UNDERNEATH
Strip away the flesh and bone
Look beyond the lies you’ve knownThe lies: all the misconceptions, prejudices, delusions, errors, fallacies and ignorant beliefs taught to the children of the world by their uneducated or misinformed parents, teachers, politicians… and so the fresh throngs of the blinded are created…
It is they whom Adam asks to look beyond those ‘ lies’. It is not easy to fight the accepted and widely spread ideas about how a man should look/ behave/ sound like, how love should look like, how marriage should look like, how sex should look like…. There’s no place for a gay guy with a guyliner in love with another guy in the collective conscience. Yet.
Or 'the lies' can be just first impressions, which are often times wrong.
You see Adam on stage performing 'Trespassing', or 'Cuckoo', all 'cocked and ready to go' and you think 'ooh, this man is fierce'. He is. But not always. Or not only that. It's just the tip of the iceberg, the fierceness and the cockiness. The perfection of his image, his confidence, is sometimes just that: a carefully created image. The real beauty, the real truth is deep inside.
In this case, he invites us all to look beyond the veneer.
Everybody wants to talk about the freak
no one wants to dig that deepAlthough carrying his flamboyance and eccentricity proudly, Adam finds that for too many people his nail polish or make up and a guy liner or just his general demeanour, if not exactly being a deal breaker, have been a kind of an impenetrable shield: it’s as if their minds pull some invisible brakes and they cannot seem to go beyond that.
It’s so off the charts for some, usually for those who believe in uniformity and traditional values, not daring to question them. The self-dubbed title of ‘the freak’ , ( I have no doubt that many have referred to Adam as the one behind the closed doors) illustrates how Adam thinks such kind of people perceive him or feel about him.
They do not want to go beyond that first impression which is so superficial and represents just one facet of the many reflecting the lustre of his soul.
let me take you underneathAnd so Adam makes this song. He makes ‘Trespassing” and takes us underneath . The best, the only, the most direct and the easiest way for an artist in him to show you his true self. If you’re willing to venture on this exciting journey. “Free your mind and the rest will follow”.
Baby better watch your step
never mind what’s on the leftThere are many distractions which can prevent you from taking that leap of faith: unprofessional, borderline homophobic reviews, snarky comments, the relentless radio stations refusing to play his music or just generally all the close-minded people out there…
Don’t mind them. Use your own head. Trust your own judgement. Adam had this impression that it was not cool to say you loved his music. And he was right about that, for some. There are many ‘closeted’ Glamberts. Things are changing, though. Adam Lambert is changing the world one fabulously talented step at a time.
You’re gonna see things you might not wanna see
still not that easy for me
UnderneathUnder the fierce and highly polished surface, it’s not that easy and perfect underneath. This beautiful and confident man can be very self-conscious, battling with distorted self-image, feeling not so good about himself.
Sometimes, he’s not a Glittery Alien from Planet Fierce, he’s that chubby red-head with braces on his teeth, afraid of who he is, having no or few friends… That little boy is still there, emotional, sensitive and fragile.
He makes mistakes. He fucks up. He gets drunk. He gets high. All that while being in the public eye. Of course it's not easy. He could never create this mannequin-like perfect public personna like some did. He would wilt away, his music would die. Adam flourishes showing all aspects of his being. The good ones, the bad ones; suave/smart/slender ones and chubby/ bad-make-up-day ones. He shows his Trespassing/FYE face and his Soaked/Underneath face. It's all him.
The greatest thing about Adam is that he doesn’t even try to pretend he’s perfect and strong at all times. He is human like the rest of us and that is a huge part of his appeal: his honesty and openness are so rare to come by in the celebrity world.
A red river of screams
underneath
tears in my eyesThose reviewers who dissed Underneath as being too melodramatic can ask themselves one thing: How many young children are being bullied as we speak because of who they are? How many of them have committed suicide because their families and communities failed to accept them for who they are? The line ‘red river of screams’ doesn’t sound melodramatic now, does it? They can’t handle the truth. It’s easier to close their eyes and minds and lull themselves back to ‘Stepford Wives’ kind of reality.
underneath
the depths of my sin
Look at me
now do you see? I think the ‘sins’ here refer to his imperfections, flaws, mistakes he makes. He doesn’t hide them, he doesn’t pretend he’s flawless, he doesn’t shy away from them.
