Different pages from the same story
First things first - new layout! I was getting thoroughly tired of my blog being a "sparkle-fest", as my sister called it. So I went hunting for a new one, and this struck my fancy. Let's see how long I can keep it without wanting to swat those cute little ladybirds.
Second. I'm on a Mac, and all those cute little formatting buttons in the blog posting window never worked for me in Safari. I literally never knew they were there until I tried blogging from Firefox. How sad is that? Anyways, now I can format colours, add block quotes, and post pictures to my heart's content without worrying my pretty little head over the intricacies of HTML coding. This is very, very good.
Now, I'm going to do my song by song review of A Thousand Different Ways. I've been wanting to review this CD ever since one-thirty a.m. on Tuesday, September 19, 2006. That was after I found, downloaded, and listened to ATDW for the first time on my iPod. As some of you may recall, the prospect of a 'covers album' upset me so much that I actually stopped listening to concert Clay mp3s.
I've since come down off that ledge. At some point I remembered that I would love anything Clay sang. I still wish this was an album of original material. But I'm thankful for ATDW, and I appreciate the love and work that made this such a beautiful album. What follows is not so much a review as my reactions to the various songs. I don't particularly care about artistic merit, I care what thoughts and feelings the songs and Clay's voice evoked in me.
Right Here Waiting
This song doesn't appeal to me. There's something nasal about Clay's voice, and parts of the arrangement sound too country for my liking. Still, I adore the way he sings 'But in the end if I'm with you, I'll take the chance..." In my delusional world, that's a super secret message to the fans, telling us that he'll take the chance of a covers album if we stand by him. Hee.
Lonely No More
On a more positive note, I adore this song, although it, too, has a country vibe. There are so many delicious phrases here. Another dream, another day. Give me everything, everything tonight. Take me in, take me home. Clay is listed as a songwriter on this piece - along with three other people. Baby steps, baby steps. It's a good first effort, and along with Broken Wings, it's the only song on ATDW that I can listen to in any mood.
Without You
When I heard that Clay was going to sing Without You on this album, I freaked out in a wonderful way. Then I found out that it was Harry Nilsson's Without You, not U2's With or Without You. Heh. I was disappointed until I hied myself to Promosquad to listen to the track. I fell instantly in love with the tragic story the song told, and the angsty way Clay sang it. I had imagined a video treatment with him walking through the rain reliving memories as he walked to his girlfriend's house. All we got was an awkwardly lip-synched video of Clay singing the song in a studio of sorts, but he looked gorgeous and sang pretty. I think it's a sort of badge of honour that Clay can't lip synch convincingly. And I'm positive that his lips have other talents. :P
Every Time You Go Away
I had never heard this song prior to this album. I had heard quite a few fans groaning when they saw this on the track list. But I couldn't help liking it. Clay sings brightly and the instrumental mix gives the song a perpetually moving, breezy feeling. I wouldn't deem this a lyrical masterpiece, but I enjoy it tremendously.
Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word
I imagined a video for this one, too. Clay is dancing cheek to cheek with a petite brunette *coughs*, trying to convince her to take him back. She remembers vignettes - random things like Clay painting her toenails, feeding him macaroni and cheese when he's sick, and counting lightning bugs together. He sings her through the memories, and at the end, she realizes she can't help but forgive him for whatever he's done.
Right, the song. *blushes* I haven't heard Elton John's version (yes, I am that musically sheltered.) I'm glad they toned down the instrumentation on this one. The Spanish guitar gives the song an intimate feel, like the last slow dance at a night club. I really love this. It just has so much scope for imagination (TM Anne of Green Gables.)
When I See You Smile
I didn't have any strong reaction to this song the first twenty or so times I heard it. Oh, I liked it fine. I didn't skip it and it usually gave me a vague sense of contentment. My hopeless romantic half was ecstatic that he dedicated it to Kristy. It just wasn't a song I loved - until I listened to it again tonight. I don't know whether it's the shipping possibilities with Kristy, the message of hope, or the joy in his voice. Maybe it's all three. But this song just makes me feel good, even as my dreams for him of critical acceptance or even grudging respect seem to slip further and further away.
A Thousand Days
It's grown on me. I probably listened to it less than a dozen times after the JBT, but the rough recorded version leaked through Youtube this summer was manna to my clack-starved soul. I still giggle at the spinning balls line, and the bloom has worn off the version on ATDW. But I love watching him sing this live - because he transforms this ballad into a passionate rock performance. Only Clay Aiken could do it.
