Daniel Powter

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Daniel Powter

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This is a phenomenal debut album from Daniel Powter. The stubbly-jawed, green-eyed, beanie-wearing 34 year old Canadian singer/songwriter gives a very impressive account of himself, and has already sold more than 100,000 albums, due mainly to a killer first single "Bad Day", something with which we can all identify.

"Where is the moment when we need it the most

You kick up the leaves and the magic is lost

They tell me your blue sky's faded to grey

They tell me your passion's gone away

And I don't need no carrying on

Stand in the line just ahead of the law

You're faking a smile with the coffee you go

You tell me your life's been way off line

You're falling to pieces every time

And I don't need no carrying on

Cause you had a bad day

You're taking one down

You sing a sad song just to turn it around

You say you don't know

You tell me don't lie

You work at a smile and you go for a ride

You had a bad day

The camera don't lie

You're coming back down and you really don't mind

You had a bad day

You had a bad day"

Powter wrote the songs on this album over a one year period, his musical taste inspired by childhood violin sessions, accompanying his mother on piano. The second single will be "Free Loop", but the excellent "Song 6" would also have been a great pick.

This album is definitely a keeper, other great tracks being "Jimmy Gets High" and "Lie to Me" (falsetto bits and all), "Styrofoam" and "Hollywood", but then every track is a potential single. The only problem is that there are only ten songs, and that's a crying shame.

Amanda Richards

The Good

Soothing piano and warm strings blend well with Powter's high falsetto on "Song 6." The track starts off slow, but picks up with a punch on the chorus. You really can't listen to the radio, watch television, or surf the web without coming across the mega-hit "Bad Day." You can't deny this song's appeal. It actually has sad lyrics, but it's set to inspiring music. The chorus has a great vocal flow. Electronic beats and sound effects dominate "Suspect." Powter's vocals sound like a higher-pitched version of Brian Johnson's (AC/DC), with less gravel. "Jimmy Gets High" is a piano laden track about making it in the music industry. Although if you want to go deeper than that; it's about making it in life. On "Hollywood," Powter compares his dance floor crush to a Hollywood starlet and how he would treat her as such.

The Bad

The album is rather short (37 min.). The other songs really pale in comparison to "Bad Day."

The Verdict

To call Daniel Powter's music `rock' is a stretch I know, but you can't avoid the appeal of his hit song "Bad Day." Despite that song's appeal, I just didn't feel that the rest of the tracks on the album really measure up to "Bad Day's" relatable theme and emotional delivery. Who knows, Powter could be the next Elton John or the next one hit wonder.