Fifth season American Idol winner Taylor Hicks suffered the usual Idol indignity: Win the show and rush release a mediocre major label album on BMG. A few years ago Hicks' eponymous set had one good song, a surprising and effective cover of songwriter Paul Pena's Gotta Move. (Pena's the late dude who write and recorded Jet Airliner a few years before the Steve Miller Band found it and had the hit).
Beyond that track, Taylor Hicks was a stiff and he ultimately was dropped.
On March 10, Hicks returns with a new album, The Distance, on an indie label and ... it's not bad.
The main problem with Hicks, of course, is getting beyond his image on Idol. His spastic performances, his look and his somewhat offputting persona post-show (not the warmest guy you'll ever meet) remains so entrenched in the mind, it unfortunately colors one's initial reaction when greeted with The Distance. Put his image out of mind -- hard, I know, I know -- and his new CD gets off to a decent start. The title song and What's Right Is Right sound like tracks that would have fit well on Doobie Brother Michael McDonald's first solo album in 1982 and are also much preferable to McDonald's current career of regurgitating tired old Motown songs.
Also gpod, the shuffling Seven Mile Breakdown, a track well worth slapping on your iPod. These keepers make up for the Achy Breaky Heart rip off, Keeping It Real (the verses are almost identical to the polarizing Billy Ray Cyrus single of 1992) and the sentimental Nineteen and its tale of war heros.
The album's ultimate debit is Hicks' weakness as a vocalist. He can sing, for sure, and in small doses actually exhibits soul and some chops (as on the aforementioned highlights). The problem is that Hicks tends to sing every song in the same tone so over the long haul his albums run into a samey pattern and feel long. Worse, he doesn't put the requisite attitude in tracks that call for it. For example, Wedding Day Blues, is Hicks' tale of stealing the bride, his ex, from the groom at the reception. The song begins with a James Taylor-like acoustic guitar intro and calls out for a snarky lead vocal -- the guy in the song is a cad, knows he is, but doesn't care -- yet Hicks sings it straightforward, the same way he delivers the somewhat sappy Nineteen, the Latin lilt of Once Upon a Lover and the frisky Seven Mile Breakdown. Hicks has a specific range he's good in but great artists can bring flair and a distinct persona to stylized tracks such as Wedding Day Blues and Hicks falls well short of greatness.
The Distance is an improvement over the major label record, it's not the worst Idol related CD at all, it's easily superior to the latest offerings of last season's one and two finishers David Cook and David Archuleta. In doses, it's engaging -- a word I never thought I'd use in a Taylor Hicks commentary -- but if you're looking for true soul patrol greatness, check out the latest CD from Season Six third placer Melinda Doolittle instead.
