Baptized is Daughtry's fourth album and, as a big (although not rabid) fan of the band, I purchased their first three albums when they came out between 2006 and 2011. Last April I made a mix of thirteen songs from those three albums, and I have listened to that mix many times. Of the mixes I've made during the last two calendar years, it is my favorite. (An aside: I offered to make copies for my three kids. Michael simply passed. Gina also passed and added the zinger that she thought it was weird that I liked Daughtry. Jill accepted my offer, probably just to avoid hurting my feelings. Last time I checked, she had yet to play it and probably does not know where it is.) I found Baptized to be roughly equivalent to each of the first three Daughtry albums, which is to say that there are two or three new songs which are mix-worthy and several others which are very good.
Chris Daughtry gained fame in 2006 by participating in the highly rated American Idol on Fox TV. He distinguished himself from his competition by being true to his hard rock style, regardless of what the theme of the evening called for. AI favors contestants who (i) have the chameleon-like ability to alter their style among several genres selected by the show's producers, and (ii) appeal to teens and young adults of the female persuasion, who are the most likely voters. Chris did not fill the bill in either respect, thereby finishing fourth. If he had capitulated, it's likely he would not have had the career success he's achieved to this point. Other than Carrie Underwood and possibly Kelly Clarkson, he has achieved more stardom as a singer than any other AI participant, win or lose.
I consider Daughtry to be kind of a poor man's Bon Jovi. Both bands are rooted in rock with excellent vocalists, and both bands have a deep catalogue of songs for which you crank up the volume when they come on your music player. Bon Jovi's songs tend to be longer and slightly more complex, with more varied structure and instrumentation. One thing I noticed about Daughtry's songs is that they never end with a vocal fade-out. That is neither a plus nor a minus, although it comes in handy for purposes of deciding how to adapt a song for live performances. (The most difficult aspect of rehearsing, and playing, a song live is having everyone in the band on the same page at the song's end.)
One of Daughtry's favorite musical themes is recounting things from the past. Four of the twelve songs in Baptized fall into that category, including Long Live Rock & Roll, the best song on the album. There have been a few other songs, such as John Mellencamp's R.O.C.K. In The USA and Rock And Roll Heaven by the Righteous Brothers, which salute some of the stars of yesteryear, but Daughtry's offering takes the concept several notches higher. Long Live Rock & Roll pays tribute to many artists directly, but it is the indirect references to them by inference which are most admirable and ingenious. For example, he uses the capitalized generic words like "Kiss" and "Journey" in the lyrics; he refers to "Kurt" and "she" without literally naming Cobain and Courtney Love; and he asks the listeners to "pour some sugar" on his memories, which of course is a discreet nod to Def Leppard. My favorite lines:
We still argue about who's better,
Motley Crew or GNR,
We still can't believe Van Halen
Turned into Van Hagar.
Other effective songs about looking back include Wild Heart (pleading with his girl friend to go back to her fun-loving former self), The World We Knew (pining for the days when it was simpler to be in love) and 18 Years (reminiscing with a childhood friend).
My second favorite song on Baptized is Witness,
a slow, steady gospel-flavored tune which showcases Chris Daughtry's
powerful evocative chops. The theme here is don't give up; you need to
put mind over matter.
Now you're letting your confusion take control
And leading you down a dark and lonely road
Even that won't last forever
Just look around and see you're not alone.
What would a rock album be without at least one "apology song"? Broken Arrows is a good one (as was Crawling Back to You off Daughtry's 2011 album, Break The Spell), comparing the singer's ineptitude coming up with the right words to shooting with broken arrows.
Seems like every little word I say
Keeps getting twisted,
Coming out wrong...
I'm trying to hit the mark
But I'm shooting with broken arrows.
Chris Daughtry, known more for his impassioned growl, displays an impressive falsetto in Broken Arrows. This august range also shows up on High Above The Ground, a pretty love song with a catchy hook.
Battleships is a cleverly written song which uses maritime references to describe the singer's disintegrating relationship with his woman.
The maps and lines are broken down tonight...
... we're changing like the tides.
and
Even when the waves get rough
I don't wanna see the day we say we've had enough.
Several years ago, when R.E.M. was
still in existence, I read an interview with Michael Stipe, the lead
singer and principal song writer of that band. He was asked why his
band's songs hardly ever included guitar breaks. Stipe replied that the
omission was intentional, because he would not know what to do with
himself on stage while the guitarist was strutting his stuff in a solo
spotlight. The same question could (and should) be asked of Chris
Daughtry, whose band's songs likewise are usually sans guitar breaks.
My opinion is that Daughtry's songs would work better if guitar breaks
were employed more often. That's another difference between Daughtry
and Bon Jovi, which has the renown lead guitarist Richie Sambora to fill those mid-song
bars. Be that as it may, it's not all bad for Daughtry to play Avis
("We try harder!") to Bon Jovi's Hertz. I still dig them both.
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