Whole Lotta Fantasies

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I thought this Fantasy Springs video should get its own post because it took a whole lotta love. It's the most difficult video I've done so far, principally because every clip I watched kept luring me in so I'd lose track of what I was doing. Then it would take me a while to get my breath back and it would happen repeatedly.

This for me is a momentous performance, one I will be watching over and over again and one that we'll probably still be talking about in years to come so I wanted to do it justice. So apologies for the delay. I never thought I would feel the way I did about RoF again. I thought I'd built up an immunity to being surprised by Adam by now, but I was wrong.



This is the most incredible psychedelic arrangement and performance of WLL and one of the sexiest things I've ever seen or heard. There's a lot that's reminiscent of Jim Morrison. There are no overt sexual gestures but what he achieves is purely with his sultry voice and stage presence and is so sizzling hot. He slinks about the stage, moaning breathily, his erotic cries startlingly primal. Whereas the previous renditions were pure sex of the sordid aggressive rip-your-clothes-off encounter, this one is a long slow hedonistic tripped-out throw-your-phone-away all-day love-in, teetering on the edge of blissful agony. His voice works you up and down, knowing when to stop you from boiling over but keeping you simmering. Not only does he do this with his voice, but when things are getting too hot, he turns his back, giving you time to ease away from the edge before effortlessly stroking and teasing you right back there again, kneading you into spasms of ecstasy.

I love the smile he gives just before the song finishes. He seems thrilled about turning the audience into a wild writhing mess, knowing that he's nailed it. We do indeed need cooling.

DOWNLOAD Whole Lotta Love (acoustic) v2 - final version mp3 19.8MB
Update 09/03/10: Changed file hosting service as some of you have reported viruses from the previous link.

Update 10/03/10: DOWNLOAD Whole Lotta Love (acoustic) iPod compatible mp4 50.4MB
Update 27/03/10: DOWNLOAD Whole Lotta Love (acoustic) HD mp4 v1 142.7MB - Better sound than version above

Update 28/02/11: Re-edited the sound files to cut out most of the chatter and screaming.
Download FS WLL (without band intro) mp3 - 17.03MB
Download FS WLL (without band intro) wav - 75.08MB
Download FS WLL (with band intro) mp3 - 19.82MB
Download FS WLL (with band intro) wav - 87.40MB

Up and Adam at Sunrise

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So this is the next stop on this glorious headfuck of a rollercoaster. Now on the right side of the morning, night-owl Adam Lambert's sweet voice eases Australia out of its slumber from a weekend of indulgence.

Less than twenty-four hours ago, it was all about the camp and glam and images of that outfit are circulating fresh in our minds. Our eyes are still recovering from being poked. I never thought that just seeing Adam dressed down would be able to shock me, but that's exactly what it's done. Codpiece. Tights. Studs. Sparkle. Bondage. Plain clothing, bare face. Huh? WTF?!



I wonder how hard Adam ended up partying because in the video he looks a little bleary-eyed with an aversion to the studio lights. If that is the case then good for him. With that hectic schedule (I'm exhausted & I'm not even there), he deserves a good knees-up. I just wish I could look a fraction that good during a stinking hangover.

This is the first time acoustic WWFM has been televised. The rendition is very slow-paced and I notice that his voice has a slightly different timbre. It sounds coarser than usual but I love the rich and resonant tone. He avoids belting the high notes which makes me suspect that he might have a bit of a cold. Even so, it's an honest, gentle performance done beautifully and I think I prefer the acoustic arrangement of the song. What a contrast though, I'm still gasping with shock!

Codpiece

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As if he needs any help making it big down under! This pimp spot at Sydney Mardi Gras was the first time since AI that Adam would be performing at a gay event. I was particularly excited by the fact that he'd have free rein to really push things as far as he'd dare with a license to camp things up.

That entrance! The glitter! The outfit! That codpiece!

Adam seems so free for the first time since coming out of AI and it's such fun to watch. He obviously enjoyed playing up to the audience, dancing, prowling the stage, thrusting his hips and giving some crazy vocals.

While perhaps a little conservative for Mardi Gras (I was hoping to see him in something like his dazzling Halloween creations, but can see he needed to first establish a look down under), 'Adam doing bondage' has still become a huge talking point. The components are very reminiscent of his Zodiac ensemble with the jacket, bare chest, tights, boots and corset, but the look is very aggressive. All those spikes, studs and metal are very hard but they're softened just a tiny bit by the make-up and glitter. And of course we have to laugh at the studded cod centrepiece worn over those cheeky tights; a salute to all the Glambulge gazers out there!

Voodoo

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I wake up every morning and the goodies keep coming! For once I avoided spoiling myself with the low quality recording from the Fantasy Springs lobby. I listened to a couple of seconds of it and decided to wait instead.



