From the moment Lambert and his team first announced his signing to Warner Brothers Records, it has been apparent there is a new sheriff in town. The very first press release not only included the news of the signing but also said Lambert had been in studios in Sweden and Los Angeles working on the new album for a while. The anticipation spark was struck. Fanning the flames has been a great lead-up including magazine features, multiple interviews along with Lambert himself providing promotion on all his social networks. Those tweets and Instagram posts not only generated excitement for the lead single but also included at least one clue to the contents of the album.
In the official press release from Warner Brothers, reconfirmed Shellback and Max Martin have been at the production helm of this record and listed musical collaborators Tove Lo and Brian May. It has been fun to learn Lambert’s tweets about Lo were a nod to her inclusion on the record. As far a May’s contribution, hat’s off to Lambert for not letting that cat out of the bag despite his many posts to his social networks during his almost year-long tour with Queen. It appears this was one of the perks from those gigs.
Even with the mention of the Lo and May, the tracklist for the Original High gives away virtually nothing about the actual content and style of any of the songs:
1. Ghost Town
2. The Original High
3. Another Lonely Night
4. Underground
5. There I Said It
6. Rumors (featuring Tove Lo)
7. Evil in the Night
8. Lucy (featuring Brian May)
9. Things I Didn’t Say
10. The Light
11. Heavy Fire
12. After Hours – Available on Deluxe Editions
13. Shame – Available on Deluxe Editions
14. These Boys – Available on Deluxe Editions
Lambert has said in recent interviews that the entire record will be different from his previous outings. In Notion Magazine he said he’s done bubblegum and camp now its ‘s time to get real. This record is dancey and bittersweet at the same time. He also said, without actually saying it, that he is walking away from the Idol image. “I want to show them the part of me that’s not all polished or [still part of] the ‘pageant on TV’ thing”. Hopefully he will actually accomplish that.
For Your Entertainment, Lambert’s first album. included one track produced the the team that has steered this entire album. Martin and Shellback, along with Lady Gaga contributed one of the best and probably second most controversial song on FYE, “Fever.” Lambert’s refusal to change a certain pronoun for the recorded and live performances of the song most likely is what knocked out of contention for release as a single, which is sad because it had the best chance of becoming the “Number One with a bullet” that neither For Your Entertainment nor Trespassing ever managed to muster up. Now, with both powerhouse producers and a label that has a track record for standing behind its artists, there is finally genuine potential for Lambert to actually run with the big dogs of the pop/rock scene.
TV promotion of “Ghost Town” starts on April 30th with the Ellen DeGeneres Show. Fans can pre-order the album at adamofficial.com now and receive an instant download of the track. The single is also for sale on all major digital outlets.
