Casey Abrams is the self-titled debut album of jazz-pop artist and American Idol season ten sixth-place finalist Casey Abrams. It was released through the jazz label Concord Records on June 26, 2012, one year after Abrams competed on the Fox reality television series. The record deal was struck with the help of American Idol judge Randy Jackson, who serves as an executive producer on this album. Abrams spent six weeks recording the songs at Kensaltown Studios in London. He described this as an unusual experience, in which he often sang while sitting on a couch and recorded in an open room. Ambient noises from the city can be heard in the background of some tracks.
Abrams served as a co-writer on nine of the album's eleven tracks and, for the most part, felt that his creative vision was communicated. The album carries an upbeat tone. It predominately focuses on themes of nature and romantic yearning. Humorous subject matter is dealt with as well, such as in the songs "Wore Out My Soul", which is a double entendre about shoes, and "Stuck in London", which contains nonsense lyrics. Although Abrams had been known for jazz on American Idol, he went in a pop direction for this album, combining the two genres. "Dry Spell" has been considered the most jazz-influenced original song. However, a cover of the Ray Charles standard "Hit the Road Jack" is included as well and features a duet with fellow American Idol season 10 contestant Haley Reinhart. A deluxe version of the album, which includes covers of "Eleanor Rigby" and "Have You Ever Seen the Rain?", received a limited release.
Touring for the album was not extensive. However, Abrams opened a jazz festival on Penang Island, and after being dropped by Concord Records, he toured across Ethiopia. "Simple Life" and "Get Out" were released as dual singles a few weeks ahead of the album. Music videos were created for the two songs, as well as for non-singles "Stuck in London" and "Great Bright Morning". Jack Black, who had previously performed with Abrams on the American Idol season finale, appeared in a promotional comedy video that depicted Abrams as a homeless street busker.
Some critics were disappointed that Abrams did not make a more traditional jazz album. However, critical reception was positive overall. Some reviews compared Abrams to Jason Mraz, while others singled out the two jazziest songs, "Dry Spell and "Hit the Road Jack", as highlights. "Midnight Girl" also received high praise. It was listed as one 2012's best songs by an American Idol alumni. The album charted at No. 101 on the Billboard 200. It peaked at the No. 1 spot on Billboard'''s Top Heatseekers chart, while the single "Get Out" peaked at No. 23 on the Adult Contemporary chart and No. 39 on the Adult Pop Songs chart.
Background
Unlike several of the other finalists from the tenth season of American Idol, Abrams did not gain a record deal in the immediate aftermath of the series. This caused Kate Ward to write an article for Entertainment Weekly, in which she called Abrams the "most musically talented contestant" from that season and suggested a petition to get him signed. In January 2012, it was reported that Abrams had signed with Concord Records, the jazz label that Esperanza Spalding - one of Abrams' musical inspirations - is a part of. When asked earlier what kind of album he would like to make, Abrams answered "between rock and jazz and everything in between."
Although he finished in sixth place, Abrams has said that he is glad he did not win American Idol. The tight schedule for releasing an album that is imposed on the winner would have placed more pressure on him than he would have liked. Instead, Abrams was able to spend as much time as he felt necessary to find "the right label and the right music". "I need a chill vibe", he said explaining his feelings on the matter. The album was released on June 26, 2012, about a year after Abrams' participation on American Idol, and about ten months later than season ten winner Scotty McCreery's debut album. As soon as the American Idol Summer tour finished, Abrams went to Los Angeles, where he began writing sessions.
Writing and recording All of the songs were co-written by Abrams, except for "A Boy Can Dream" and "Hit the Road Jack". Although he had written songs on his own before, this marked the first time that Abrams had ever co-written with someone. Only new song ideas were used for the album. Abrams valued the "collaborative process" of working with other writers and feels that this is crucial to making music "fun". The album mixes elements of jazz and pop - Abrams has said that he "learned how pop music works" from his co-writers. Describing the album's genre as "organic focal", he placed heavy emphasis on melodies and harmonies - the "focal point" - while relying primarily on organic instruments, such as acoustic guitar, upright piano, and double bass. Commenting in particular on the double bass (or upright bass), which he gained notice for using during his run on American Idol, Abrams said that he feels the instrument "adds depth, changing frequencies you wouldn't hear on an electric bass." One of the takeaways that Abrams hoped fans would get from this album is his ability to play more instruments than just those that he used on TV. In addition to the double bass, Abrams played the cello, the drums, the acoustic guitar, the melodica, the recorder, the shaker, and a wurlitzer on the album. He gave serious consideration to being the only instrumentalist, but concluded that the album would be stronger with "input from different artists".American Idol judge and fellow upright bass player Randy Jackson served as an executive producer on the album. He suggested the possibility of collaborating, shortly after Abrams' run on the series. Although Abrams had little direct involvement with Jackson on the album, Jackson made several important connections for Abrams. Jackson is the one who connected Abrams with Concord Records.
