Idol Chatter & Voice Views

David Cook’s Walmart Soundcheck session went live a couple of hours ago, and it’s sure to be a treat for his fans.

When I’ve watched some of these in the past, I’ve been disappointed to learn that they feature a couple of new songs, but mostly older material.

Not David’s. You get to hear five songs from the new album (“This Loud Morning”), due out Sept. 28.

That includes album opener “Circadian,” “Paper Heart,” “Take Me as I Am,” “Time Marches On,” and “The Last Goodbye.”

Good stuff. Besides “The Last Goodbye,” I think “Paper Heart” is my favorite.

There’s also an interview. For those more interested in listening to the music than the interview, I’ll summarize.

“I felt a lot of pressure with this record,” David says, “but I don’t think it was external pressure — people talking about the sophomore record and all that.”

He says he was proud of his post-Idol debut and entered the studio determined to outdo it with “This Loud Morning.”

So that pressure, “I think it was all self-imposed,” David says.

He says the new album, like the first, includes lots of co-writes. He drops the names of several people he wrote with, including John Rzeznik of the Goo Goo Dolls.

“If they gave out trophies for awesome writing experiences, my mantel would be full,” David says.

Finally, he tells people who aspire to be musicians not to take “no” for an answer. He says he heard “no” countless times and kept pressing on. That’s how he knew music was his passion.

“No can be a lot more helpful than yes if you take it that way,” David said.

Of course, pre-orders are now being taken for David’s upcoming album, at the Walmart site, on his own website and nearly anywhere else you’d buy music.