IdolHeadEd.com - Katharine McPhee’s second effort should have been her first

IdolHeadEd writes
I have been anxiously waiting for Kat’s new CD and I was not disappointed. I don’t think you will be either. I know Kat fans won’t.

Radio stations around the US have never wanted to play “Idol” songs on air. It is almost as if they were forced to. Even having to play Kelly, Carrie, and Daughtry have had look down your nose syndrome from radio stations. But like it or not these three artists are here for the long, long run and the fact that Grammy’s, AMA’s and the like have been showered on them have given more street cred. They never have worried that Stevie Wonder, Usher, and Miranda Lambert did the TV talent show circuit along with many more. I think it just galls them that “they” the radio gurus were shut out of the discovery process. And even with the success of the aforementioned Idols, it is still very, very difficult to get respect coming off Idol. Even the talented likes of David Cook, Jordin Sparks, and Kris Allen have had and still have a difficult time getting airplay and respect from the industry so great non winners of Idol face and almost impossible journey ahead.

Out of the over 250 contestants to get TV time and the 95 to hit the big stage, only one who hasn’t won has been a success and that is season 5, 4^th place finisher Chris Daughtry. And of all the winners only these three could be considered big hits. So why do I bring this up. It should be obvious. There have been very few really great CDs to come out of Idol contestants if I’m being totally honest. Here’s my short list; Carrie’s “Some Hearts”, Kelly’s “Breakaway”, Chris’s “Daughtry”, Kristy Lee Cook’s “Why Wait”, Allison Iraheta’s “Just Like You”, and Tamyra Grey’s “The Dreamer”, and now Kat's "Unbroken". Three on that list have been almost wholly ignored by not only radio but the public as well. We don't know what "Unbroken" has in store yet. I kind of understand why maybe Kristy got the shaft. I think it is possible she made her own bed in Nashville earlier and didn’t make it well. She was also the most disliked contestant of her season hands down. In other words she may have earned that shaft all by her lonesome. Tamyra and Allison’s dismal success so far is baffling to me. If I had to pick which CD I like best from Kelly’s “Thankful” and Tamyra’s “Dreamer" it would be the former. As far this past season it is not even close whose CD was the best. Not even close. Allison’s “Just Like You” could very well sit behind, and close behind Carrie’s “Some Hearts” as the best debut CD of any Idol……ever yet it is withering on the shelves.

I bring up all these former Idols to set up review and predictions for Kat’s newest CD “Unbroken” because this brief history could help predict the future and bring some perspective. I bought “Unbroken” off iTunes. In fact I bought it as it was available. Four tracks were available for download before the CD was. I have already reviewed three of those tunes Here. “Lifetime”, “Had It All”, and “Say Goodbye”. A’s all around. More A’s to come too. There was one more tune “How” that was released that came out after my other review so it will be included here.

Interestingly enough Katharine co-wrote six if the tunes on her CD. These will be noted with an *. While they aren’t for the most part Kelly or Daughtryesqe, they are very good. There are three tracks available “Takes a Lot of Love” and the Joni Mitchell cover “Help Me” only on the Target iTunes version along with the previously free “I’ll Be Home For Christmas” I will also review. Here how I hear it.

“It’s Not Right”
A great tune to start this CD. A big sweeping song. A lot of background music but Kat never gets lost and it lets her go from one end of her range to another. One of my four faves on this CD. This could be a hit on AC. Grade A+

“Keep Drivin’” *
The first of her co-writes on this CD. This song allows Kat to be the absolute focus. From the first note you know who it is. Another gorgeous melody. Beautiful piece. Not too rangy but does show a lot of the colors in Kat’s beautiful voice. Another one of my faves. Grade A

“Last Letter” *
Starting off acoustic with a Bluesy/Jazz feel and never really strays far from that. Again Kat’s vocals are the focal star. Another good melody. This might be a possible top 40 tune. But as I mentioned earlier she’d need some naked pictures of someone to get her stuff on the radio. I think this will be a popular song with the teen set. Grade A-

“Surrender” *
This one while having a gospel tinge in the intro, it has the feel of “Say Goodbye”. Kat shines again. The velvetiness of her vocals come out here. Methodically paced it has some simple breaks that grab our attention. Beautiful again. Grade A-

“Terrified”
This “duet” starts out very acoustic and you barely here the background music alongside Kat’s voice. I say duet lightly here. The guy singing with her is merely back up. This could be the best song on the CD and would be a big top 40, AC hit if given the chance. It will be a favorite of teen girls as well as the mid 20’s set. It’s about being scared of falling in love as it happens. This is a top notch piece of music and should be given that chance. Remarkable! It’s a very flowing and extremely melodic song that is the essence of the Katharine McPhee I and her fans grew to love on Idol. Grade A++

“How”
This was the one single I didn’t get to review when it was released. This heartbreak song asks the question how do you recover from heartbreak. Teen girl theme I think. A mid tempo song that never really grabs me. The refrain is quite memorable though. Unfortunately it is the best part of the tune. Not a bad tune but not up to the rest of the CD. Grade B-

“Faultline”
A lot of guitar on this CD and this song opens up with a very simple guitar pluck and then Kat’s with a whispering vocal. Another about to fall in love song. Slow and deliberately paced. This would be a good song to see sung live. Grade B+

“Anybody’s Heart” *
Guitars abound on this CD and I really like it. This starts out like a lullaby. Another deliberately paced and flowing piece. With the addition of violins and Kat harmonizing with herself make this one very different from any other on the album. Absolutely beautiful song. Grade A

“Unbroken” *
Kat co-wrote this title track. Very flowing good showcase for Kat’s lower register. You can feel Kat’s emotion very strongly on this one. Kind of has a Christmas feel. I don’t know why. Grade B

“Brand New Key”
This cover of Melanie’s song from 1971 is so perfect for Katharine. It has the feel of “Lifetime”. In fact when I heard “Lifetime” the first time it gave me the feel of “Brand New Key”. This was a big hit on the radio when I was in high school so I am very familiar with it. And that was when you needed a key for your roller skates. Ancient history I know. Without question this is by far my favorite arrangement and version of this song. I have no doubt if this is released on the radio it will be big. A lot of artists recently have had great success with 70’s covers. This would be no exception. Great, great job. Grade A++

Overall CD Grade A

There are 4 songs on this CD that should be released to radio and Played. “It’s Not Right”, “Lifetime”,”Terrified”, and Brand New Key”. This CD will be 100% loved by Katharine’s fans and should gain her new ones and will if any of the aforementioned tunes hits the airwaves. This is the CD she should have put out first. When Kat appears on Idol this season, she should sing one of these songs. This will sell a bunch of CDs guaranteed.

Katharine will likely never be the likes of Britney et al, but should wholly shine as the female counterpart to Josh Groban. Her acting career gets fully underway soon with “You may not kiss the bride”. This CD should get her singing career fully underway as well.

If you should go looking to buy the hard copy beware. Best Buy is only carrying 2 copies per store. This I don’t understand. Target and Wal-Mart are being a bit more Kat friendly. And if you buy the Target CD as I mentioned earlier, you will get 3 more tracks; an awesome cover of Joni Mitchell’s “Help Me”, “Takes a lot of Love”, and "I'll Be Home For Christmas".

It will be an uphill battle for Kat to make it mainstream because of the prejudice already established. It will take fans of hers to demand he music to have a chance of radio play. David Foster has some serious swing but it’s you the fans who have the real pull.

Is it Season 9 yet?

Idolhead Ed