Ace Young plays the right cards

By Mark Brown, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published July 14, 2008 at 6 p.m.
Updated July 14, 2008 at 6:03 p.m.

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Photo by Pazzo Music

Ace Young at a July Fourth concert in Pigeon Forge, Tenn. His debut album is out today.

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Fans of Ace Young's vocals on American Idol in 2006 will find plenty to like on his full-length debut, a concise set of songs true to his talent but carving out an identity the TV show denied him.

His Michael Jackson tendencies - vocally and arrangement-wise - come through most on the single Addicted. He reins it in on the rest of the disc, letting his personality come through on songs like A Hard Hand to Hold. With live horns and strings across the disc, no expense was spared in getting the mood of smooth R&B tempered at times with harder rock edges. The album-closing Dirty Mind blends sharp guitars with snappy horn arrangements.

If anything, Ace Young is too smooth; Young has rock roots that tend to get glossed up a bit here. The Girl That Got Away is a perfect example, a well-written, passionate song that could use a touch more angst in the delivery.

brownm@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-2674

Denver-born Ace Young was an American Idol finalist two years ago; his debut album is in stores today. Rocky music critic Mark Brown spoke with him recently about the project.

Ace Young is a very concise album at 39 minutes. Was that on purpose?

Yes. The biggest thing with the album is I wanted to show different musical influences in me that I didn't get to show on Idol. I have a big rock upbringing with my brothers, and that's a key reason I had (songwriter) Desmond Childs be involved and had him executive-produce the album, so I could write with him. He wrote the rock songs we grew up with. I knew I'd bring the more R&B funk vibe that was an influence of mine ever since I was little. I'd always mix my Jackson Five and my Eagles whenever I was just making up songs.

How did that relationship turn out?

Very well. We respect each other. We worked really hard on this project together. Both of us put our money where our mouth was. He respected me so much he let me pick the people to mix the album ... he also let me pick the guy I wanted to master it.

Was it hard to let it go?

I thought it would be. But it was actually the opposite ... I was so at ease and so happy with the project that it'll never go away. I'll never truly let go of it, but I'm so happy to let it speak for itself.

Where's your niche now?

Radio isn't what it used to be. I'll say that right off ... For some reason or another they're not allowed to play it with me being on an indie label. They're not responding to it like they would something coming directly from Clive Davis. There's no urgency.

Where to now?

Everywhere. I want to travel the world. I've been all over the country almost four times now in the past 21/2 years ... I want to embrace everything that Idol opened me up to.

Ace Young

Ace Young

Pazzo Music

Grade: B

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