The World from the Side of the Moon [Delxue Edition] in Bloomington, MN

Winner of the 11th season of American Idol -- aka, the last season to feature
Steven Tyler
and
Jennifer Lopez
as judges --
Phillip Phillips
doesn't strictly seem like a pop star, probably because he doesn't sing pop music.
Phillips
is in thrall to his idol
Dave Matthews
, patterning every little detail of his style after the jam band icon, borrowing the stuttering acoustic strums and elastic vocal phrasing, letting his folk-rock wander into jazz and smooth soul. So many elements of
' 2012 post-Idol debut
The World from the Side of the Moon
are taken from early
Dave Matthews Band
albums it could easily be mistaken for a forgotten record from 1997 or, worse, taken as a parody of
DMB
's loose-limbed roots pop.
favors both the loverman croon of
Matthews
("Wanted Is Love," "A Fool's Dance") and
's raucous party tunes ("Get Up Get Down," written in the style of "Ants Marching"), and, it has to be said, he nails his impression, getting each minor inflection precisely right. Consequently,
kinda sorta delivers upon
' promise: it is a streamlined, smoothed-out
album, stripped of any of
's idiosyncratic quirks, instrumental virtuosity, and love of the world "belly." If you don't listen closely, it goes down easy, but listening with just a slightly critical ear reveals those similarities as near farcical. Tellingly, the moments that veer away from
are those not written by
-- the post-Idol coronation song "Home" and "Gone Gone Gone," both sounding a bit fresher and folkier -- which is an indication that producers
Drew Pearson
Gregg Wattenberg
knew what it would take to sell this
mash note to a wider audience. [A Deluxe Edition included three bonus live tracks.] ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine