American Idol: Rock & Roll of Fame, or “I Was Thinkin’ Bob Marley!”
May 7th, 2008 | 5:30 pm est |
Andrew Leahey
Welcome to American Idol’s skewed interpretation of rock & roll, wherein John Fogerty didn’t write “Proud Mary” and “Rocket 88” was apparently performed by Ike Turner & His Delta Nobodies. After last week’s schmaltzy Andrew Lloyd Webber fest, a wide-open theme like this seemed promising, particularly for the guitar-toting David Cook and Jason Castro. Cook should’ve sunk his teeth into these songs — and he sorta did with “Baba O’Reilly,” whose stratosphere-scraping high notes are certainly not the easiest thing to sing — but he only took a feeble nibble out of “Hungry Like The Wolf,” turning a cool, slick number into something dark and relatively lifeless. Come on, David — even Reel Big Fish does a better version than that. Castro, on the other hand, might as well have smashed his acoustic guitar and walked offstage midway through “I Shot the Sheriff” — at least that would’ve been a cool way to go out, rather than the slow, lyrically-botched death cry that comprised his two performances. The fact that “Mr. Tambourine Man” started off strongly only made things more painful, because Castro’s flubbed words cemented his exit faster than you could say “Brooke White.” It didn’t matter that he caressed the rest of his lyrics in an endearing way (“and hhhhheyyyy, Mr. Tambourine Man…”), or that — huzzah! — he finally nailed a falsetto note, something he failed to do during the richly-praised “Hallelujah” performance earlier this season. If Jason’s departure wasn’t preordained before the show, it became all but inevitable after Syesha delivered two middling (but error-free) performances, and our only consolation is the fact that this spaced-out Castronaut probably wants to go home, since American Idol’s glitzy glamour and garish group choreography are, like, totally a buzzkill, man.
Matt Collar
Seriously, between Cook’s sparkly blazer he must have stolen off Liza Minnelli at the Café Carlyle in 1978 and Castro’s two cringe-inducing dormroom bong haze performances –- who forgets “jingle jangle morning”?! — AmIdol vacillated between dull, bad, and farty. Archie was his usual boring self and Syesha, while good, still had a few issues. I guess I won’t hold it against her for doing Tina Turner’s “Proud Mary,” as that is the version she attempted to pull off with mixed results. But despite whatever research she did, her “A Change Is Gonna Come” ended up being less about the Civil Rights Movement and more about having a cry over herself getting this far on Idol. Either way, she definitely deserves to make it to the final three over Jason. In that sense, Paula was right — Welcome to your dream Syesha, everybody else sucks.
Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Week came complete with a package explaining what rock & roll is all about — because the nation’s tweens and teens need it spelled out for them as they’re too distracted by Rock Band and Guitar Hero. I will refrain from complaining that Jackie Brenston’s name wasn’t mentioned during this segment as it is so rare to have Ike Turner mentioned in a positive light on national TV. Good on them. I will complain a bit about another package suggesting that Alan Freed was the guy that invented rock & roll, but as this is a show created by industry folks, do I really expect any better? After all, they picked Kiss’s theme park rock of “Rock & Roll All Nite” as the song that ran throughout the video. The only good thing about that is that its inclusion proved how raw and real “Rocket 88” still sounds all these years later…but maybe I’m just bitter that nobody attempted “She’s About A Mover,” “Omaha,” “Dixie Chicken,” “Laugh Laugh,” “Personality Crisis,” “September Gurls,” “We Got the Beat,” “See Emily Play” or “Take Me Back to Tulsa,” all songs that do indeed show up on the Hall of Fame’s 500, which for some inane reason was treated like a body of work by the show, as if one person was responsible for it all.
David Cook: The resident rocker should be in his comfort zone tonight — as Randy and others took pains to point out — so how come he seemed so flaccid that Simon LeBon sounded dangerous in comparison? Same reason as always: he takes everything slow n’ serious, singing “Hungry Like The Wolf” with a hint of gravel in his voice then crooning “Baba O’Reilly,” effectively neutering it. So, in a sense, he is a quintessential modern mainstream rocker: everything he touches turns dull.
Syesha: First time out, Syesha does “Proud Mary,” naturally photocopying the Tina Turner version to the letter (any bets on whether she thinks Creedence Clearwater Revival is one of the hundreds of covers of Tina’s original?). Maybe this was a good idea in theory, but in practice, having Syesha mock Tina’s every move only illustrates the gap in soul between the two singers.
But that’s nothing, absolutely nothing, compared to what she did next. I quote: “[Sam Cooke died] during the Civil Rights Movement which was a pivotal time in history and now I’m singing it in a pivotal time in my life.” Well, that’s really all you need to know about this version of “A Change Is Gonna Come,” which has never been turned into an anthem for self-fulfillment but hey, if anybody can do it, it’s Syesha, who quite sincerely believes that there is a parallel between civil rights and reality TV as she repeats it after her performance! Never mind that her phrasing makes it seem that Cooke was killed as part of the civil rights struggle, she sings it as if her march to stardom is the same as the March on Washington. Usually, it’s easy to excuse her narcissism as she can actually sing, but the stench of solipsism is too much to take this time around.
Jason Cook: Oh, this guy just doesn’t want to be here anymore. He clowns his way through “I Shot the Sheriff” then does a Dylan impersonation on “Mr. Tambourine Man,” tripping over some of the tune’s best-known lyrics so badly that it becomes clear that it was an intentional flub. He still has remnants of his charm but, jeez, let’s put the guy out of his misery — he’s gotten as far as he needs to do in order to have a career and he just doesn’t want to do the game anymore. Love the “where was the deputy” ad-lib, though.
