John Stevens – Red

Artist: John Stevens

Title: Red

Label: Maverick

Rating: 5/10

CORPORATE LINE: Considering his velvet voice, earnest green-eyed blue-collar Buffalo charm, sharp suits, and his innate ability to produce finger-snapping, toe-tapping sounds, some might argue that American Idol 3 finalist John Stevens was born in the wrong era. But this 17 year old would beg to differ. He firmly believes it don’t mean a thing unless it ain’t got that swing and he intends to prove that audiences can still dig it with his upcoming Maverick solo debut. “I want to show America that jazz, big band, and swing music aren’t dead,” says the New York native. “Those types of music are timeless and fun and there’s a whole cool lifestyle associated with it. If done right, these genres appeal to people of all ages.”

That type of music appealed to John at the ripe ol’ age of 5. Whenever his parents chose to travel with his older brother’s hockey team, the shy, quiet son stayed with his grandparents. He quickly found his way into their record collection and became mesmerized by the tunes of Dean Martin, Cole Porter, Tony Bennett, Duke Ellington, and, of course, his all-time favorite Frank Sinatra. “He just had something special. He was so unique and smooth. No one can perform like the Chairman Of The Board.”

THE GREAT:
Nothing.

THE AVERAGE:
“This Love” – This version isn’t great but as close as Stevens comes to finding his own voice.
“Come Fly With Me” – Stevens does a poor job of translating one of Sinatra’s signature songs. He went right after a Xerox copy of Sinatra’s version but without any bass—it sounds wimpy.
“Someone To Watch Over Me” – As much as you try to pull for Stevens he never soars.
“Here, There, and Everywhere” – Sacrilege, but it fits his voice well.

THE BAD:
“The Shadow of Your Smile” – Dull!

FRANKLY: The producers should have given John Stevens more Dean Martin style songs. Stevens doesn’t have the bottom to his voice that he needed to tackle songs like “Come Fly With Me.” As a fan of the jazz singers and crooners I had real hope that Stevens would pull of something good—too bad it’s so dull. Stevens has a unique style but won’t pass as a crooner and can’t hold a candle to the new generation singers like Michael Buble. John Stevens has no soul and is low on energy. It may have a lot to do with his age. Perhaps as Stevens ages his voice will get a bottom and with life he’ll find some soul.

+ Rae Gun