Idol Chatter & Voice Views

So, today we get new music from Lee DeWyze in the form of a 9-track CD titled “What Once Was.”

Now, let’s be clear:  This is not the new album Lee has been working on.

Instead, it’s a collection of old songs he recorded between 2006 and 2010 with WiLu Records, the same company that released his pre-Idol albums, “So I’m Told” (2007) and “Slumberland” (2010).

In fact, Lee seems to have been blind-sided when the album’s release was announced about a month ago, stressing in Tweets to his fans that he had nothing to do with the song selection, the naming of the album or the cover artwork.

That said, he couldn’t have been that surprised.

I recall reading or hearing an interview with WiLu execs around the time Lee was named Idol in Season 9.  They made it very clear they thought they had enough Lee material for another release.

And four of the songs had already been released as singles on iTunes by WiLu.

And, hey, it’s not like the album is embarrassing in any way.  From start to finish, this album isn’t as strong as “Slumberland,” but Lee sounds great singing songs he wrote. 

Check out “Worth Waiting.”  Simply superb vocal opening on that song.

In fact, that’s one of three songs — “Snaps” and “Fallen” being the others — that I prefer to the “Sweet Serendipity” sing-really-really fast nonsense that Lee wound up releasing as his first post-Idol single.

There’s also an interesting, though not entirely successful rock version of “Princess,” one of the best tunes from “Slumberland.”

And “What Once Was” should whet fans’ appetites for Lee’s second post-Idol album, which he promised is “very close” in a Tweet last week.

“This next album will be me all day,” Lee writes.  “Can’t wait for you to here what it sounds like when folk, rock, pop and country make love.”

As for the folks at WiLu, they said this in the press release announcing the release of “What Once Was:”   “Although, there will be much speculation as to the timing of this release, our decision was in response to an overwhelming outpouring of interest from the fan base. Under outside advisement, and thorough research, our release date was determined over four months ago.  We hope you enjoy this glimpse into Lee as an artist.  It really is all about the music.”

Now, here’s a snippet of “Snaps” from “What Once Was:”