David A: The least rock & roll of all remaining four Idol contestants — though really, are any of them rock & roll? — does the best tonight because he sticks to what he knows, good ballads. Not that he’s “da bomb,” as Randy automatically spits out anytime Archuleta opens his mouth, but because he doesn’t try too hard and thereby seems a bit more likable than he has in a few weeks. Which doesn’t mean he’s perfect — he cracks a little, goes flat a bit, still seems too coached — but on a night filled with fumbles, he doesn’t stumble.
Remember, this is the “Madonna before The Stooges” Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame
Andrew - the schmaltzy Andrew Lloyd Webber fest was two weeks ago. Last week was the schmaltzy Neil Diamond fest.
Just to let Stephen and Andrew know it’s Baba O’Riley not Reilly. I just thought I would kindly point that out.
In some ways, the final four of the show is like an Agatha Christie whodunit — no wait, a Ngaio Marsh would be more appropriate. It is easy to see who will get ‘killed’ next in the context of performances but the exquisite morbidity of guessing who exactly among the survivors gets axed, is part of the allure. It is easy to expect the unexpected from David Cook every week but when you get down to analyzing the style and attack to every performance, it reveals a very generic formula — i.e. change the song to suit his vocal abilities (the better to see him cringe when hitting a high note), or just dress the song differently so he’ll be forever associated as a genius who knows how to re-arrange a popular song into something else. His [i]Hungry Like A Wolf[/i] is actually forgettable if not for the fact that David Cook is singing it. His second song is much better and stronger. Syesha Mercado’s decision to sing [i]Proud Mary[/i] is predictable but this girl who I have become fond of for her underdog and outsider status, really works her gluteus maximus out. One can applaud her effort to excel but there is a calculatedness to it that does not endear her to many people. Her [i]A Change Is Gonna Come[/i] was not stellar but I thought her mid-critique breakdown was authentic and moving. If this is her last week, then she might have gained newer fans just because she is a paragon of surviving just by the tiniest of chances. Jason Castro needs to go home. Not because of his bland-but-not-atrocious performances of both songs but like someone pointed out, this guy is no longer liking this reality show. His first song had some nice moments and he always look good with a guitar even if he probably only used it 10% of the time. While the first song left him breathless in segments, the second song truly sunk him. Was it intentional? Maybe. But it would be a happy ending for all if he leaves tonight. David Archuleta actually surprised me with his polished version of [i]Stand By Me[/i] — a song that is likable for it being not polished. I did like his upward range in the last part of the song. His second song is really boring (his performance, not the song), but at this point, there is nothing this guy can’t do. For tonight, I’d say Jason Castro should go, but I won’t be surprised if the producers derive a sadistic kick by ousting Syesha and letting Jason agonize one more week of group dancing, themed songs, etc.
Yeah, and the guy who looks like a girl is Jason Castro, not Cook. It’s probably not good for him that he is already forgettable as far as STE is concerned. And I can’t really blame Leahey for having already blocked out last week’s awful show from his memory.
STE, it is Jason Castro, not Jason Cook.
Re: Jason Castro, not Jason Cook: like it matters.
I’ll admit it - I like Jason Castro and I’ve been rooting for him. Plus, after a season of Kristi Lee blessing America and the boring, daddy’s boy front runner David A., I was actually impressed with Jason’s unlikely, politically incorrect, song choice. Maybe its because he’s not weeping and breathlessly thanking his “fans,” but I think he is the most refreshing part of a show that celebrates people who really let it go to their heads.
I’ll tell you guys I was rooting for Jason since he sang “What a day for a daydream”. I really thought the guy was gonna shine. Someone new and refreshing, not the same crap AI dishes out year after year, but the truth is that guitars can be crutches and his was an extension of himself. Can’t fault the guy for staying true to himself, even at his worst, but he was truly a fish out of water in this competition. I’ll tell you something though, his IS the only record I’m looking forward to.
I’ll give Syesha the benefit of a doubt, simply because her Sam Cooke was the best of the night. Yes, better than Davey, the newest member of the Mickey Mouse Club, so anemic and inauthentic a singer as exists outside of the Disney universe (including Miley, Hilary, and anything named Jonas). Archie was so hellbent on treating “Stand By Me” as an audition for anything that he drained the song of any emotion or any kind of relevant human feeling.
As for David Cook, he’s clearly phone it in. His spot in the final has been so assured for weeks that he cops out of his rawk credentials by choosing what? Duran Duran, a group more famous for the image, moving or otherwise, than for the ability to write anything “legendary”. He can’t do anything new to it, so he just karaoke’d it to the tongue bath he’s received for a month. As for his Who cover, his arrangement was too plodding, Nickleback on Quaaludes. “Teenage wasteland” never sounded so ironic and earnest at once.
And as for Jason? “The emperor’s new clothes” turned into a self-fulfilling prophecy. He was voted off last week after Paulergate. And I’d still trade him ten of him for one Brooke White.
That should have read “phonING it in”. Proofreading is one’s friend.
This truly can’t be the best in the nation, or the best this show has ever had. The best in the nation don’t audition for such a shameless corporate construction. That’s in terms of music but as a TV show - it’s still the best, if sometimes cringe-inducing.
American Idol is one big slice of American “CHEESE”. I’m not sure how many more seasons this show can hammer out. I did enjoy Bo’s performance tonight and Maroon5 weren’t bad either.
Oh, and Jason Castro was funny when he told Ryan that someone refered to his performance as, “Someone shot the Tambourine Man.”
just wait and see
I loved Jason’s comment, “I was thinkin’ Bob Marley!” I wonder what he really wanted to tell Simon.