Is this the same William Beckett from TAI?
3
By Luna8697
Because he sure seems to have changed. And not in a very good way.
Warning: Long Review Ahead!
I honestly can't think of the last time I was this confused about music. I was a huge TAI fan, and though I was sad when the band broke up, I was ecstatic to find out that William would be going solo. I was disappointed in each and every EP he released, but vowed to reserve judgement for his first full album (apart from TAI, obviously). Though this is better than the EPs, it can't hold a candle to anything from TAI. Because, while William's voice and guitar and whatnot all sound great, there's one thing lacking in just about every song here: soul. Emotion. The type of raw emotion that makes you want to cry for the artist (like "Everything We Had"), or to get up and jump for joy because they're so happy, or to scream with the rage they're feeling (like "We've Got a Big Mess on Our Hands").
And while many said that TAI sold out with "Fast Times," you could still hear emotion in plenty of the songs, not to mention that on the more upbeat songs you could hear how much fun they were all having.
The decrease in emotion has resulted in a decrease in lyrics as well. When listening to the older TAI albums, I always felt that William put a pen to paper and let the lyrics flow. A lot of their songs were downright poetic. Now I feel like the lyrics are forced and not quite as meaningful or heartfelt.
I'd like to also mention that I don't care that his solo work has been "poppy" or "mainstream." If he had kept on making music that made people feel anything, and that music happened to end up poppy or mainstream or whatever, well good for him. But that's not what's happened at all. It sounds like this album was forced, like a square nail into a round hole. Like he's cramming himself up in a tiny little box, but ran out of room, so he left his emotion and passion out. It sounds like he's no longer making music for the joy of making music; he's making music for the popularity. It seems as though, for him, music has become less of a passion, and more of a profession.
In short, this album sounds like a guy with a fantastic voice, gift for guitar playing, and no passion, emotion, or soul. I used to admire and respect William as an artist. In my eyes, he was the complete package: he had an incredible voice, musical gifts, he was practically a poet, and adorable to boot (it had to be said). While I still respect him as an artist, I no longer admire him as one. Because it seems that our William has sold out.
I hope he releases another album or EP. And I hope that it proves me wrong. I hope that his next release has me going, "Wow, I sure feel dumb now. I can't believe I thought William had sold out and lost his passion." Because, no matter how much he seems to be a different William, deep down, he's still the same William. And I hope he still has the emotion and passion and soul that he used to.
I gave this 3 stars. One for his musical talent. One out of respect for his days with TAI. And one because I really believe in him, that he can bring back all of the emotion and the passion.
William might never find what his music has lost. Or, perhaps he has it tucked away, hidden, and will never bring it out again. Or he's going to find what's missing. Maybe he'll take it from the shelf where it sits, gathering dust, and use it again. Whatever he chooses to do will determine whether he loses fans that have been loyal for years while gaining new fans, or if he'll keep his old fans without gaining new ones. Of course, a few years ago, William would probably come up with some incredible lyrics and music that would keep his old fans all the while attracting new ones. I think a lot of old fans have thrown in the towel on William. But I'll bet that just as many are waiting to see if he'll pay attention to the feedback on this album from his old fans before throwing the towel in. And there are plenty of fans-- myself included-- who will listen to all of William's music to see if he's regained the passion and emotion that he had.
I know that he'll probably never see any of these reviews, but if he did, I'd like him to know that we still believe in him.
