Digital Vein

Digital Vein is the fourth studio album by American singer-songwriter David Cook. It was released on September 18, 2015, through Cook's Analog Heart Music.[2][3] The album features tracks co-written by Cook along with well-known songwriters such as Blair Daly, Zac Maloy, Kevin Griffin, Chad Carlson and David Hodges. Digital Vein is Cook's first studio album since he parted ways with RCA Records in 2012. The album was distributed through a deal with INgrooves Music Group.[3]

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic [4]
Digital Vein
Studio album by
David Cook
ReleasedSeptember 18, 2015
Recorded2013–15
Genre
Length45:03 (Standard Edition)
57:04 (Deluxe Edition)
LabelAnalog Heart · INgrooves[1]
Producer
  • David Cook
  • Chris Reardon
David Cook chronology
This Loud Morning
(2011)		 Digital Vein
(2015)		 Chromance
(2018)
Singles from David Cook
  1. "Criminals"
    Released: July 31, 2015
  2. "Broken Windows"
    Released: February 22, 2016
  3. "Heartbeat"
    Released: March 25, 2016

Background

Cook began work on his third post-American Idol album in 2012 after parting ways with RCA and relocating to Nashville, Tennessee. Cook stated that working in Nashville opened him up creatively to trying different things and was unsure about whether he would make another record but he decided to write songs, have fun and to see what happens. Digital Vein was recorded in Cook's home studio, where he worked with his longtime friend Andy Skib, who engineered, and the rhythm section from his touring band, playing the bulk of the parts himself. Cook stated that “The whole thing was an experiment to see if (A) I could make a record this way, and (B) if I could enjoy doing it this way. I’m a control freak, and to have this level of control has been empowering. It was definitely a different process for me, but I can’t recall ever having more fun making a record.”[5]

On October 25, 2014, Cook tweeted a photo of himself in the studio and on October 27, 2014, Cook tweeted "So stoked to be sharing this new music with you. Here we go!" along with a link to a new song snippet with the words coming soon.[6]

On May 20, 2015, Cook announced that his upcoming studio album would be made available for pre-order on PledgeMusic.[7] Cook stated that he was "beyond excited" to be working with PledgeMusic and was "intrigued by the opportunity that Pledge offers in bringing fans into the process and partnering with them to bring this record to life."[8]

On June 23, 2015, the album's title, Digital Vein, was announced along with the track list for the standard edition.[9] On June 26, 2015, the track list for the deluxe edition was released.[10]

Album title

The album initially had the working title, Mirror Mirror.[11] On the decision to name the album Digital Vein, Cook said, "My last independent record, back in 2006, was Analog Heart, and after my major-label journey, with circumstances being what they are, this record is certainly a progression. I don’t think it’s very much like Analog Heart at all, but the process of putting it together was similar in the sense that I worked with a very small team, and I put a lot of myself into every aspect of it. It felt like a throwback in that regard, so I wanted the two records to be connected, if only in name.”[5]

Reception

Critical

Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic gave the album 3.5 out of 5 stars stating that "if it's unlikely Cook could bring this brand of mid-2000s mainstream rock into the Top 40 in 2015, he at least delivers an album that satisfies."[12] Markos Papadatos of Digital Journal gave the album an 'A' rating, stating that "he is able to convey a wide spectrum of raw emotions with ease through his sincere storytelling."[13]

Commercial

The album debuted at No. 35 on Billboard 200, No. 22 on Top Album Sales, No. 8 on Independent Albums and No. 7 on Internet Albums,[14] with 11,000 sold on its debut week.[15]

Promotion

To promote the album, Cook posted video updates, sneak peaks of the new music, photos and other things on his PledgeMusic page.[8]

Singles

"Criminals" was released on July 31, 2015 and serves as the lead single from the album. Cook described the song as "lyrically ... a modern-day Bonnie and Clyde, young love against the world," and that it serves as a good synopsis for the record.[16][17][18] The song was serviced to American hot adult contemporary radio on September 21, 2015.[19]

"Broken Windows" was released and serviced to American hot adult contemporary radio on February 22, 2016 as the album's second single.[20]

"Heartbeat" was released as a single on March 25, 2016. He performed the song on the fifteenth season finale of American Idol.[21]

Other songs

"Laying Me Low" was released on April 30, 2013 through XIX Recordings, the record label of American Idol creator Simon Fuller.[22] The song charted at number 36 on the Billboard Pop Digital Songs sales chart.

