David Cook’s ‘This Loud Morning’: Summer Preview

Becky Bain | June 16, 2011 12:04 pm

It’s been just about three years since David Cook was American Idol’s It Boy champ, and though we’ve been anxiously awaiting the alt-rocker’s follow-up to his self-titled 2008 major label release, it remains to be seen if the public at large hasn’t already forgotten about him. (Maybe there was a hidden agenda behind recording that Simple Minds song?) The Season 7 winner returns to the spotlight with This Loud Morning, and if all goes according to plan, he’ll be igniting cheers from fans across the country yet again. Jump below to get the lowdown on David’s new set of tunes in our Summer Preview!

ALBUM: This Loud Morning, the follow-up to his 2008 self-titled album, which was released after he won the seventh season of American Idol. (However, David clarified for us in a recent sit-down that he had recorded eight previous albums before Idol, all independently released.)

RELEASE DATE: June 28, the same day we’re treated to new LPs by Beyonce and Selena Gomez & The Scene.

SINGLES RELEASED SO FAR: David has dropped his lead single “The Last Goodbye” (co-written by Ryan Tedder), and has also filmed the song’s video that features him thought to be drowned. (Perish the thought!) He also covered Simple Minds’ 80s classic “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” as the Idol exit song for Season 10, though it doesn’t appear on his album. You can preview his track “Paper Heart” over at AOL Music or just head to Walmart Soundcheck to hear David perform four tracks in addition to his single.

ALBUM PRODUCERS: The LP was executive produced by Matt Serletic (Rob Thomas, Matchbox Twenty, Collective Soul), and besides Tedder, the album features tracks co-written by David Hodges (Kelly Clarkson, Daughtry, David Archuleta), Kevin Griffin (James Blunt, Train) and Marti Frederiksen (Aerosmith).

BONUS: If you pre-order the album at Cook’s official store, you also get an EP called This Quiet Night, which features acoustic performances of three of the album’s tracks.

WHAT THE TITLE MEANS: This Loud Morning comes from a lyric in the song “Rapid Eye Movement”, which closes the LP: “Give me one more quiet night before this loud morning gets it right and does me in.” During our exclusive interview with the singer, David explained that this sentiment comes from a desire to take a break before giving in and tackling important things that need to be dealt with head-on. (See below.)

WHAT TO EXPECT: David dropped his post-Idol album months after winning the competition, so for his follow-up, he had more time to tweak his sound, as well as explore personal matters in his songs:

“With this record, we just had more time. Coming off the road for the first record and immediately going into the second, and really trying to take those experiences that I kind of shelved dealing with, I think, while we were on tour… whether it being the amazing things, like playing for 115,000 people in Manila, or the bad things, like my brother passing away… Those experiences, I dealt with them while I was writing this record.”

TOUR PLANS: No plans as of yet.

OUR THOUGHTS: Three Idol seasons (and three somewhat similar guitar-playing male winners) have come and gone since David had his breakout year, so he’s going to have to work extra hard to get people other than his extremely loyal (and patient) core fan base to be interested in what he’s got in store. Cook’s catchy “The Last Goodbye” is a promising start, but he needs a killer single or an eye-popping video to bring buzz back to his name. We’re rooting for him, though – there’s not a nicer guy out there who deserves every bit of success he gets.

Want the lowdown on more Summer selections? Check out our Summer Preview write-ups on Owl City’s All Things Bright And Beautiful, Eminem and Royce Da 5′9″’s Hell: The Sequel, Weird Al Yankovic’s Alpocolypse, Beyonce’s 4, Selena Gomez & The Scene’s When The Sun Goes Down, Pitbull’s Planet Pit, Lil Wayne’s Tha Carter IV and Kanye West & Jay-Z’s Watch The Throne.