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"Idol" champ Taylor Hicks playing it safe
05/08/2007 1:46 AM, Reuters
Darryl Morden
This was not the sound
of young America.
Last year's "American Idol" winner, Taylor Hicks, drew an
older crowd about 10 to 15 years his senior Friday night,
filling only two-thirds of the Sunset Strip House of Blues.
While the likable 30-year-old Southern singer gave it his all,
Mr. "Soul Patrol" was just too safe.
Hicks certainly was an Energizer bunny onstage; all he
needed was a drum to bang, though he did hit a cowbell, strum
acoustic guitar and play a little electric, too. With his
premature graying hair and regular-guy spastic dance moves, he
came off like a schoolteacher -- albeit a talented one --
fronting a hammy bar band.
His voice summoned a bit of grit at times, but heavy-handed
arrangements and a lack of genuine identity just made it all
sound like Vegas lounge/cruise ship entertainment.
Part of the problem is that the material from his
major-label debut, "Taylor Hicks" (Jive), is way too
calculated, pushing for some kind of airplay, watering down the
soul influences he professes to love so much. His latest
single, "Just to Feel That Way," sounded less rooted in
hard-earned '60s grooves than pop of the late '70s and early
'80s with tepid funk window dressing.
A detour into Pink Floyd's "Another Brick in the Wall"
during "Hell of a Day" was confounding, a non sequitur thought
other than to push the audience's memory button. And later, a
funked-up excursion into Chuck Berry's "Brown-Eyed Handsome
Man" also made little sense.
As a writer of such songs first recorded independently as
"Heart and Soul" and "The Deal," Hicks understands style but
has yet to master probing substance. Funky beats and cliche
popping bass are just surface tricks.
Among the covers in the set, a chunky version of Traffic's
"Medicated Goo" hit the mark, but a run-through of Les McCann &
Eddie Harris' "Compared to What" was messy. Hicks'
interpretation of Marvin Gaye's "Wherever I Lay My Hat" also
fell prey to busy clutter, lacking variation in tone or texture
from the more boisterous numbers.
Hicks could still have a solid career ahead of him, but he
needs to take charge -- not unlike the way Kelly Clarkson
finally did. Other artists before him have mined rock, soul and
blues with more gusto and far better material; Southside Johnny
and Delbert McClinton come to mind. And with the commanding way
such singers as Amy Winehouse and Joss Stone draw on R&B past
while incorporating contemporary elements, Hicks just comes off
as soul lite, less fulfilling than the real thing.
Reuters/Hollywood Reporter
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