 time signature replacing the 4/4 often heard in Cook’s songs, also after only the first chorus we hit the bridge instead of another verse and chorus. Another thing to note is how David capitalized the four letters in the tracks title to emphasize his brother’s name who unfortunately passed away from his battle with cancer in May of 2009. The song is incredible and could be great one live. I have yet to see this song live and I hope I haven’t missed the days that he plays this one live. The “woahs” end the song perfectly and though it may be too theatrical for some (I haven’t heard this from anyone yet but I feel it might be for some), it works for me. Personally this is my favourite track on the album, ending David Cook with a bang and yet another reason to listen to the album again as soon as it finishes. Overall, David Cook is my personal favourite of the 4 studio albums (not including the acoustic EP’s). It has the rock edge Cook is known for, the ballads, the softer, slower songs and the big anthem. The lead off single “Light On” was a perfect choice, and “Come Back To Me” was a weaker choice for the follow up single. The follow up should have been “Declaration”, and then “Heroes” or “Permanent”, even “Lie” or “Bar-Ba-Sol” I believe could have done better. David Cook swings and hits it out of the park, a great way to follow up what he was able to do and what he showcased with his time on American Idol. The order of songs from my favourite (1) to least favourite (12):