Everything I Do (I Do It For You)
I already liked Bryan Adams' version of this song. Clay's is so radically different that I love it in a completely different way. It's dreamier and gentler, and the instrumentation and background vocals give it a decidedly Celtic vibe. Some notes are so powerful that they make me gasp even when I'm expecting them. Again, only Clay does this to me.
Because You Loved Me
In contrast, I cordially detested this song by Celine Dion and was mortified to find it would be on ATDW. Clay sure enjoys making me eat crow. This is an upbeat, drum-driven tune, not a plodding ballad. The words become so meaningful when I think of what Clay and his fandom went through this year. It's a mutual love song, one that he could sing to us, but we could sing back. I know that his voice helped heal me and many hurt people in the Clay Nation.
So yes, I love this one too. Just becoss.
I Want To Know What Love Is
From the Promosquad snippets, this had been one of my most anticipated songs. In the part I heard, Clay's voice was incredibly rich and resonant. It remains so in the entire song, but somehow, it doesn't add up for me. Regardless, Suzie McNeil is wonderful with Clay. I usually skip this one (unless my Mom's around, because she loves it ;) ). I suspect it's not that the song is bad, but that others are much better for me.
These Open Arms
If you're an enthusiastic Clay fan, you probably read The Kite Runner when Clay assigned it to us a few months ago. I didn't appreciate this song until I read TKR and started connecting its lyrics to the book. Now, I enjoy the lyrics, but something in the melody feels askew to me. It could be the chords or the key - it feels minor and dissonant to me. I feel that its sound would be a better fit on Measure of a Man.
Here You Come Again
I admit my initial reaction to seeing a Dolly Parton song on ATDW's track list was a childish one. Clay said in Learning to Sing. "I didn't want to be Dolly Parton. I wanted to be cool." Enough said. But then I heard HYCA, and it's one of my top five tracks on the album. Relaxed, charming, self-deprecating- this song is much like the Aiken himself, but with the faintest hint of R&B flavour. And those low notes make me quiver... here I gooooooo indeed.
Everything I Have
I'm a hopeless romantic, I'll admit it. This song is so very pretty - the melody is tender and cradling as a lullaby. I enjoy the non-romantic interpretation - that of a father singing to a baby girl. It puts the feelings of one of my character's for his one year old daughter into song.
Naturally, it also makes me think of daddy Clay singing lullabies to his little ones someday. *sigh* This song is runner up in the competition for my favourite... at the moment.
Broken Wings
This is my favourite song on the physical album ATDW. Clay describes it as ethereal, and I concur. Morgan Grace's voice blends divinely with his, even though the contrast between them is stark as yin and yang. The poem read throughout the song is a beautiful fit. I can't imagine Broken Wings without it.
I love this song so much that I made it my ringtune. It starts at Clay's big "Taaaaake these broken wings..." right after the bridge. The only trouble is, I never want to pick up...
If You Don't Know Me By Now
There's something about this that reminds me of the Clay we fell in love with on American Idol. There's something in his enunciation and the theme that feels familiar as one of his old AI performances. So I enjoy this, and I'd rather have it on the album than RHW, but it's not an enormous favourite.
Lover All Alone
Very little hasn't been said about this song. His voice consumes me completely. I love the slow dance of his vocal with the cello. At one moment, they become one so fluidly that I don't realize it until after they unite. The lyrics are simple and graceful as the music. I am amazed that the man who claimed he was more of a Christmas tree (!) than a songwriter wrote such an exquisite piece. This is, hands down, my favourite Clay Aiken song. Thank God for David Foster's mentorship.
Somehow, I don't quite regret this not being on the album. Clay has been ripped to pieces over ATDW. I couldn't stand this intensely beautiful, personal art to be mocked and derided. I'm almost glad that most people who hear it will be intense Clay fans, because we understand. I want to hug this song and hide it from the insensitive jerks who don't get Clay.
I think I covered it all. For my first "real" blog in a while, I wanted to post something substantial. :P If you're still awake, I salute you.
Technorati tags: a thousand different ways, clay aiken, david foster, morgan grace, ladybirds, harry nilsson, u2, elton john, jukebox tour, youtube, bryan adams, celine dion, suzie mcneil, the kite runner, measure of a man dolly parton, learning to sing, american idol.
