Lee Dewyze - Live It Up
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CD Details
Artist: Lee DewyzeBrand: Fox
Edition: Music CD
Audio: English (Unknown)
CD Release Date: 2010-11-16
Model: 886977460920
Music Label: RCA
Soundtracks:
- Live It Up
- Sweet Serendipity
- It s Gotta Be Love
- Dear Isabelle
- Beautiful Like You
- Stay Here
- Me And My Jealousy
- Brooklyn Bridge
- Weightless
- Earth Stood Still
- A Song About Love
Music reviews of Live It Up
Music Review: A Dull Major Label Debut From and American Idol Winner with Such Promise
Rating: 2 Stars
Lee DeWyze has the distinct honor of being an American Idol winner. Unfortunately along with the accolades of being the victor, comes the spoils of being one of the least distinct winners of all time alongside the general opinion that American Idols ninth season was its weakest. None of these things work in Lee's favor on his major label debut effort, Live It Up which is perhaps the weakest debut effort by an American Idol winner. Sure, many will be quick to say that Ruben Studdard's Soulful was `too urban' while Taylor Hick's retro-/blue-eyed soul effort Taylor Hicks had no commercial appeal, but both of those efforts exude more personality and relevance than DeWyze's middle-of-the-road effort. It is no doubt that Crystal Bowersox fans will run rampant with the "I told you so's" considering the underwhelming vibe given off by 'Live It Up.' To DeWyze's credit, there are a few shining moments, but with such a brief length as 38 minutes, the producers and DeWyze's co-songwriters needed to deliver a better punch than the mild one thrown by this effort.
"Live It Up," the title cut is the first bad sign of the direction of this album. With solid production, DeWyze breezes his way (literally) through the verses with an odd and somewhat uncharacteristic vocal timbre. Fans will be able to pick out his soulful edge, but the husky-voiced singer sounds the slightest bit below the bar he set for himself in his most effective vocals on AI. On the refrain, DeWyze tries to make up for the verse with added soulful grit, but the refrain ends so abruptly segueing into the second verse that the cut feels rushed and merely mediocrely put together. The bridge is the best moment, but the judgement has set in by this time that on "Live It Up" DeWyze/team of producers give `too much' and `not enough' at the same time.
"Sweet Serendipity," a somewhat hyped about number prior to the release of 'Live It Up' finds DeWyze sounding better and more assured here. Unfortunately, Lee's negligence vocally and as a co-songwriter lies with the over-wordiness of the chorus and the ill-fitting pop gimmickry incorporated here. There are elements of folk, rock and pop, but the mix doesn't quite work and certainly does not scream `hit.' "It's Gotta Be Love" redirects the clumsy start of this effort - if only to an extent. Here, the excessive wordiness has been whittled down, though by no means could this `salvaged' moment from Live It Up be considered `valedictory.' By this point, DeWyze comes over as a `middle of the road' artists that has come and gone time and again.
"Dear Isabelle" is the rare shining moment - though it is later eclipsed by a better moment via "Brooklyn Bridge." "Dear Isabelle" works well enough, with acoustic guitars setting the tone of the cut at the beginning. The hitch? This feels so much like John Mayer's "Who Says" or The Plain White T's "Hey There Delilah" it cancels itself out. That's not to even mention that at given moments, DeWyze's vocals become monotone, losing their character and nuance. "Beautiful Like You" features a strong hook, but certainly does NOT `reinvent the wheel.' "Stay Here," resembles stronger cut "Hey Soul Sister" by Train with its opening "hey, hey(s)," which sound like near carbon copies. The main quibble might be the track quickly grows annoying and despite its honest attempts to `light the fire,' it barely ignites the spark.
"Me and My Jealousy" is typical. Here, David Cook is present (not literally), only David Cook could have done this better. This cites an important problem with Lee that he had on Idol as well - lack of personality. The anthemic refrain is so abrupt following the tame verses of this track that "Me and My Jealousy" just feels too contrived and predictable. "Brooklyn Bridge" salvages this album, being the only truly memorable performance. The production work is exceptional and Lee's soulful side easily permeates here as opposed to being restrained like on some cuts. The songwriting is perfect and after hearing this fine, if somewhat melodramatic performance, I ask myself - why not more cuts like this? If "Hallelujah" (and a track like "Brooklyn Bridge") truly highlight DeWyze's voice, why not record an album in that vein?
"Weightless" is ok, but again, he assimilates his sound to a mix between Jack Johnson and Jason Mraz and the results are a rewrite of "I'm Yours" with more instrumentation. "Earth Stood Still" is much better, featuring nice production work with a strong groove. The chorus is well penned and DeWyze has some genuinely fine vocal moments here. "A Song About Love" should have been left off as it is again `safe' and `tried-and-true,' though that would have made this already brief album an EP.
Essentially, I give the `thumbs down' to DeWyze's debut. He may not have been the most exciting winner of Idol, but he was certainly more vital and relevant on the show than he presents on his debut, which is unfortunate. I hope that album number two finds a more cohesive idea and concept as Live It Up is `living all-over-the-place.'
Description of Live It Up
2010 debut album from the American Idol Season 9 winner. The new music showcases Lee as an individual artist and longtime songwriter who has come a long way since his audition for American Idol in Chicago. DeWyze is a self-taught musician who has been singing and playing the guitar since his early teenage years. In the short time since he won American Idol, Lee continues to impress his fans with his growth and maturity as an artistPop CDs
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