David Jordan: Set the Mood
David Jordan's 80s-influenced r 'n' b hits the shelves
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In a nutshell...
Smooth. Soulful. Emotional. Over-produced. Synth-pop.
What's it all about?
Set the Mood is mostly about David Jordan himself and his various exploits in love and nightlife, with an occasional venture into political and social ranting. Drawing from the likes of Justin Timberlake, Marvin Gaye, Prince, Terence Trent d'Arby and Lenny Kravitz, it is clear that Jordan is an extremely capable singer. At times, however, the overall sound of the record is forced and undefined, and it feels as though he has yet to hit his musical stride. The album is very dynamic, as is Jordan's voice, including more than one pensive ballad, several sultry love songs, and even an Irish jig of sorts in Sun Goes Down.
Who's it by
Born in Barnet to a mother from Montserrat and a father from Calcutta, Jordan's voice is indeed as good as he looks, even if the lyrics aren't incredibly insightful. Word has it, that he is a great stage performer to boot. Additionally, it is clear that producers Trevor Horn (Seal, Frankie Goes to Hollywood) and Steve Lipson put a lot of work into Set The Mood. Unfortunately, this doesn't necessarily make it any good.
As an example...
"I step out of my element/To see what's goin' on in my neighbourhood/A message from the government gonna spend/All your money 'cos it makes them feel good." - Place In My Heart
Likelihood of a trip to the Grammys
The critics love it already. There is so much hype, in fact, that I have been hard pressed to find anything negative about Mr Jordan's new album. On closer inspection, however, this record probably won't bring him to the Grammys just yet.
What the others say
"There's no question he's going to be a huge success." - Belfast Telegraph
"A star is born." - Digital Spy
"OMG - How irritating is that tune and his squeaky voice." - Post on Big Brother forum
So is it any good?
While the album has catchy moments and Jordan's falsetto makes for impressive range and feeling, I'm not quite ready to dub him 'London's next pop superstar' (although it seems plenty of others are for some reason). I don't see Place In My Heart catching on the way others seem to. After watching him dance awkwardly in the video for this song, I became sure that it wouldn't be his big break - no matter how much airplay it gets.
The background music sounds like it's one of those pre-programmed demo songs you find on cheap Casio keyboards at the toy store. The uncomfortable gallop of the ugly, synth bass-line and cheesy mechanical drum-fills in the song are so unbearable that I seriously cannot listen to it again, and this is supposed to be his single. Unfortunately, these characteristics infiltrate almost every song - some less, some more. The best song is probably If I'm In Love, where these characteristics are particularly absent.
If anything, Jordan needs someone who will do what Timbaland did for Timberlake, but it feels like Horn is using mostly the same tricks he did with Seal to get to the Grammys over a decade ago, especially on tracks such as Only Living Soul. The end result comes off as a cheesy, over-produced mix of essentialised musical snippets collected from the mid-90s.
Jordan's potential is there though: a good-looking and very talented singer, drenched in sexiness and media attention is usually a cocktail for superstardom. But he's no Justin yet; his voice sounds good for the most part, but it doesn't feel like it's set in the right context. More than once, I am left wondering, "What is he talking about?" I think we may have to wait for his next album to see what he is really capable of making - hopefully with a different studio team.
5.5/10
Spencer Thanhouser
"I totally disagree, I've bought the album several times, and I think it's amazing,
I think people like yourself are just looking to pick holes when someone actually does good. David Jordan is a very lovely ,loving man, and a genius songwriter and incredible entertainer- he's anything but rubbish, I think we should encourage and be supportive rather than rip the poor man to shreds before he's barely given a chance..." - Robert Matthews
"OMG - He is great! Loved him the first time I saw him! I've got all the CDs he's done so far!" - Azaria Boham
"I love David Jordan, I am his biggest fan, I would love to meet him. Sun Goes Down is my favourite, O dance to it and when it's on TMF I just turn the music up and sing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! oxoxoxox I LOVE DAVID JORDAN FOREVER AND EVER oxoxoxoxo." - Katie Morley
"Why would you need to buy the album 'several times'. Shouldn't one copy suffice?" - Chris Skoyles