Before recording the album, Abrams had mentioned an interest in working with Ellen DeGeneres, who judged American Idol the year before he competed. Iain Pirie and Martin Terefe also served as executive producers on the album. Commenting on Terefe, who produced many of Jason Mraz's albums, Abrams said, "I think he’s probably the nicest, but weirdest guy I've ever met...If something’s not working, he'll let you down very easily and if something's good, he’ll be your biggest cheerleader".
The tone of the album is intended to be happy and upbeat. Abrams wanted to "put out good vibes" with the music, explaining that he hoped to help people "feel good about the world". The album progresses into somewhat more negative subject matter as it goes on though. "We all thought it would be funny if we started the album off really happy and then got to the negative content", Abrams said. Opening track "Simple Life" was a collaboration with Toby Gad. A bass line that Gad played on the piano reminded Abrams of relaxing in his hammock and "looking up at the sky." The song developed from a discussion that the two had about "how nice" it is to take a break from technology every now and then and just go outside to enjoy nature. One time when Abrams wanted to do this, he was at a friend's house, in an area that he was unfamiliar with. Despite his desire to "go play guitar behind the house and be in nature", he was wary of the location. Reminding himself that he was now an adult, he "tuned [his] guitar down to a dropped D" and told himself, "I'm not scared of ghosts no more." From this emerged the song "Ghosts", which he took to Rune Westberg for further development. An additional element was then added, to make the song about staying the same in a relationship even when other aspects of your life are changing. "Great Bright Morning", which Abrams described as "a friendship song", was written with Andy Stochansky and Jamie Hartman. The song continues the theme of exploring nature and is about Abrams' dog, Rocky. "He's got a stub instead of a tail", explained Abrams. "I think [that] is probably the coolest part...[it] is so funny because whenever someone comes home, if I come home or my mom or dad walks in, he gets really excited and starts shaking his little stub." Abrams has had Rocky since the fifth grade and adopted him out of a bundle. He pictured the two of them "walking through the hills of Idyllwild" for the song - his hometown, where he has called the hills "magical", and of which he said, "You can watch a sunset [there], and the only other person to enjoy it with you is your dog."
Another location that had influence on the album was London. Abrams recorded all of the songs in that city, at Kensaltown Studios. He found this to be a unique experience, as the room was "totally open" and had windows. The mixer was not in a separate room - he could hear all of the music. Most of Abrams' vocals were recorded while sitting on a couch. Since Abrams played live, sounds of the city, such as buses, clock towers, and birds, made it onto the recordings and can be heard on the finished album. " I think recording anywhere else other than LA has different kinds of vibes", Abrams said about the experience. He felt that recording in London "captured the wonder" and the "wanderlust" that he felt about the city. An initial two week stay extended into six, and during this time, Abrams wrote two songs - one of these is "Stuck in London". While walking around the city, Abrams began forming a melody for the song. After playing his ideas for Terefe, he was advised to "reverse the chords of the chorus". Joined by co-writer Sacha Skarbek, the trio then took the song in a "party jazzy" direction. "I loved it. He just went along with my madness and made it into the Caribbean dance party fun track", Abrams said. Wanting to use evocative imagery in the song, Abrams came up with "fun" lyrics that held little bearing on his actual life.
Ian Barter came to Abrams with a fully formed melody for a song, which Abrams then improvised lyrics over. While joking around, Barter suggested making the whole thing into a veiled love song about shoes, to which Abrams responded, "That's hilarious, let's do it." The song is called "Wore Out My Soul". Abrams has called Barter a "genius" and was happy to write about an unconventional topic. "I feel like there's no subject that can't be sung about...every rock should be turned", he said. "Blame It On Me", which was co-written with Aron Friedman and Pamela Sheyne, allowed Abrams to "[play] a character". Abrams called this song the least like him on the record, remarking that he would "never really say" the lyrics another person. The song focuses on a woman who is trying to come up with an excuse for leaving in the middle of a date, even as the man knows that she is just intimidated by his sexiness. Abrams has joked that the album is "mostly about wanting girls to like" him.
"Get Out" is Abrams' "heartbreak song", that he described as having "a very simple 'I hate you, but I love you' kind of vibe". Written on the guitar and then recorded with "pop instruments", it was a collaboration with Westberg and Jason Reeves. "Midnight Girl" is a very personal song for Abrams. Drawing inspiration for it from a real life relationship that none of his friends were able to understand, Abrams wanted to make the point that when two people are in a loving relationship, they should not be discouraged by how others view them. The song was co-written with Stochansky and Hartman.