Ann Powers on Adam Lambert’s debut album ‘For Your Entertainment’

Pop music and resident Adam Lambert devotee Ann Powers gets her first taste of his debut album, "For Your Entertainment."

But does she like the goods? Some thoughts:

"For Your Entertainment" is a polished affair, but
stylistically, it shows Lambert running loose like a kid in a Comme des Garçons
store. With the Hollywood pop A-list at his disposal, he chose to go for it all:
The only names missing from his list of collaborators are those firmly in the
R&B camp (wouldn't it be great if he worked with fellow drama club type
Ne-Yo?) The results on "FYE" are inevitably mixed but never a bummer; Lambert's
deft enough to avoid getting stuck in any one of the tropes he
explores.

On many tracks, Lambert stretches himself by putting on the
style of his more seasoned collaborators. He's pleading and soulful on the Pink
co-write, sneering on the song Rivers Cuomo tossed his way, moody when it comes
to parsing Muse and appropriately silly on the neo-glam crusher penned for him
by Justin Hawkins, formerly of the English band the Darkness. Versatility is
Lambert's strategy here, one he might consider changing in the future — when
the material's second-rate, it sinks him a bit. 

Read the full review here.

– Denise Martin

Photo credit: Jay L. Clendenin/Los Angeles Times

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