Arts & Entertainment

American Idol finally delivers album

By Nathan Nix
The Daily Cougar

The contrast between todayis music industry and the industry of yesteryear is rarely as apparent as the contrast between two of this weekis releases makes it. Pop-culture creation Kelly Clarksonis debut, Thankful, Say You Will, legendary soft-rock supergroup Fleetwood Macis first studio album with members Lindsay Buckingham and Stevie Nicks since 1987 are wildly different.

Mauro Alvarez/Daily Cougar

After garnering worldwide fame as the first winner of the Fox TV show American Idol, Kelly Clarkson topped the charts with her first single and only release until now, "A Moment Like This." Fans should expect her to continue her pop success on the legitimate strength of her beautiful voice and the controversial strength of the media machine that brought her to the worldis stage.

Say You Will reunites the Fleetwood Mac lineup behind the multi-platinum album Rumors. After mildly successful solo careers, guitarist Lindsay Buckingham and singer-songwriter Stevie Nicks return to lead the band into familiar territory, which includes classic hits like "Landslide," perhaps the most covered song of all time.

Colombia Records has a proven track record when it comes to signing and developing quality artists, specifically solo artists. With a rich history that includes Miles Davis, Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, David Bowie and Jeff Buckley, the label has a knack for taking potentially great singer-songwriters and helping them transform into legends.

Releasing his second album, Day I Forgot, today, Pete Yorn is the next project on Columbia's plate. Continuing down the roots-rock path paved by Bruce Springsteen, Yorn is carving out his own fan base while managing to respectfully wear his influences on his sleeve. 

Yornis first CD, Musicforthemorningafter received massive critical acclaim and put Yorn in the unfortunate position of having to create a follow-up.

Early reviews are mixed on his success, but they all reveal that he has continued with the sound of his first album by playing most of the instruments himself.

Rounding out this weekis releases is the debut album A Beautiful World from Thicke, otherwise known as Robin Thicke, the son of Growing Pains star Alan Thicke. Combining neo-soul with jazz and rock fluidity, the album continues the tradition of whites using forms from a genre traditionally dominated by black artists.
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