He invites the listener to look at him, because what you will see is a mirror image of another human being, of yourself: we all have our doubts and fears and dark moments. They are all part of the infinite complexness of human existence. Adam used the ideas of the existentialist philosophy a lot on this album and the basic idea behind that is the focus on the man as he is. We, and Adam, are all perfect in our imperfections. 'Scars make us who we are'.
Welcome to my world of truth
I don’t wanna hide any part of me from you
I’m standing here with no apologies
such a beautiful release, you inside of meOnce you’re in, once you've ' stripped away the flesh and bone', he welcomes you and gives you his all: no lies, no masks, no more hiding.
At that point, the most miraculous thing happens: the union of two human beings, open-minded, unapologetic, free. Words cannot describe how telling of Adam’s greatness is that he values human contact and communication above all.
Who does he welcome? His family, his lover, his fans, his friends… He thrives on the interaction with other people, he is not a solo player: he is too selfless for that. He's a team player and even as an artist, he creates best when collaborating, bouncing ideas off of other talented people.
He gives a lot and gets a lot in return. And such a grandiose personality being selfless is a sight to behold. Adam Lambert is one of the greatest philanthropists of our time.
~~~~~~~~~~~
OTHER PEOPLE ON 'UNDERNEATH': ~ "Strip away the flesh and the bone" The best song on the album. Adam bares it all ... his heart ... his soul ... and his passion. It's impossible not be moved when he begs "Look at me!"
Best Lyric: "You're gonna see things you might not wanna see."
( Snicks, Afterelton)
~ "Underneath" is another one of those trademark Adam Lambert performance pieces, drenched in emotion and vocal gymnastics that would be perfectly suited to the Broadway stage. But Lambert has the talent to pull it off: Simply put, this guy probably has the best voice of any pop star working today. Even on less-than-stellar material, his soaring voice that then swoops down to a whisper can take your breath away.
( Wayne Parry, Associated Press)
~I pretty much adore Underneath. It’s the one song out of any of the other emotional songs that really can tug at your heartstrings. It has raw power and emotion that I feel none of the other songs really are up to par with this one. It’s has such personal, strong lyrics and vocals that you can really tell Adam wrote this one from the heart.
(John Paul Gelinas, Boners and Bitches blog)
~ Hands down, “Underneath” is the album’s greatest moment, it’s also my favorite track, so no arguing. The small snippet sent chills down my back, but the full version made tears fall from my eyes. The track carries so much emotion; the lyrics are heartfelt, they allow listeners to truly trespass into Lambert’s personal life. “I’m standing here with no apologies,” Lambert belts out on a beautiful, haunting moment that should garner him another Grammy nomination.
( EvokeOnline, AlbumConfession)
~Underneath – I’m just gonna say it…this might be the best song on the album. I know, I know, it’s not a big dance pop song and it isn’t all up in your face, but this track has such raw power and emotion that is unmatched by any other song on the album. Underneath is so personal, strong and powerful, in both the lyrics and in Adam’s vocals. I’m going to go out on a limb and say it might be more emotional and touching than Outlaws of Love. Definitely my favorite song on the album (I’m sorry, Cuckoo, you’re still a close #2).
(Jordan Meehan, EQ Music)
ADAM LAMBERT ON 'UNDERNEATH'One of the major themes on the album that there's a lot more underneath the surface than what meets the eye. Especially in the public eye, we're expected to be perfect and we’re not. That's not real life. And I think that's one of the things that I've found frustrating about being a celebrity is we're held to this really high standard, where I'm just a guy that sings. I'm not perfect. I'm not a beauty queen. I make mistakes. I fuck up. I say the wrong thing. I misjudge things. I'm sad sometimes or mad about something. And I just don't understand why that's not okay. Everything has to be all hunky dory all the time. So that song, “Underneath,” is saying don’t judge a book by it's cover and also, don't write someone off or classify them, or categorize them so easily because there's a lot more there.
It's A LOT of responsibility to carry. That's another thing that the album deals with on the darker side. There's a lot of unforeseen anxiety, things I didn't really prepare for or that catch me off guard sometimes. And "Underneath" talks about that. I think the line in "Underneath" that's so great is "it's still not that easy for me underneath." It's still hard.This is from his interview with Shirley Halperin, THR:
www.hollywoodreporter.com/idol-worship/adam-lambert-trespassing-music-business-exec-producer-325726
