"Better than I anticipated"

Reviewed Item: For Your Entertainment (Album) by Adam Lambert
Reviewer: J Carooll

Lambert seems to be throwback to the "bigger than life" rock popularized by Bowie and Freddie Mercury and he pulls off this sound with sophistication and aplomb. Showing a very good range, Lambert hits both the rockers and ballads with a nice balance of hubris and control. The first three cuts hit hard, with up tempo beats and a surprisingly plaintive vocal on "Whattaya Want From Me" gives the listener a good indication of what Lambert can do. "Strut" then takes things into more stylized mode and Lambert shows a bit of the over the top quality so necessary to pull off this style of song. Throughout the CD he surprises with a variety of styles and contributors like Rivers Cuomo and Pink keep things interesting. He still needs to find his own true voice, many things owe a bit too much to those who came before, ("Soaked" definitely seems to channel Mercury a bit too closely and a few others smack of pastiche rather than homage.) but overall this is an impressive debut.