Written by TJ McGlinchey
Actor, former American Idol finalist, and New Jersey native, Constantine Maroulis, has released his third album Until I’m Wanted. This is his latest since 2007’s Constantine but Maroulis has also released many other singles and contributed to collections including Killer Queen: A Tribute to Queen. His latest work is, at points, standard rock and at others, more thoughtful and reflective. Luckily, the production value really shines through on these tracks which, though some of the lyrical content may seem quaint, makes for a great album of rock and roll to play at a party or in bars. Let’s go track by track, shall we?
The first track, “Here I Come,” employs standard rock moves utilizing heavy guitar and drum sounds and reminds me of a bit of Def Leppard. Track two, “Try,” is a slow, 80’s sounding tune (with a nice piano line) that reminds me of Cinderella or Bryan Adams. Track three, “Blown Away,” is underwhelming (or just barely whelming) with lyrics like “Is this love or war?” and also reminds me of Cinderella.
Track four, “For Once In Your Life,” is a course correction that employs a production sound like Tom Petty’s “Don’t Come Around Here No More” combined with the band, Boston. The title track “Until I’m Wanted,” number five, is disappointingly standard white-guy-funk.
Track six, “All About You,” is the saving grace of this entire effort as it contains some actually good songwriting, a beautiful ballad that is set in the city of Boston and Cape Cod. “She’s Just Rock N’Roll,” track seven, is exactly what you think it should be; rock-and-fucking-roll. These two tracks should have been the title and single. Track eight is an acoustic version of track six. I must say I prefer the acoustic arrangement with its soft piano accompaniment.
In all, a so-so effort from this singer who doubles as an actor. This guy can rock when he wants to and can sing a nice ballad. My advice? Stick to the Cinderella formula…
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