There is a tendency for music critics to categorize. This one swaggers and prances like Jagger. That one is outrageous like Madonna. If a songwriter tells stories about young people trying to escape their working class lives, taking to the road in search of a better existence, they are immediately compared to a young Springsteen. Such is the case with Brandon Flowers, lead singer/songwriter of The Killers. On his first solo outing, Flowers talks about his hometown Las Vegas in a way that Bruce talked about New Jersey. There is something to the comparison, but it's the kind of weight Flowers can't carry and shouldn't have to. FLAMINGO is a good CD. Flowers is a talented songwriter who knows how to draw images about escape and the desert like only a Vegas native could. But he sometimes gets bogged down in what seems to be an effort to be the modern day-West Coast Boss. So, in the end that's where the Springsteen comparisons fall short. There is a lot to like about this CD. “Only the Young”, “Jilted Lover & Broken Hearts” and the fantastic “Crossfire” are fantastic stories about being young, embracing it, but knowing that it won't last. Much like love. Flowers is very talented and deserves to be judged on his own merits, so buy the CD and enjoy it for what it is. Because it is worth owning. — Alan Yudman

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