Nice Article About Lights On And David

Found this while surfing around. Hope I get the link right its my first time trying it.


http://www.supersatellite.com/2008/09/26/i...cooks-light-on/


Okay, I caught word today that Idol winner David Cook’s first single is hitting the air. While not generally an Idol fan, I am a big Cook fan. More to the point, I am a big Axium fan, from back in the day before Cook went off on his own and ultimately decided to show up everyone on season 7.

Cook is like my one (very minor) claim to fame (aside from when I went to a Star Trek convention as a kid and saw William Shatner on stage). Back when SuperSatellite was still a site for music and stuff, we worked to help promote local bands and concerts. This brought me in touch with Cook a couple times, and we even did a big giveaway when Axium released “The Story Thus Far.” I think that was a great example of what Cook is capable of, and what I’m hoping we hear from him in the future. He’s a nice guy that really knows how to put together some awesome songs.

On to “Light On.” It’s not a bad song. My only worry is that it is terribly overproduced. I’m not sure if I’ve heard a song in recent memory that sounded like it was trying to be so much all at once. I heard a little Chris Cornell hook in there, you’ve got the quiet piano backed vocals, Cook opens up his voice in the first 25 seconds, the chorus is mainstream, the bridge reeks of everything Nickelback, and so it goes. It sounds almost exactly how I would expect an Idol produced single for him to sound, and I just really hope the whole album isn’t that way. That’s not to say it’s a bad song; it’s not. I just think the record people tried way too hard.

Here’s my take on Cook. Like many solo artists, it just doesn’t really work as well. Few (male) artists can work without a band and be better. Raine Maida did a good job of it, and I don’t have many complaints about Jeff Martin (except that he still sounds pretty much like The Tea Party), but generally speaking when guys go solo, bad things happen. See Chris Cornell, Billy Corgan, Gavin Rossdale, Travis Meeks, John Popper, Scott Strapp, Jonathan Davis, all four members of KISS, and so it goes on. The thing is, people are just more creative with a band. There’s something more organic and collective about music being created by a group of guys with a vision rather than one person being fed lyrics by a writer, or in the case of some of the guys above, thinking they are good enough to do it all on their own.

With Axium, Cook put out what is arguably some of my favorite music. I still listen to the albums regularly. When he went solo with “Analog Heart,” it was good, but it just lost a little something. Cook’s voice is an amazing instrument all on it’s own, and I think him singing and on guitar, with a bassist and drummer - just three guys - as a solid unit would be bulletproof. American Idol has this idea that artists need to be solo to be successful, and I don’t think that’s true. Cook needs to put a band together, and get writing their own stuff and get back to what he’s really good at. The faster that happens, the faster you’re gonna see something unlike anything he did on American Idol.

I’m still looking forward to this album, and I have faith that he’s a sharp enough fellow to not let AI producers run the ship blindly, so I think we’ve got much more to hear from him.

Just Got This Email

Due to high demand for David’s new single, AOL will be premiering it TODAY!!! You, as DavidCookOfficial.com newsletter subscribers are the first to know. Hear it as soon as it goes live on AOL by checking DavidCookOfficial.com for the link. We expect it to be live in the next few hours. Spread the word!

Finally Out Of Lurkdom

Hi all I am finally coming out of Lurkdom. I've enjoyed following the board all summer. I am 37 and in Tampa, FL. I also have a profile on DCO with the same name. Looking to hopefully make some friends.