13-04-2012, 10:49
online listen
bad attempt at blue eyed soul
not a bad voice but very predictable once you've heard a few
1.3 from me and a converted 1.2 from the pros at allmusic
from the album - 3 Words
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SWYgj_DkOYI
released Apr 10th, 2012
![[Image: s08349ysgw0.jpg]](http://image.allmusic.com/00/amg/cov200/drs000/s083/s08349ysgw0.jpg)
Bio - from allmusic
Vocalist Elliott Yamin first gained recognition as the second runner-up on the fifth season of the reality show
American Idol. Born in 1978 in Los Angeles to a painter father and former professional singer mother, Yamin
eventually moved with his family to Richmond, VA, where he attended middle school and high school. Around the time
he turned 14, Yamin's parents divorced, and thus began a period of some personal difficulty for the singer. Already
close to 90 percent deaf in his right ear, Yamin was also diagnosed at 16 with Type 1 diabetes. In his sophomore
year of high school he dropped out and began working at a Footlocker and later as a clerk at a pharmacy. Though
Yamin ultimately earned his GED, his focus had already shifted full-time to pursuing a singing career, and he found
various performance opportunities including work with a jazz band on a local radio station under the moniker E-Dub.
In 2006, Yamin quit his job at the pharmacy to audition for American Idol in Boston, MA. Singing Leon Russell's "A
Song for You" -- made famous by Yamin's personal idol, soul singer Donny Hathaway -- Yamin made it through the
first round of auditions and moved on to the second and all-important Hollywood round. A likable performer with a
knack for romantic soul ballads and a laid-back stage presence, Yamin was a fan favorite from the start and
ultimately made it to the final-three round along with eventual runner-up Katharine McPhee and eventual winner
Taylor Hicks. In December of 2006, Yamin announced he had signed a publishing deal with Sony, and he released a
cover of Donny Hathaway's "This Christmas" on iTunes. In 2007, Yamin released his self-titled solo album. The soul
-oriented holiday album My Kind of Holiday appeared in 2008. In 2009, Yamin released his sophomore effort, Fight
for Love, featuring production help by Stargate and Dave Tozer. Two years later, his third album Gather Round was
released in Japan.
Album Review - from allmusic
Originally surfacing only in Japan, then slowly slated for release in other territories, Elliott Yamin's third
album, Gather 'Round (originally dubbed "Let's Get to What's Real" and it may still bear that appellation on
subsequent releases) finds the American Idol runner-up working familiar territory: modern blue-eyed soul inspired
by the '70s, particularly his idol Donnie Hathaway, but sounding like the studio-slick soft pop of the '90s.
Professional as this may be -- and it is, there's care to the construction of the songs and arrangements -- there
is a hazy, out-of-time quality that accentuates Yamin's status as a man without a country. Appealing as he may be
-- and he remains quite likeable, always delivering his lines with conviction, his sincerity ingratiating even when
the melodies are not -- it's hard to shake the suspicion that this is music made for an imagined audience that may
(or may not) have existed a decade prior to its creation but has now disappeared. Plenty of artists happily devote
themselves to sounds from the past, often reaping considerable artistic awards, but the difference with Let's Get
to What's Real is that it's not an exercise in retro-soul, it's retro-commercialism, an attempt to play by the
rules in an outdated handbook. Yamin may retain some charm as he stumbles through these old plays, but he needs to
stop reaching for the faded stars and get to what's real.
Track Listing
1. Gather Round
2. Self Control
3. Thinkin' 'Bout You
4. Let's Get to What's Real
5. Poison
6. Downtown
7. Up, Down, All Around
8. I'll Be That Bridge
9. Virginia
10. 3 Words
bad attempt at blue eyed soul
not a bad voice but very predictable once you've heard a few
1.3 from me and a converted 1.2 from the pros at allmusic
from the album - 3 Words
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SWYgj_DkOYI
released Apr 10th, 2012
Bio - from allmusic
Vocalist Elliott Yamin first gained recognition as the second runner-up on the fifth season of the reality show
American Idol. Born in 1978 in Los Angeles to a painter father and former professional singer mother, Yamin
eventually moved with his family to Richmond, VA, where he attended middle school and high school. Around the time
he turned 14, Yamin's parents divorced, and thus began a period of some personal difficulty for the singer. Already
close to 90 percent deaf in his right ear, Yamin was also diagnosed at 16 with Type 1 diabetes. In his sophomore
year of high school he dropped out and began working at a Footlocker and later as a clerk at a pharmacy. Though
Yamin ultimately earned his GED, his focus had already shifted full-time to pursuing a singing career, and he found
various performance opportunities including work with a jazz band on a local radio station under the moniker E-Dub.
In 2006, Yamin quit his job at the pharmacy to audition for American Idol in Boston, MA. Singing Leon Russell's "A
Song for You" -- made famous by Yamin's personal idol, soul singer Donny Hathaway -- Yamin made it through the
first round of auditions and moved on to the second and all-important Hollywood round. A likable performer with a
knack for romantic soul ballads and a laid-back stage presence, Yamin was a fan favorite from the start and
ultimately made it to the final-three round along with eventual runner-up Katharine McPhee and eventual winner
Taylor Hicks. In December of 2006, Yamin announced he had signed a publishing deal with Sony, and he released a
cover of Donny Hathaway's "This Christmas" on iTunes. In 2007, Yamin released his self-titled solo album. The soul
-oriented holiday album My Kind of Holiday appeared in 2008. In 2009, Yamin released his sophomore effort, Fight
for Love, featuring production help by Stargate and Dave Tozer. Two years later, his third album Gather Round was
released in Japan.
Album Review - from allmusic
Originally surfacing only in Japan, then slowly slated for release in other territories, Elliott Yamin's third
album, Gather 'Round (originally dubbed "Let's Get to What's Real" and it may still bear that appellation on
subsequent releases) finds the American Idol runner-up working familiar territory: modern blue-eyed soul inspired
by the '70s, particularly his idol Donnie Hathaway, but sounding like the studio-slick soft pop of the '90s.
Professional as this may be -- and it is, there's care to the construction of the songs and arrangements -- there
is a hazy, out-of-time quality that accentuates Yamin's status as a man without a country. Appealing as he may be
-- and he remains quite likeable, always delivering his lines with conviction, his sincerity ingratiating even when
the melodies are not -- it's hard to shake the suspicion that this is music made for an imagined audience that may
(or may not) have existed a decade prior to its creation but has now disappeared. Plenty of artists happily devote
themselves to sounds from the past, often reaping considerable artistic awards, but the difference with Let's Get
to What's Real is that it's not an exercise in retro-soul, it's retro-commercialism, an attempt to play by the
rules in an outdated handbook. Yamin may retain some charm as he stumbles through these old plays, but he needs to
stop reaching for the faded stars and get to what's real.
Track Listing
1. Gather Round
2. Self Control
3. Thinkin' 'Bout You
4. Let's Get to What's Real
5. Poison
6. Downtown
7. Up, Down, All Around
8. I'll Be That Bridge
9. Virginia
10. 3 Words
