“Lost on the Stoop” and the megahit “Bad Day” try to lift the spirits of friends. The latter states, “They tell me your blue skies fade to gray … You need a blue-sky holiday.” Powter confesses romantic gaffes and wants to work through them (“Give Me Life”). “Jimmy Gets High” seems to condemn a self-absorbed rocker’s retreat into drugs.
On “Free Loop” the singer asks a girl to share a one-night stand. In the same vein, he seduces a promiscuous woman, saying, “Let me buy you a drink or two and you could be my star for weekends” (“Hollywood”). A girl throws herself at a guy on “Lie to Me” (“I’ve got everything you want/Take me back to your house”). Powter dumps a partner, but not before suggesting a final fling together on “Song 6” (“I don’t need you anymore/Seeing something new is what I’m hoping for … So let’s groove and get high”).
With playful, keyboard-driven hooks and a ’70s pop high-tenor à la David Gates, Elton John or a more mirthful Steven Tyler, Daniel Powter is a breezy disc parents and teens could’ve enjoyed together if not for its sultry sexual propositions. Good single, but skip the album.
