Music: Kris Allen's Thank You Camellia (deluxe)
Whether you've previously checked out Kris before or not - RCA is officially hosting a free streaming of his album (which is on sale tomorrow). It's here. It's absolutely free and the longest song is only 4 minutes and 22 seconds long, so it won't take much time out of your day to give it a listen. My favorite songs are "Monster", "Better With You", "Blindfolded", and "You Got A Way" (and "Turn the Pages" but it's on the deluxe album, so it's not on that list).
On Adam's CD, I talked about it being a journey. Kris's CD isn't a journey but is, instead, a themed collection - all the songs on the standard album are about love, of one kind or another, and he explores both positive and negative aspects of love.
1. "Better With You"
This song is about how the simple enjoyment of the person that you love makes the world a better place. It's joyful and sweet. No angst in this song, just happiness. It's upbeat and I love the sound of footsteps that open up the song (and the record). This is love at its best. Lovely.
2. "The Vision of Love"
This is about reaching out beyond yourself and your immediate loved ones; love expanded outward. Kris daring people to take a stand and care about other people; to notice when someone else is hurting and to do something about it. It's his current single - the official music video for it is here: http://bcove.me/99y4e588
3. "My Weakness"
With this song, we return to romantic love, where we'll stay for the rest of the album. This song has a very toe-tapping beat and some fun whistling. This song, I think, can be summed up by a Pacey Witter quote: "You don’t think this whole situation makes me feel awful? Tonight, when I kissed you, I never felt happier and worse all at the same time.... ...It destroys me to have these feelings. But I do."
That's this song - it's about love, but a love that makes you feel weak and vulnerable. There's a feeling that Kris feels like he shouldn't love as much as he does - he stops before dialing the phone, stops before writing a love song. And all he wants is for the person he loves to tell him that they feel the same way. Pacey Witter, especially in S3, just saying. And I love me some Pacey Witter.
4. "Out Alive"
Continuing on the theme of getting angstier, here, Kris says that they might each be better off without each other. This is about two people getting through a hard time and they aren't sure if they will make it, but they're going to try and, with the help of love, he hopes that they'll make it through to the other side. This is a song that starts more quietly and builds as it goes along. Love the line "You've got the best of me and you'll be the death of me", especially how Kris sings it.
5. "Monster"
Darker yet, this song is Kris warning off the person he loves. He's got secrets, he feels like he's tricked the other person into loving him and if they knew the truth, they'd understand that he's not a safe person to love. There's a great contrasting bell tone going on throughout the song. "When I break your heart some day, girl, you need to be prepared". One of my favorites; it's great.
6. "Blindfolded"
"Blindfolded" takes us back up again. This song is an expression of knowledge and of awareness in another person. "I'll find you," Kris sings, no matter what might happen - if he's blindfolded, if he loses his memory, no matter what, he can reach out and he would know. One of the lines he says here - "the way you pull me into you", he echoes in a later song; it seems to be a phrase that has a lot of resonance for him. Kris must feel very strongly about this song - after he wrote it, possibly after it was too late to submit it for his first album, another artist (Heinz Winckler) recorded a version of it but that didn't stop Kris from taking it back and doing it his way. Here, Kris has really kicked up the production and his phrasing is second to none.
7. "Teach Me How Love Goes"
This song is interesting because it takes us into confusion. Here, Kris doesn't know how to love the people he wants loves. He needs advice, because what he's feeling doesn't seem to be what he should be feeling. "I don't want to believe that love is just a dream and now we're waking up," he pleads here. This song is slower, more of a ballad. This is Kris searching for answers, feeling lost. It's particularly interesting coming after "Blindfolded", where Kris is so certain of his awareness of the person he loves. In this song, there's an edge of despair, like Kris isn't sure he'll ever figure things out.
8. "Rooftops"
Pure expression of the infatuation stage of love - where Kris wants to yell out his love, where everything is beautiful and wonderful. Coming after TMHLG is an intriguing placement, because "Rooftops" is basically what Kris is trying to figure out how to feel in TMHLG. Here, he's found the answer, his "one and only", and he knows exactly what he wants to do - "scream it from the rooftops all over the world now". Very boppy and fun song.
9. "Leave You Alone"
You can't have an album about love and relationships without having a couple of songs about fights. Here, Kris knows that he's mostly likely in the wrong, but he's not up to admitting it and all they're doing is fighting, so he volunteers to leave for the night so that they can patch things up in the morning. The first time Kris sang this song live, it was a very angry and aggressive version. The next time, it was much gentler and kinder. That's the version that's on the album - the kind where Kris is reluctant and he doesn't really want to leave, but he just can't see any other option. This song also sees Kris admitting to a fault - he's stubborn and sometimes, even when he knows he's wrong, he's not willing to admit it right away.
I really love the production on this song, too. The high tones work really well. The regret is palpable. "I can't stand to fight, so I'll leave you alone tonight".
10. "Loves Me Not" ft. Meiko
This cutting but bright duet is one of those great songs that sounds cheerful just when listening to the music, but then when you pay attention to the lyrics, it turns much more complex and sharp. This is about a hot-cold relationship where both parties suspect the other person of not genuinely loving them. He accuses her of only loving him when there's something else in it for her; she accuses him of stringing her along and only pretending that he loves her. I've seen reviewers compare it to Gotye's "Somebody That I Used To Know" and I think there's a lot of merit to that comparison. The song tugs back and forth between arguing that "s(he) loves me"/"s(he) loves me not" and ultimately ends up settling on "not".
11. "You Got A Way"
The standard album ends on a very sweet love song, with its own dose of inherent angst - he's got to leave, but he doesn't want to, and he's so tempted to stay with the person he loves and just go back to bed. This song carries a similar emotional vibe to the more upbeat of the earlier love songs - a certain weakness when it comes to the person he loves, that pull that he can't deny, the way that smile gets to him. Very lovely.
The deluxe bonus songs:
12. "Turn the Pages"
I wish that this song were on the standard album! I adore it. This song is basically Kris going, 'you saved me; let me save you now'. He knows that the other person has regrets and doubts and Kris asks for a chance to prove himself. "Let me be the hero in the one that never ends". Really love everything about this song.
13. "Fighters"
This song is an encouragement to someone who is feeling down and lost. "We are strong; we're survivors". An early demo of this song leaked a few months ago and the production on that was not great (well, demo! To be expected), but I really love what they did with the final version
I really love the entire album as a whole. I think it's fun and strong and poppy with a nice edge of other styles mixed in.
http://butterfly.dreamwidth.org/1367185.html |
comments | Comment at Dreamwidth
On Adam's CD, I talked about it being a journey. Kris's CD isn't a journey but is, instead, a themed collection - all the songs on the standard album are about love, of one kind or another, and he explores both positive and negative aspects of love.
1. "Better With You"
This song is about how the simple enjoyment of the person that you love makes the world a better place. It's joyful and sweet. No angst in this song, just happiness. It's upbeat and I love the sound of footsteps that open up the song (and the record). This is love at its best. Lovely.
2. "The Vision of Love"
This is about reaching out beyond yourself and your immediate loved ones; love expanded outward. Kris daring people to take a stand and care about other people; to notice when someone else is hurting and to do something about it. It's his current single - the official music video for it is here: http://bcove.me/99y4e588
3. "My Weakness"
With this song, we return to romantic love, where we'll stay for the rest of the album. This song has a very toe-tapping beat and some fun whistling. This song, I think, can be summed up by a Pacey Witter quote: "You don’t think this whole situation makes me feel awful? Tonight, when I kissed you, I never felt happier and worse all at the same time.... ...It destroys me to have these feelings. But I do."
That's this song - it's about love, but a love that makes you feel weak and vulnerable. There's a feeling that Kris feels like he shouldn't love as much as he does - he stops before dialing the phone, stops before writing a love song. And all he wants is for the person he loves to tell him that they feel the same way. Pacey Witter, especially in S3, just saying. And I love me some Pacey Witter.
4. "Out Alive"
Continuing on the theme of getting angstier, here, Kris says that they might each be better off without each other. This is about two people getting through a hard time and they aren't sure if they will make it, but they're going to try and, with the help of love, he hopes that they'll make it through to the other side. This is a song that starts more quietly and builds as it goes along. Love the line "You've got the best of me and you'll be the death of me", especially how Kris sings it.
5. "Monster"
Darker yet, this song is Kris warning off the person he loves. He's got secrets, he feels like he's tricked the other person into loving him and if they knew the truth, they'd understand that he's not a safe person to love. There's a great contrasting bell tone going on throughout the song. "When I break your heart some day, girl, you need to be prepared". One of my favorites; it's great.
6. "Blindfolded"
"Blindfolded" takes us back up again. This song is an expression of knowledge and of awareness in another person. "I'll find you," Kris sings, no matter what might happen - if he's blindfolded, if he loses his memory, no matter what, he can reach out and he would know. One of the lines he says here - "the way you pull me into you", he echoes in a later song; it seems to be a phrase that has a lot of resonance for him. Kris must feel very strongly about this song - after he wrote it, possibly after it was too late to submit it for his first album, another artist (Heinz Winckler) recorded a version of it but that didn't stop Kris from taking it back and doing it his way. Here, Kris has really kicked up the production and his phrasing is second to none.
7. "Teach Me How Love Goes"
This song is interesting because it takes us into confusion. Here, Kris doesn't know how to love the people he wants loves. He needs advice, because what he's feeling doesn't seem to be what he should be feeling. "I don't want to believe that love is just a dream and now we're waking up," he pleads here. This song is slower, more of a ballad. This is Kris searching for answers, feeling lost. It's particularly interesting coming after "Blindfolded", where Kris is so certain of his awareness of the person he loves. In this song, there's an edge of despair, like Kris isn't sure he'll ever figure things out.
8. "Rooftops"
Pure expression of the infatuation stage of love - where Kris wants to yell out his love, where everything is beautiful and wonderful. Coming after TMHLG is an intriguing placement, because "Rooftops" is basically what Kris is trying to figure out how to feel in TMHLG. Here, he's found the answer, his "one and only", and he knows exactly what he wants to do - "scream it from the rooftops all over the world now". Very boppy and fun song.
9. "Leave You Alone"
You can't have an album about love and relationships without having a couple of songs about fights. Here, Kris knows that he's mostly likely in the wrong, but he's not up to admitting it and all they're doing is fighting, so he volunteers to leave for the night so that they can patch things up in the morning. The first time Kris sang this song live, it was a very angry and aggressive version. The next time, it was much gentler and kinder. That's the version that's on the album - the kind where Kris is reluctant and he doesn't really want to leave, but he just can't see any other option. This song also sees Kris admitting to a fault - he's stubborn and sometimes, even when he knows he's wrong, he's not willing to admit it right away.
I really love the production on this song, too. The high tones work really well. The regret is palpable. "I can't stand to fight, so I'll leave you alone tonight".
10. "Loves Me Not" ft. Meiko
This cutting but bright duet is one of those great songs that sounds cheerful just when listening to the music, but then when you pay attention to the lyrics, it turns much more complex and sharp. This is about a hot-cold relationship where both parties suspect the other person of not genuinely loving them. He accuses her of only loving him when there's something else in it for her; she accuses him of stringing her along and only pretending that he loves her. I've seen reviewers compare it to Gotye's "Somebody That I Used To Know" and I think there's a lot of merit to that comparison. The song tugs back and forth between arguing that "s(he) loves me"/"s(he) loves me not" and ultimately ends up settling on "not".
11. "You Got A Way"
The standard album ends on a very sweet love song, with its own dose of inherent angst - he's got to leave, but he doesn't want to, and he's so tempted to stay with the person he loves and just go back to bed. This song carries a similar emotional vibe to the more upbeat of the earlier love songs - a certain weakness when it comes to the person he loves, that pull that he can't deny, the way that smile gets to him. Very lovely.
The deluxe bonus songs:
12. "Turn the Pages"
I wish that this song were on the standard album! I adore it. This song is basically Kris going, 'you saved me; let me save you now'. He knows that the other person has regrets and doubts and Kris asks for a chance to prove himself. "Let me be the hero in the one that never ends". Really love everything about this song.
13. "Fighters"
This song is an encouragement to someone who is feeling down and lost. "We are strong; we're survivors". An early demo of this song leaked a few months ago and the production on that was not great (well, demo! To be expected), but I really love what they did with the final version
I really love the entire album as a whole. I think it's fun and strong and poppy with a nice edge of other styles mixed in.
http://butterfly.dreamwidth.org/1367185.html |
comments | Comment at Dreamwidth