Customer Reviews

American Idol- Season 9

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Even though this season of American Idol has been somewhat of a disappointment for me, this record does hint at possibilities for better things to come for several of these young singers, with "singers" being the key word here.

I think I've gotten a little spoiled in recent years with so many near-professionals gracing the Idol stage. Many past contestants already had developed a definite musical identity and possessed a natural ability to take any song and make it sound current and exciting. In general, this year's group may need a bit more guidance and direction to be all they can be. But there are voices here with desirable tonal characteristics, and with the right producers, a lot of hard work and a little bit of time, some are sure to develop into artists rather than just singers.

The tracks on this CD supposedly re-create each contestant's shining moment. While I won't attempt to judge whether or not these songs were the best picks, I do believe that several of these arrangements and/or performances aren't quite as good as the live performances were.

For example, this electronic dance-pop version of Andrew Garcia's "Forever" isn't nearly as effective as his acoustic rendition on the show. Lee DeWyze's "Treat Her Like A Lady" doesn't come close to duplicating the energy and passion delivered live. The simple acoustic guitar/cello arrangement for Casey James' "Jealous Guy" was all that was needed to back up his powerful Idol performance. This recording beefs things up with piano and more strings, which isn't necessarily all bad, but Casey's vocal here doesn't project as dynamically as it did then.

There are several tracks that I would put into the No Better, No Worse category. Tim Urban, Katie Stevens, and Crystal Bowersox equal what they did on stage with these recordings.

Fans of Aaron Kelly, Didi Benami and Michael Lynche should be pleased...these contestants have improved upon their live performances with these recorded versions of their songs. The arrangement for Siobhan Magnus' "Paint It Black" is interesting and somewhat similar (but more powerful) in comparison to her Idol performance, and this recording evens out her vocal inconsistencies.

I believe that when the individual albums from these performers come out, we'll be hearing some much-improved music. In the meantime, this still could be an entertaining album for many Idol fans despite being far from perfect.

Siobhan Magnus shows off her amazing vocal range and ability on Paint it Black. I wish they had more tracks of her recordings on this cd. Didi Benami's take on Play with Fire is just as thrilling as the live version. This style realling suits Didi. Katie Stevens' vocals were strong and inspiring on Let it Be.

I am glad that they included Casey James singing Jealous Guy. One of my favorite songs from this season. Also, Aaron Kelly did well on I don't want to miss a thing, but I wish they had included his version of Angie, instead.

Lee, Mike, Tim, and Crystal's songs were okay, too. They sounded much better in the recording studio than live (which is typical of recording artists).

So, I actually went with my Little Sister from Big Brothers Big Sisters to the American Idol concert via some tickets that came from a generous donor. I was really impressed and I'm twice the age of my LIttle Sister. I enjoyed the concert so much that I wanted to get the CD. I was a little disappointed that there were a few songs not on the CD but I love what's on it!

Purchased this CD only for the Crystal Bowersox song since it's the best one on the CD. For the price, it was an okay purchase. The CD itself didn't impress me much though.

I like Lee DeWyze and the others on this CD. Got a great deal on it at Amazon.com

I have listened to this CD often. It's great! The variety of artists is enjoyable.

I'm a fan of the show although I rarely vote. I enjoy the collection for the songs selected and to remember the various talents that entertain us each year. I wanted Adam Lambert's "Mad World" and this did not disappoint.

the overall tape is avg. with a few strong tracts by crystal, casey, and dee dee. sioban was outstanding on paint it black.

I had to buy this c.d. While watching season 9 of Idol on T.V. I was completely blown away by 3 performances that are on this disc. These young performers were let down big time by those involved in creating this c.d. The very life was sucked out of each and every performance. This disc never should have gone to the studio. It should have consisted of the very same LIVE performances that we viewed on T.V. This disc is dull, lifeless and simply has no energy whatsoever. It's not the singers either because I saw what they can do. I'll never play this c.d. again and it was a 100% waste of money. I had high hopes for Adam Lambert but was let down big time. His strength was hard rock/heavy metal. His vocals are custom made for the genres. His self penned metal song is fantastic but remains unreleased to my knowledge. His strength was that he could really wail like Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin but his c.d. has no hard rock or heavy metal songs. Again & again I see the strengths being taken away from these young singers. Looks like Crystal Bowersox is now a country singer ? Come on...I'm done buying American Idol performer C.D.'s unless they are live and in the genre of the perfomers' strengths.

American Idol just gets better and better. This is a great collection of Season 9 and worth having in your personal collection.