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Despite scoring writing credits on an impressive nine of these 13 tracks, Allen gets himself stylistically lost somewhere between Fly White Guy Avenue ('Can't Stay Away') and Bleeding Heart Boulevard ('The Truth'), while rarely visiting original territory.
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It’s a polite mix of soft rock with hints of boundary jumping that, unfortunately, never truly come. There’s really nothing wrong with the set; it’s sweetly executed and produced.
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Unhip it may be by design, but at least Kris Allen delivers the goods: it’s tuneful and likeable, melodic enough to merit a close listen.
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It’s a seamless continuation of his “Idol” run, full of gentle songs that he only rarely tries to rough up. The flattening of the recording process suits him well.
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Sure, there are a handful of half-decent cuts included here, but even they have limited lasting value. Meanwhile, the filler (arguably half the LP) is mind-numbingly boring.
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The surprising and effective acoustic arrangement of West's song demonstrated that Allen has some genuine interpretive skill, but the studio version here layers on a heavy-handed drum machine that sounds like Phil Collins's "In the Air Tonight" and pulls focus from Allen's performance. It's just one of the miscalculations that makes Kris Allen yet another lackluster, characterless Idol debut.
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The likability that helped Allen win last season is so carefully low-key here that it's nearly lost.
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Most of the material, though, tends toward a flavorless pop-rock sound that doesn't even do much to flatter Allen's appealingly rumpled vocals.
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 33 out of 55
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Mixed: 5 out of 55
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Negative: 17 out of 55
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JKDec 7, 2009
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lyamaniNov 30, 2009
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JamesD.Nov 23, 2009