Second. I'm on a Mac, and all those cute little formatting buttons in the blog posting window never worked for me in Safari. I literally never knew they were there until I tried blogging from Firefox. How sad is that? Anyways, now I can format colours, add block quotes, and post pictures to my heart's content without worrying my pretty little head over the intricacies of HTML coding. This is very, very good.
Now, I'm going to do my song by song review of A Thousand Different Ways. I've been wanting to review this CD ever since one-thirty a.m. on Tuesday, September 19, 2006. That was after I found, downloaded, and listened to ATDW for the first time on my iPod. As some of you may recall, the prospect of a 'covers album' upset me so much that I actually stopped listening to concert Clay mp3s.
I've since come down off that ledge. At some point I remembered that I would love anything Clay sang. I still wish this was an album of original material. But I'm thankful for ATDW, and I appreciate the love and work that made this such a beautiful album. What follows is not so much a review as my reactions to the various songs. I don't particularly care about artistic merit, I care what thoughts and feelings the songs and Clay's voice evoked in me.
Right Here Waiting
This song doesn't appeal to me. There's something nasal about Clay's voice, and parts of the arrangement sound too country for my liking. Still, I adore the way he sings 'But in the end if I'm with you, I'll take the chance..." In my delusional world, that's a super secret message to the fans, telling us that he'll take the chance of a covers album if we stand by him. Hee.
Lonely No More
On a more positive note, I adore this song, although it, too, has a country vibe. There are so many delicious phrases here. Another dream, another day. Give me everything, everything tonight. Take me in, take me home. Clay is listed as a songwriter on this piece - along with three other people. Baby steps, baby steps. It's a good first effort, and along with Broken Wings, it's the only song on ATDW that I can listen to in any mood.
Without You
When I heard that Clay was going to sing Without You on this album, I freaked out in a wonderful way. Then I found out that it was Harry Nilsson's Without You, not U2's With or Without You. Heh. I was disappointed until I hied myself to Promosquad to listen to the track. I fell instantly in love with the tragic story the song told, and the angsty way Clay sang it. I had imagined a video treatment with him walking through the rain reliving memories as he walked to his girlfriend's house. All we got was an awkwardly lip-synched video of Clay singing the song in a studio of sorts, but he looked gorgeous and sang pretty. I think it's a sort of badge of honour that Clay can't lip synch convincingly. And I'm positive that his lips have other talents. :P
Every Time You Go Away
I had never heard this song prior to this album. I had heard quite a few fans groaning when they saw this on the track list. But I couldn't help liking it. Clay sings brightly and the instrumental mix gives the song a perpetually moving, breezy feeling. I wouldn't deem this a lyrical masterpiece, but I enjoy it tremendously.
Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word
I imagined a video for this one, too. Clay is dancing cheek to cheek with a petite brunette *coughs*, trying to convince her to take him back. She remembers vignettes - random things like Clay painting her toenails, feeding him macaroni and cheese when he's sick, and counting lightning bugs together. He sings her through the memories, and at the end, she realizes she can't help but forgive him for whatever he's done.
Right, the song. *blushes* I haven't heard Elton John's version (yes, I am that musically sheltered.) I'm glad they toned down the instrumentation on this one. The Spanish guitar gives the song an intimate feel, like the last slow dance at a night club. I really love this. It just has so much scope for imagination (TM Anne of Green Gables.)
When I See You Smile
I didn't have any strong reaction to this song the first twenty or so times I heard it. Oh, I liked it fine. I didn't skip it and it usually gave me a vague sense of contentment. My hopeless romantic half was ecstatic that he dedicated it to Kristy. It just wasn't a song I loved - until I listened to it again tonight. I don't know whether it's the shipping possibilities with Kristy, the message of hope, or the joy in his voice. Maybe it's all three. But this song just makes me feel good, even as my dreams for him of critical acceptance or even grudging respect seem to slip further and further away.
A Thousand Days
It's grown on me. I probably listened to it less than a dozen times after the JBT, but the rough recorded version leaked through Youtube this summer was manna to my clack-starved soul. I still giggle at the spinning balls line, and the bloom has worn off the version on ATDW. But I love watching him sing this live - because he transforms this ballad into a passionate rock performance. Only Clay Aiken could do it.
