DAVID HASSELHOFF: Open Your Eyes (ROCK): review / opinion to read on Music Waves

Few men can claim in one lifetime to have saved people from drowning and other maritime disasters in red shorts, to have been the black knight with the first autonomous car nowadays jealous by Google, to have defeated two- or three-headed sharks coming from the sky and to have overcome his addictions (although there is still some doubt about that) while singing in parallel.

And yet, David Hasselhoff is of this species and has had several lives during his career: lifeguard in Malibu, K2000 pilot, shark killer in Sharknado, AOR fan and one of the first singers to perform near the Berlin Wall still smoking from its rubble in 1989 (remember'Looking For Freedom'). It must be said that if the career of the actor-singer has had its ups and downs, it must be acknowledged that he has never given up and has always persevered with more or less happiness, becoming as kitsch as he is cult. So it's with a fourteenth album called "Open Your Eyes" that David comes back to us, an album of covers that wants to be committed! Because this name is not insignificant, David wishing to make his listeners aware of the fact that they must open their eyes to the flood of media coverage that is constantly growing with its share of lies and fake news.

For this, the singer surrounded himself with a great team with not only Adam Hamilton in the production but also James Williamson (The Stooges) on guitar, Tracii Guns (L.A. Guns), Steve Stevens (Billy Idol), Todd Rundgren and Al Jourgensen (Ministry) notably. The bet and the choice of covers can be both easy but also very risky because if the songs are known and have met with success (of esteem or more), it is necessary to bring them a singular proofreading sufficient to arouse an interest.

In the good surprises, 'Open Your Eyes', the original title of The Lords Of The New Church, has the honour of opening the ball of rereading with a version that retains its skeleton in which David brings an almost more lyrical than subversive dimension. David has a powerful voice and interprets the songs with conviction without imitating the original bands. Thus the listener will be able to discover or rediscover dusty tracks like Ted Mulry Gang's "Jump In My Car", or an almost industrial new wave version of "Sweet Caroline" (Neil Diamond) bold (with however some kitschy effects like scratches, no longer used since Benny B at least.).

Nevertheless, the good overall impression is somewhat tempered because the other versions leave them a little disappointed, especially when David covers songs that have already been covered over and over again and on which it is difficult to imbue his personality. This applies to Bowie's 'Heroes' but also to Sinatra's 'That's Life', much too respectful and already heard. There are still some nice moments left like the romantic version of the old-fashioned charm of 'If You Could Read My Mind', very pop synth with the atmosphere of the slows of yesteryear and the banga-carambar-quarter-hour American booms of our childhood (finally for the forty-year-olds).

In the end, this album is located between two waters, some rereadings offer a little something extra that brings them a personalization and a beautiful singularity, others are much too close to the original versions to arouse interest. However, the ensemble, which proves to be pleasant, makes it possible to have no doubt about David Hasselhoff's sincere approach to sharing his musical tastes by reinterpreting them in an involved. If "Open Your Eyes" will not go down in history, it remains a respectful and assumed album of an artist who deserves more than the image we are presented with of him. - Official website

DAVID HASSELHOFF

OPEN YOUR EYES

CLEOPATRA RECORDS

ROCK