A few months ago, when I heard Constantine’s “Girl Like You” on “The Bold and the Beautiful,” I got worried. For some reason, the song just didn’t sound as good as it did when I heard it a year ago.I truly thought then that the song could be the best single ever released by an Idol. But this new version had a different kind of sound that stripped some of the pop quality out of it.
Then, Constantine’s CD started getting really bad reviews and I got more worried that after waiting two years, I was going to be sorely disappointed.
And after listening to the CD several times, I have just one thing to say…
What’s so bad about it?
I’m not saying that the CD is perfect, because it isn’t. Several times Constantine seems to fall in love with the sound of his own voice and he still hasn’t quite figured out whether he should be a rocker or a pop star. And at times he takes his “organic, live feel” a bit too far. But overall, I would say it’s a pretty good effort.
The rumored track written by Rob Thomas was just that, a rumor; but Constantine does have tracks written by Angie Aparo (Faith Hill’s “Cry”), Kevin Kadish (Jason Mraz’s “Geek In the Pink,” Stacie Orrico’s “Stuck” and “(There’s Gotta Be) More to Life”) and Marcel (Josh Gracin’s “Nothing to Lose”), who I will always remember from Jessica Andrews forcing him down our throats during her concert in Ashland a few years ago (They’re engaged now.)…
“Girl Like You” starts the CD off. It’s still a great song, but the sped up tempo, the new vocal and the new guitar solo throw it off just a tad…
“Several Thousand” sounds like a depressed Maroon 5 song, but it’s still somewhat catchy…
“Everybody Loves” is when Constantine really falls in love with his voice, but I probably would too if I had a voice that strong. And just try to sing along without belting it out yourself. This one really grows on you…
“Child, You’re the Revolution” is the CD’s first detour into rock and just like his rock performances on “Idol,” it doesn’t quite work…
“Right To My Head” is another rocker, but it works much better, thanks to its catchy lyrics and more poppy sound…
“Favorite T-Shirt” is as catchy of a song as you can get. Constantine even finds a catchy way to curse…
“Sister, Sister” is a melancholy ballad, but it gives him a great opportunity to show off his drama queen side. And I’m a drama queen too, so it works for me…
“Fading Into You” is another ballad and probably the strongest song on the CD. This shouldn’t be a surprise since the song was co-written by Jess Cates and Lindy Robbins who wrote the Backstreet Boys’ “Incomplete” (Cates also co-wrote Taylor Hicks’ “Just to Feel That Way.”). I could hear this one on “Grey’s Anatomy”…
“I Thought It Was Something” is another catchy song that reminds me of Jet’s “Are You Gonna Be My Girl”…
“So Long” is another of the voice shows that reminds me of half the songs on Kelly Clarkson’s “My December.” Maybe they should team up…
“Heaven Help the Lonely” has a good pop sound but it suffers from some cheesy lyrics…
“Midnight Radio” from “Hedwig and the Angry Inch” closes out the CD, giving Constantine a major drama queen opportunity that he takes full advantage of…
There’s no doubt that a major record label would’ve helped here, since they probably would’ve given the CD a much cleaner sound. And maybe a more established producer (NOT Clive Davis) could’ve steered him toward some more consistent song choices. But for an independent CD, Constantine hasn’t done too badly for himself with this one…
The bottom line is that if you’ve never been a fan of Constantine, this CD isn’t going to make you one. But if you’re a fan who’s been waiting two years to finally hear something from him, you will definitely want to pick this one up.
You can hear it for yourself at http://music.aol.com/songs/new_releases_full_cds...
