Out of all the millions of words that have been written about , one topic that's never fully addressed is how the show winds up finding and filling America's forgotten music needs. Genres that have been banished from the airwaves for one reason or another -- usually because they didn't fit within the strictly regimented confines of corporate radio -- have resurfaced on the show, whether it's unabashedly square middle of the road , old-fashioned , or . This may not have been true of the show's first season when the two finalists, and pretty much fit the bill for TV-produced stars -- clean and cute, singing designed for the teenagers everyone assumed were 's core audience -- but things started to veer off track in the show's second season when squeaky-clean crooner constituted the top two. Instead of being a fluke, this was the beginning of 's celebration of neglected styles, leading to the barnstorming of in season three, the in season four, and then the white-haired, belter , who unexpectedly took the top honors in season five. At first glance sure didn't seem like an : with that prematurely white hair and his slightly hefty frame, he seemed like somebody's dad trying to pass as an contestant, which was part of his charm. But charm alone doesn't win a singing competition, and had real power as a singer, blessed with a husky, soulful growl that displayed a clear ' influence but an even heavier debt to , two singers raised on who still retained a soulful edge when they eased into later in their careers. picked up on this trick of 's, how they could still sound passionate while singing schmaltz, and that helped propel him toward the championship, but even though he took the crown, there was a huge question looming over the release of his debut album: would and all the powers that be behind the scenes at let stay true to the gifts he displayed on the show, or would they shoehorn him into a sound that doesn't suit him, the way they did with on his debut ? served as a cautionary tale for and his producers, since he was another Alabama boy who shined on because he was bringing back a Southern sound not heard on the radio, but when it came time for his debut he was forced into a stilted modern that not only didn't suit him musically, but it ignored the very reason why audiences loved him on the show: they loved him because he didn't sound like everybody else on the radio, but on , his producers tried to make him sound like everybody else, and failed miserably. The same thing could have happened to , since he also didn't sound like anybody else on the radio in 2006, but fortunately, everybody involved in ' debut do not try to force modernity upon him: they let be . Which doesn't necessarily mean that is nothing but a album in disguise: it certainly has tracks that fit within the confines of radio in 2006, but they never feel as crass or formulaic as his post- chart-topper that found him straining against the constraints of conventions. Cuts that are nothing more than professional and pleasant -- mainly , such as the plodding yet anthemic and the -penned which was written with ' back story in mind but nevertheless feels formulaic, but also an overly slick cover of 's -- account for about a third of , and while they're little more than the perfectly fine fodder of a waiting room, does not sound uncomfortable singing them. Indeed, he invests them with just enough personality that they're more engaging than the bland yet pretty that pass as modern , and their inclusion here makes commercial sense; these are the tunes that play by the rules of modern , and performs them as a pro without losing his personality. In contrast, the rest of is a throwback -- not necessarily a throwback to the and '60s that he sang on , but rather to the of the '70s and '80s, which itself was informed by the spirit of the '60s. And at its best -- and it's frequently very good, even excellent -- resembles nothing so much as a forgotten '80s album, a blend of -era that certainly satisfies any hopes that would indeed make a record that could be called Yacht Rock for the new millennium. Digitally polished though it may be, there's a lived-in warmth to the performances of and his studio pros, and producer , who made his name helming records for , is sharp enough to retain that feel even when he's building tracks upon samples, as he does on which reworks ' into an addictive, danceable piece of modern - . This gives a sound that's appealing on its own merits, but what makes the record work are the songs that evoke the past yet still sound fresh. Occasionally, this means something that's been unearthed, like a light, laid-back number found on 's cult 1973 album , but for the most part these are newly-written songs by professional songwriters. is the only writer who attempts to bridge the gap between and contemporary , and he does so very well with but the best stuff here are the songs that simply revive soulful sounds, whether it's ' surprisingly successful -inflected closer the neo-duet or, most of all, the absolutely terrific opener a propulsive throwback to '80s that's as good as any hit had in that decade. As good as any of these professionally written tunes are ' two originals -- the funky and the closest thing to genuine old-fashioned , the quite wonderful -- revived and re-recorded from a pre- independent album he made that show him as a solid writer in addition to being an inspired deal. Their inclusion also shows that he, assisted by some smart pros, can make the songs of others fit his musical style, which makes this debut somewhat of a subversive success: he's created an album that fits all of 's requirements -- it's big, clean, catchy and commercial -- without losing his own identity, so he's sneaked back into the mainstream. But he never would have gotten this chance if 's huge audience didn't recognize that he had this talent and if they didn't realize that he was making music that they had forgotten to hear, and fortunately, , in turn, realized this and let make an album that will surely satisfy anybody who loved to hear him on the show, and an album that stands as one of the best -related records yet made. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine