New CDs from Cook & Morrison

I did not get to vote. But listening to This Loud Morning made me glad I rooted for David Cook. He was then up against David Archuleta whose toothy blandness still gives me the creeps. So I was glad that it was Cook who won the title in the seventh season of American Idol. I knew even then that he did not fit the pattern. He seemed so serious and too quiet to be a pop star. But there was something brooding and mysterious about the guy that made him quite attractive. And as his first album and this new CD has proven, there is also very appealing music inside him.

He got a series of hits on his first time out like Light On and Come Back To Me from his debut album. Almost three years later he is back with his second CD outing. And what do you know, he is singing even better with fuller tones and amazing vibratos. He has therefore hurdled the sophomore jinx and now proven himself as the right Idol choice. But like I said before, David is not of the usual pattern. Just think. Instead of using the Platinum selling David Cook as his guide for the hits, he goes inside himself and unearths the heaviest of emotions, the sort that makes one shriek from facing the day.

David does not want to wake up to loud mornings. You know the kind. Those are the ones you want to refuse to rise up to. Get me under the covers again, you want to shout out. David does that loudly in This Loud Morning. He actually creates a strange combination, upbeat, energetic melodies that contrast with sad, dark lyrics. He rocks but just enough to bestraddle that middle ground between pop and rock. But somehow it all works.

The catchy Circadian sets the tone. And from there it is one powerful track after another. The best of them all is the first single, The Last Goodbye, a perfect rocker that all types of listeners can relate to. Also included are Right Here With You which would make a great single, We Believe, Fade Into Me, Hard To Believe, Take Me As I Am, Time Marches On, Paper Heart, Letter Word, Goodbye To The Girl. Missed his version of the Simple Minds’ Don’t You Forget About Me, which was last season’s farewell song at American Idol. But I guess this can be downloaded from the TV show’s website.

Matthew Morrison has successfully made the transition from Broadway heartthrob to TV star. A few years ago, he was the one whom producers turned to when they needed a sweet-sounding, good-looking hero on stage. Check out the recent productions of South Pacific, Light In The Piazza, Hair Spray and others and there would be Matthew. This means that he came already armed with top-rate singing and dancing and I must say also acting credentials to Glee.

Of course, we now know what a phenomenon the TV show turned out to be and of how big a star Morrison has become. And so it is now time for him to try out something else. He already has a few show recordings and several Glee soundtracks to his name. His role as Mr. Will Schuester in the show has also given him a big fan following. Therefore it is only logical for him to do his own solo album. And it is here, Matthew Morrison by Matthew Morrison, a collection as vibrant and perky as his Glee character. Take note, he also shows here that he can write songs and play the ukulele very well.

Morrison feels every song. Must be the actor in him. It also helps that he has chosen beautiful melodies to work with. Glee fans will love his dreamy Somewhere Over The Rainbow a duet with Gwyneth Paltrow, one of his leading ladies in the show. He also blends well with Elton John in a wonderfully arranged mash-up of Mona Lisas And Mad Hatters and Rocket Man. Then he tries grooving to the club beat of Don’t Stop Dancing.

Best of the lot though is It’s Over. It is about heartbreak, a topic that has been done so many times before but he so makes you feel the pain and thus, ensures a perfect ending to the album. Other cuts are Summer Rain, Still Got Tonight, Let Your Soul Be Your Pilot with Sting, My Name, Hey and It Don’t Matter To The Sun.