"Wait for Me" was released independently through Cook's label imprint Analog Heart Music on November 17, 2014.[23]

An acoustic version of "Carry You" was released as a digital single from an acoustic EP that's only available on PledgeMusic. It was used as the season premiere of A&E’s Intervention on March 6, 2016.[24]

Track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Heartbeat"David Cook, Andy Waldeck, Chris Reardon3:36
2."Criminals"Cook, Blair Daly3:38
3."Broken Windows"Cook, Zac Maloy, Jerry Flowers3:03
4."Laying Me Low"Cook, Reardon, Waldeck3:39
5."Better Than Me"Chase Foster3:47
6."Carry You"Cook, Daly4:27
7."From Here to Zero"Cook, Maloy3:43
8."Kiss & Tell"Cook, Andy Skib, Waldeck3:24
9."Wait for Me"Cook, Chad Carlson3:49
10."I'm Gonna Love You"Cook, Waldeck, Skib4:17
11."Wicked Game"Chris Isaak3:45
12."Home Movies (Over Your Shoulder)"Cook, Kevin Griffin3:55
Deluxe edition[10]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
13."Where Do We Go"Cook, Skib, Waldeck4:01
14."Firing Squad"Cook, David Hodges, Steven Miller3:55
15."But You Won’t"Cook, Skib4:25
Walmart Exclusive
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
13."We're Not In This Alone"Cook, Skib, Bronson4:36
14."Secret Garden"Bruce Springsteen4:04
15."Eyes on You"Cook, Waldeck, Reardon3:30

Personnel

Credits from AllMusic.[25]

Charts
Chart (2015) Peak
position
US Billboard 200[26] 35
US Billboard Pop Albums Chart 4
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[27] 8

Release history
List of release dates, showing region, label, format, edition(s) and catalog number
RegionDateLabelFormat(s)Edition(s)Catalog
Australia[8] September 18, 2015 Analog Heart Music, Inc.[3]
  • Standard
  • deluxe
Canada
United Kingdom
United States
  • Standard
  • deluxe
  • Walmart Exclusive bonus tracks

References
  1. http://www.davidcookofficial.com/album/digital-vein-deluxe-edition/
  2. "David Cook - 'DIGITAL VEIN' ALBUM RELEASE". Davidcookofficial.com. July 1, 2015. Archived from the original on 1 July 2015. Retrieved 1 July 2015.
  3. "'American Idol' Alum David Cook Reveals Release Date for 'Digital Vein' Album". Billboard.com. July 2, 2015. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
  4. "AllMusic review".
  5. "BIO INTERVIEW: DIGITAL VEIN (2015)". Davidcookofficial.com. Retrieved August 8, 2015.
  6. "David Cook Teases Brand New Music!". Misbigblog.com. Retrieved October 27, 2014.
  7. "David Cook New Album Available For Pre-Order at Pledgemusic". Misbigblog.com. Retrieved June 23, 2015.
  8. "New Album". PledgeMusic.com. Retrieved June 24, 2015.
  9. "David Cook Reveals New Album Name and Track List!". Davidcookofficial.com. July 2, 2015. Archived from the original on 26 June 2015. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
  10. "David Cook Shares 'Digital Vein' Deluxe Edition Track List!". Davidcookofficial.com. July 2, 2015. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
  11. "David Cook - Thanks to the Monroe Carell Jr. Children's..." Facebook. Retrieved May 13, 2015.
  12. "Digital Vein David Cook Review". AllMusic. Retrieved 9 September 2015.
  13. "Review: David Cook charms on new 'Digital Vein' studio album". Digital Journal. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
  14. "Billboard.biz". Search under Charts for David Cook
  15. "Jessica Sanchez". Twitter.
  16. "David Cook premieres new single 'Criminals'". USA Today. Retrieved July 31, 2015.
  17. "David Cook Returns With New Single 'Criminals': Listen". Yahoo! Music. Retrieved July 31, 2015.
  18. "'American Idol' Winner David Cook Releases New Song 'Criminals': Listen". Billboard.com. Retrieved July 31, 2015.
  19. "Hot/Mod/AC Future Releases". All Access Media Group. Archived from the original on September 6, 2015. Retrieved September 13, 2015.
  20. http://www.allaccess.com/hot-modern-ac/future-releases
  21. http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/7272594/david-cook-performs-heartbeat-american-idol
  22. "David Cook New Single "Laying Me Low" – Listen to A Preview (Audio) (Photo) *David Set To Perform on Idol May 2*". Misbigblog.com. July 2, 2015. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
  23. "David Cook's new single - WAIT FOR ME - November 17!". Davidcookofficial.com. Archived from the original on November 5, 2014. Retrieved November 4, 2014.
  24. http://www.davidcookofficial.com/news/season-premiere-aes-intervention-feature-david-cooks-carry/
  25. "David Cook - Digital Vein". allmusic.com. All Media Network, LLC. Retrieved September 23, 2015.
  26. "David Cook Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved September 29, 2015.
  27. "David Cook Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved November 7, 2015.
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