July 20–27, 2000

disc quicks|rock/pop

Adam Pascal

Model Prisoner

(Sh-K-Boom Records)

A funny thing happened to Adam Pascal on his way to becoming a pop star. He got nabbed for the lead role of Roger in Rent. And, in a matter of months, this unknown Long Island rock singer was a Tony nominee with a photo on the front of Newsweek. But Pascal — who currently plays Radames in Broadway’s Aida — never gave up his dream of putting out a rock record. With his debut effort, Model Prisoner, released on the same label as fellow Aida star Sherie Rene Scott’s CD (who contributes backing vocals here), Pascal has proven himself a versatile singer and a decent songwriter. On an uneven, yet interesting record, Pascal’s a bit all over the place, mingling straightforward rock with vaudevillian pop. He brings the same vocal passion to his own songs as he did to Roger’s Rent tunes, but Pascal’s years on Broadway have given his voice a sort of overblown urgency that works both for and against him, depending on the song. When Pascal doesn’t try too hard — going for subtlety over drama — he sounds great. The melodic, catchy "Liken a Razor," and the torchy "Which Way to Nowhere" are fine examples of his innate vocal prowess and ability to "line up" his voice with the lyrics. Whether or not the 29-year-old Pascal will be able to land himself an audience beyond the Great White Way remains unknown, but with Model Prisoner he’s proven himself unwilling to be pigeonholed by public expectations.

—Nicole Pensiero