In response to this excellent (and brave) post by Juneau and Xena on the Salon over at On the Meaning of Adam Lambert: Adam Lambert and the quality of mercy
I will post this response in the Salon as well, but I wanted to post it here and on Twitter too, cuz I think I’m not the only one who feels this way.
In regard to the unsanctioned CDs of Adam Lambert’s old demo work produced by Malcolm Welsford:
I can’t support these demo CDs, but I don’t bash, demonize (or unfollow) those who choose to do so. I like Monte a lot, love his solo CDs, and respect his freedom to speak his mind on this matter. Frankly, I also worry that speakin’ his mind as he has may have alienated a lot of Adam’s fans from Monte’s ranks of personal musical support. Yet I still cannot support what Malcolm Welsford, the true culprit, has produced. However, my decision is based on ethics, not just cuz Adam said he didn’t approve of ’em.
This producer, Malcolm Welsford, is sleazy. In yer post on the Salon, Juneau, (read link above) ya mentioned that if Adam hadn’t gotten famous, he’d be happy these CDs were comin’ out. I say, if he hadn’t gotten famous, this man wouldn’t bother to put these CDs out. Adam’s fame (exploitin’ it) is the reason he’s puttin’ ’em out. The exploitation is the reason for the timin’. He has to release ’em before the real deal comes out. Take One, his first spoilin’ of Adam’s thunder, taught him he can make bank if he times it right, and this time the fanbase has grown exponentially, so he stands to make even more money off of Adam in an underhanded manner. He’ll do this by foolin’ the casual fans, the new fans, who won’t know that this is old and unfinished music. The real damage some of his veteran fans are concerned with is that those new fans may think this old demo music really is Adam’s sophomore CD, his Magnum Opus.
For the record, I have a lot of Adam’s older music, and I love it all. The objection isn’t bout the music itself. The objection is a matter of cheatin’ fans and harmin’ Adam’s growin’ reputation as the greatest male singer alive today.
I do worry this could hurt his career some, but I also believe Adam will rise above this mess. His talent is his, housed in his own body. This sleazy producer only has a small slice of his talent in older music. He hasn’t got any claim on the source of that talent. Long after he’s played his grubby little games and run out of older slices of Adam to exploit, Adam will still be puttin’ out new CDs. Also, the caliber of the official music will blow this unfinished demo business into oblivion. I have faith in that.
As for me, I can disagree with my friends and still love ’em, still call ’em my friends. I hope I’m not the only one. For now, it’d be nice if our fandom didn’t tear itself into bits over this one despicable sleazeball. His time is runnin’ out, but Adam’s star has just begun to rise.
~~~
© W.R.R. 10/16/2011
@RagMan_RIP
As Ashes Scatter 
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