Everything I Do (I Do It For You)
I already liked Bryan Adams' version of this song. Clay's is so radically different that I love it in a completely different way. It's dreamier and gentler, and the instrumentation and background vocals give it a decidedly Celtic vibe. Some notes are so powerful that they make me gasp even when I'm expecting them. Again, only Clay does this to me.
Because You Loved Me
In contrast, I cordially detested this song by Celine Dion and was mortified to find it would be on ATDW. Clay sure enjoys making me eat crow. This is an upbeat, drum-driven tune, not a plodding ballad. The words become so meaningful when I think of what Clay and his fandom went through this year. It's a mutual love song, one that he could sing to us, but we could sing back. I know that his voice helped heal me and many hurt people in the Clay Nation.
So yes, I love this one too. Just becoss.
I Want To Know What Love Is
From the Promosquad snippets, this had been one of my most anticipated songs. In the part I heard, Clay's voice was incredibly rich and resonant. It remains so in the entire song, but somehow, it doesn't add up for me. Regardless, Suzie McNeil is wonderful with Clay. I usually skip this one (unless my Mom's around, because she loves it ;) ). I suspect it's not that the song is bad, but that others are much better for me.
These Open Arms
If you're an enthusiastic Clay fan, you probably read The Kite Runner when Clay assigned it to us a few months ago. I didn't appreciate this song until I read TKR and started connecting its lyrics to the book. Now, I enjoy the lyrics, but something in the melody feels askew to me. It could be the chords or the key - it feels minor and dissonant to me. I feel that its sound would be a better fit on Measure of a Man.
Here You Come Again
I admit my initial reaction to seeing a Dolly Parton song on ATDW's track list was a childish one. Clay said in Learning to Sing. "I didn't want to be Dolly Parton. I wanted to be cool." Enough said. But then I heard HYCA, and it's one of my top five tracks on the album. Relaxed, charming, self-deprecating- this song is much like the Aiken himself, but with the faintest hint of R&B flavour. And those low notes make me quiver... here I gooooooo indeed.
Everything I Have
I'm a hopeless romantic, I'll admit it. This song is so very pretty - the melody is tender and cradling as a lullaby. I enjoy the non-romantic interpretation - that of a father singing to a baby girl. It puts the feelings of one of my character's for his one year old daughter into song.
Naturally, it also makes me think of daddy Clay singing lullabies to his little ones someday. *sigh* This song is runner up in the competition for my favourite... at the moment.
Broken Wings
This is my favourite song on the physical album ATDW. Clay describes it as ethereal, and I concur. Morgan Grace's voice blends divinely with his, even though the contrast between them is stark as yin and yang. The poem read throughout the song is a beautiful fit. I can't imagine Broken Wings without it.
I love this song so much that I made it my ringtune. It starts at Clay's big "Taaaaake these broken wings..." right after the bridge. The only trouble is, I never want to pick up...
If You Don't Know Me By Now
There's something about this that reminds me of the Clay we fell in love with on American Idol. There's something in his enunciation and the theme that feels familiar as one of his old AI performances. So I enjoy this, and I'd rather have it on the album than RHW, but it's not an enormous favourite.
Lover All Alone
Very little hasn't been said about this song. His voice consumes me completely. I love the slow dance of his vocal with the cello. At one moment, they become one so fluidly that I don't realize it until after they unite. The lyrics are simple and graceful as the music. I am amazed that the man who claimed he was more of a Christmas tree (!) than a songwriter wrote such an exquisite piece. This is, hands down, my favourite Clay Aiken song. Thank God for David Foster's mentorship.
Somehow, I don't quite regret this not being on the album. Clay has been ripped to pieces over ATDW. I couldn't stand this intensely beautiful, personal art to be mocked and derided. I'm almost glad that most people who hear it will be intense Clay fans, because we understand. I want to hug this song and hide it from the insensitive jerks who don't get Clay.
I think I covered it all. For my first "real" blog in a while, I wanted to post something substantial. :P If you're still awake, I salute you.
Technorati tags: a thousand different ways, clay aiken, david foster, morgan grace, ladybirds, harry nilsson, u2, elton john, jukebox tour, youtube, bryan adams, celine dion, suzie mcneil, the kite runner, measure of a man dolly parton, learning to sing, american idol.
Wow--your blog design looks really fantastic. Great album review too!
Posted by
Idle-wandering |
11/13/2006 6:25 p.m.