[Review] Adam Lambert – Never Close Our Eyes

Adam Lambert, Music News, Single Reviews 12 comments
    Adam Lambert Never Close Our Eyes
    Released April 17th, “Never Close Our Eyes” is the name of Adam Lambert‘s new single from his forthcoming sophomore album, Trespassing.  The single was written and produced by Bruno Mars and Dr. Luke and serves as the follow up to “Better Than I Know Myself,” which by most accounts was a commercial floppity-flop.  “Never Close Our Eyes,” sees the flamboyantly big-voiced Lambert return to his dance-pop glory days in this pulse-pounding new dance-floor-ready new single. Stylistically, “Never Close Our Eyes” is right in Lambert’s wheelhouse, echoing the same sound of his past club friendly hit “If I Had You.”  Lambert does his thing, belting out the big chorus, his voice soaring over the bangin’ electro-rock beats and sleek production.  It’s clear that Lambert’s looking for another anthem, and “Never Close Our Eyes” very well could be it.  Here’s hoping radio latches on to this one more than they did with the lead single.

    It’s really a pity that “Better Than I Know Myself” wasn’t more interesting because vocally Lambert sounds his best on big emotional electro-ballads and mid-tempo pop/rockers like the P!nk-penned “Whataya Want From Me,” “Time For Miracles” (from the Blockbuster disaster movie 2012) and “Aftermath.” Don’t get me wrong, Lambert sounds AMAZING on a party track like “Never Close Our Eyes,” but it’s hard to tune out all the clutter around his voice. With a voice as powerful as Lambert’s, it really should be about the voice.  To be honest, I’d love to see him record a more rock & roll album (a la James Durbin).  Lambert’s always had that rock & roll-ready tone and quality to his voice – that certain roughness, gruffness and growl that you hear on a quality rock record.

    Adam Lambert Trespassing
    Lambert’s sophomore album, Trespassing is due out May 15th on RCA Records/19 Recordings.  The album will be available in a 12 track standard edition as well as a deluxe edition with three bonus tracks.  With this album, Lambert pitched in with the songwriting, co-writing tracks with a who’s who roster of top writing talent and superstar producers like Pharrell Williams, Claude Kelly, Benny Blanco, Bonnie McKee, Nile Rogers, Sam Sparro and others.  Trespassing comes to us nearly three years after the release of his debut, 2009’s For Your Entertainment, which went on to sell nearly 2 million copies worldwide.  As if that wasn’t impressive enough, Lambert became the first American Idol to ever tour the world in support of their debut album in the year following their season on Idol.  In addition, Lambert’s hit single, “Whataya Want From Me” earned the singer a Best Male Pop Vocal Performance Grammy nod in 2010, followed by the release of the Glam Nation Live CD/DVD and Acoustic Live! EP.  That’s a lot of success for someone so young (Lambert turned 30 this year) and I know he has a long way to go. Here’s hoping Trespassing is a hit for Adam Lambert. I don’t think his star is quite ready to fizzle out just yet.  There’s a lot of room to grow and I think he’ll do that with time.
    Check out the Trespassing track list, download Adam Lambert on iTunes and check out the official lyric video for “Never Close Our Eyes” BELOW.

    STANDARD VERSION

    01 Trespassing
    02 Cuckoo
    03 Shady
    04 Never Close Our Eyes
    05 Kickin’ In
    06 Naked Love
    07 Pop That Lock
    08 Better Than I Know Myself
    09 Broken English
    10 Underneath
    11 Chokehold
    12 Outlaws Of Love

    DELUXE VERSION

    01 Trespassing
    02 Cuckoo
    03 Shady
    04 Never Close Our Eyes
    05 Kickin’ In
    06 Naked Love
    07 Pop That Lock
    08 Better Than I Know Myself
    09 Broken English
    10 Underneath
    11 Chokehold
    12 Outlaws Of Love

    DELUXE EDITION TRACKS

    13 Runnin’
    14 Take Back
    15 Nirvana



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    • Anonymous

      Hard to take you seriously once you suggested he put out stuff like James Durbin. I was kinda with you until then.

    • Anonymous

      I&#39;m a big fan of Adam Lambert&#39;s Better Than I Know Myself and Never Close Our Eyes. The clip in support of Better Than I Know Myself is a masterpiece. Furthermore, the snippets that have been released from his Trespassing album are fantastic.<br /><br />I&#39;m not in favour of Adam Lambert releasing an album &#39;a la James Durbin&#39;. With respect, Adam is a far more versatile and

    • Thanks both of you for your valid comments. I started to regret that James Durbin reference almost immediately after I wrote it. <br /><br />All I meant by that is Adam Lambert&#39;s voice is so versatile (definitely more so than Durbin) that I would like to see him release a different type of album – something other than electro-pop/rock. I think his voice can pretty much do anything, including

    • Mel

      So weary of rawk fans trying to push Adam Lambert into the box of their own favorite genre. You&#39;re not alone, the New York Times and EW does it too, but it&#39;s time to stop critiquing the imaginary career you think Adam should have and actually critique the one he wants to pursue.<br /><br />How many times does Adam have to say that he cut his teeth listening to Madonna, Michael Jackson and

    • Mel – very eloquently put. You&#39;re right completely right, and I know I&#39;m not alone in my sentiments, but I see your point. I know a lot of artists experience with different sounds as they progress in their careers and should Adam choose to do so, great. If he continues doing what he&#39;s doing, great. I will always support Adam Lambert regardless of what genre his music falls into.

    • &quot;EXPERIMENT WITH&quot; not &quot;EXPERIENCE WITH&quot; – Sorry. 🙂

    • Anonymous

      This reviewer lost credibility as soon as he brought up James Durbin. As soon as I saw the name, I stopped reading. And stopped caringa about whatever else he had to say.

    • I appreciate your comment. The opinions on this blog are my own. That&#39;s all. I never claimed otherwise.

    • Anonymous

      .<br />Hmmmmm…. Well, I agree with the eloquence of Mel.<br />And, I also think that it&#39;s easy to sit back and critique, without hearing the nuances, and the depth of this song. You are only scratching the surface. Listen to it… I mean, really listen to it, and actually &#39;hear&#39; it. The background beat and electronics, funk, whatever you want to call it… gives this song a joy,

    • Thanks for your comment. I guess the point of my blog is to express my thoughts and feelings at the moment. Sometimes my posts are pretty spontaneous, which was the case with this one. I was writing what I thought at the time. <br /><br />Adam should put out the type of music he wants to put out and no one should dictate otherwise. The same goes for James. While it&#39;s easy to pit Idol

    • Anonymous

      Lambert is not more versatile than Durbin, for one Durbin can sing country music while Adam cannot.<br /><br />As for Durbin&#39;s &quot;screaming&quot;: welcome to the world of heavy metal. Durbin has a real rock n roll voice, it&#39;s much more masculine than Lambert&#39;s. His low register is as gritty as James Hetfield&#39;s and his high register as clean as Michael Sweet&#39;s. Lambert&#39;s

    • Thanks for your comment, but please watch your use of the word &quot;gay&quot; to describe Lambert&#39;s singing. As a gay man myself, saying that Adam Lambert &quot;sounds gay&quot; is offensive.