Written by Adam Lambert, Jesse Rogg, Sam Sparro
“It's kind of like a dark industrial disco song. It's definitely a dance tune,the vocals are like really smooth and light, kind of breathy and the beat is hard and electro so I think you guys will really like it.” - DonorsChoose chat 18/02/10

“It's more of a European sounding track, it didn't quite work in context as well as some of the other songs. It's a sexyass song though.”
Fab magazine 25/11/09

I don't have much more to add to Adam's words but I think I prefer the songs that didn't make it to the US album and hope it's a sign of things to come. I can see it being a club hit with remixes down the line, but also used as a soundtrack. The song is well written and expresses the darker side of being completely consumed by love. My favourite part of the vocal (aside from the orgasmic 'Yeah!') is the tone and vibrato of 'all' in the first line of the bridge and the haunting multi-layered vocals towards the end. It's very reminiscent of mid-90's dance and I love the mood it creates. Here are the lyrics as far as I can make out:

Moonshine on the bayou
Love shrine break the taboo
I wanna know what's in your potion
Bound by total devotion

I was looking for love all over
You're the hunter and I'm your prey
Now I'm lost in a love hangover
I try to leave but I have to stay
'Cause it's voodoo voodoo voodoo
Under your spell
'Cause it's voodoo voodoo voodoo
Under your spell

Swamp sings of a love bizarre
Snakes bites, aligning stars
I'm in rapture there is no cure
No sanctuary from your allure

I was looking for love all over
You're the hunter and I'm your prey
Now I'm lost in a love hangover
I try to leave but I have to stay
'Cause it's voodoo voodoo voodoo
Under your spell
'Cause it's voodoo voodoo voodoo
Under your spell

'Cause the voodoo that you do is all that you can do to make me into your fool
'Cause when you do voodoo I'm just like a doll that the pins keep pushing into
So every time I try and break this trance
I'mma so afraid I'll miss my chance
To be bewitched, bothered by you
I just gotta say I want your hex
I don't want to live without your hex
I'm so obsessed with your sexiness

Yeah!
'Cause it's voodoo voodoo voodoo
Under your spell
'Cause it's voodoo voodoo voodoo
Under your spell
'Cause it's voodoo voodoo voodoo
Under your spell
'Cause it's voodoo voodoo voodoo

So obsessed with your sexiness

World Domination Begins Down Under

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Adam provides us with yet another strong performance of Whataya Want from Me? from Australia's So You Think You can Dance? getting the crowd screaming.



There's another nice little variation on 'It's me, I'm a freak' and an extended last note on a near-perfect vocal. Although I must say I'm starting to prefer the acoustic arrangement, maybe because I've heard the standard version many times already. It's great to see Adam dress for the occasion with the bejewelled sleeveless hoodie being the closest we'll probably ever get to seeing him sporty. And what a charming little interview it is at the end. One thought that has become clearer to me during this performance is that Adam doesn't need dancers. Even though they were excellent, they were battling for the focus of my attention and somewhat detracting from the performance. Adam is already so visually fascinating, I find by having the dancers there's just a little too much going on.

With next stop Mardi Gras and the opportunity to really express himself creatively and be outrageous, I'm already excited about his next outfit.

Sleepwalking Tonight

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How much do I fucking love this performance?

I didn't stay up for the stream so the first thing I did after getting up was seek out this Leno video. I'd seen it twittered about that the song was going to be Sleepwalker but didn't think much more about this first televised performance because I'm still not quite functioning normally after that acoustic WLL.



As always with Adam, his visual presentation hits me first before anything else and this look is an eye-popping WOW. In all the recent TV performances, he'd been dressed fairly down for WWFM so I wasn't expecting this for Sleepwalker. Looking fabulously glammed up to the max, I realise how much I've missed the dressing up. The huge spiky asymmetric quiff that looks like Sonic the Hedgehog in profile is gloriously OTT. There is something very retro-space-glam about his look, reminding me of both Ming the Merciless and Star Trek but infinitely more sparkly. It's the eye make-up (with rhinestones, bitch!) and regally ornate detailling on his jacket & boots that recall Ming. And despite all the jewels, the cut of the jacket teamed with the stripe down the side of his trousers is rather utilitarian. It must be his captain's uniform for when he's commanding his spaceship. After all, I don't expect him to be flying to Australia in something as normal or earthly as a plane!

I haven't even got to the singing yet. My word. He said he now warms up before performing and maybe that made a difference. I watched intently for any changes on this perfect rendition. The way he belts instead of going into falsetto on 'You're everything that I want' makes a vast difference to the song, delivering the impact that I feel was missing from the album recording. He's so expressive singing with such passion that I can't help but be awestruck. Although I do chuckle slightly as I see that tongue snaking out as he hits those highs. I love that incredible belt as it really gets the song rocking. In contrast, the final seraphic note on the ending is just sublime keeping my eyes wide open, stunned throughout.