Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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42 of 43 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great Pipes; Good CD; Just OK Production, October 26, 2003
By A Customer
I give this CD 4 stars. I won't elaborate this review with my personal opinion of each song, as everyone has his or her favorites, which may differ from mine. But generally speaking, this is a very good debut album. Many songs are well written and like one reviewer has said, "Perfect Day" should be a Grammy nominee for song writing. However, I found several songs to suffer from over production, with the lead and bass guitars nearly drowning out Clay's golden pipes. On songs like "Run To Me", "I Survived You" and "Measure Of A Man" I wish I could reach over and cut back on the accompanying instruments' volume level and turn up Clay's soaring voice. But the first two songs show the man can ROCK! I found other tunes like "When You Say You Love Me" and "Touch" to have some really good hooks that stick in your head for hours-good pop tunes that aren't old news after the third listen. Unfortunately, I found "I Will Carry You" to be somewhat forgettable and a not so innocent "borrowing" of the lyrics from Bruce Springsteen's excellent "If I Should Fall Behind".
Let me just say this reviewer is no "Claymate" nor am I the typical pop music listener. My eclectic tastes generally run from being an avid fan of John Hiatt and Little Feat, to alternative rock bands like 3 Doors Down, Counting Crows, Porcupine Tree, and Dave Matthews Band, to folk balladeers like Greg Brown, John Gorka and Lucy Kaplansky. I am a married 50+ male who rarely listens to pop radio because of it's repetitive drivel, sung by over-hyped pop stars who: 1. Couldn't carry a tune in a paper sack (i.e. John Mayer--sorry folks but he is a so-so talent); 2. Add so many extra notes to their delivery of a song it is likely the songwriter can't recognize it as his/her own (i.e. Christina Aguilera and the male version of Britney, Justin Timberlake); 3. Make their trademark using suggestive lyrics, hip thrusts and groin rubbing that most people find offensive (i.e. Britney Speers, who sounds like she is having a chronic "uh-uh" orgasm interspersed with a few "musical" mutterings thrown in for good measure); or 4. All of the above.
Clay Aiken is none of that. That is what I find so refreshing about this talented young man. He is blessed with a natural talent, who also happens to be a genuinely likeable guy, and also a man of moral fortitude who refuses to sink to the low standards of the typical pop music star of the day. It has been decades since I have been this spellbound by a pop star breaking out onto the current music scene.
From my view there are two camps of reviewers of Clay's music. Those who followed the American Idol 2 contestants from start to finish (I'll admit here, I did). We realize what these contestants were asked to do to showcase their talents. In no way did Clay, Ruben, Kimberly or the others "use" the AI2 show as a short cut to stardom, as many reviewers claim. "Use"? As if any of the contestants had personal control over the show? If I'm not mistaken, didn't the contestants have to prove themselves and earn their spot on the show via a grueling workout involving several musical genres? Any of those without range, power, who were "pitchy" or who could only sing one type of genre were eventually eliminated. I would venture to guess that Britney, Justin and many other current "stars" couldn't make the cut on AI2. Those of us who watched each week saw Clay grow from a talented college student to a professional performer, and got to know the man behind the performer. Even in his "weakest" performances (poor song selection) on AI2, he NEVER missed a note or sang off pitch--his delivery, persona, and remarkable voice came through every time. He was, and is, amazing.
The second camp of reviewers are those folks (professional or otherwise) who didn't watch the show and are quick to dismiss any talent that comes from that venue. How many past pop stars made their debuts on "Live from the Apollo," Ed McMahon's "Star Search," or similar talent shows? Did that make them any less talented? I don't think so. Others try to compare Clay with past and current pop stars. He stands on his own merits. He is Clay Aiken--not Barry Manilow, Elton John, Frank Sinatra or anyone else.
To sum up, kudos to Clay Aiken, Clive Davis, and others at RCA Records on a good first release. It will be interesting to watch Clay's performances and music mature in the coming months and years. I look forward to that eventual CD where Clay might consider singing some classic love standards like "As Time Goes By", "Always", and "Me And My Girl", ala the late, great (and little known) Harry Nilsson on his outstanding 1973 album "A Little Touch of Schmilsson In The Night".
Buy it, give it a listen, it won't disappoint.
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54 of 57 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Un-Biased Review, October 24, 2003
By A Customer
I can't believe the immaturity of these reviews. I guess it is where America is going. For all you Clay haters, pop music haters, Kelly and Rueben lovers, who gave him 1 star, like anyone is going to believe your review and you should probably go back to kindergarten and start all over with growing up. For all the Clay lovers who are screaming that he is the best, great that you support him, but it doesn't help anyone in making a decision on buying his CD. For all you people who quote one Billboard review or the fact that the CD went Double Platinum in a week, duh, you don't need to come here to learn this. Finally for those who expected a Josh Groban, or Barry Manilow type album, Clay is Clay Aiken and nobody else, so don't throw your pre-expectations at us, worse off is the people who think the3s songs are wrong for Clay, who cares and who made you the keeper of Clay. And the worse of all, the people who are disappointed because they wanted to hear past cover songs on the CD, remember Leif Garret. He went nowhere with it!I listened to the CD for a week before making a decision. I think Clive Davis is a genius here! Almost the greatest genius since the Beatles first started. He put together a bunch of catchy songs that will sell Clay into the music world, while deleting all preconceived stereotypes of the young man. Most professional critics' reviews I have read on the CD are unfair and seem to attack Clay as a person rather than a singer, or had preconceived notions of what should be on the CD. Unprofessional and I think most people should at least listen to the CD before those reviews. I was shocked by the differences I heard. My non- bias review of each song: Invisible: Very pop oriented top forty-type song. True bubble gum, but you can't get it out of your head. Clay can sing POP! I Will Carry You: Probably the song with longest staying power. Will be hard to like at first. ROCK BALLAD! Actually could easily be top 40 Rock song if the radio stations wouldn't snub it. I think this is the best way for Clay to go in the future. Sings like Dennis DeYoung of Styx next to the hard chords! Not Bubble Gum but a little candy coated! CLAY CAN REALLY SING ROCK! The Way: Good pop song, probably should be next single. Sounds too much like an N'Sync copy and Clay sounds more like Justin Timberlake than Clay. I don't think the song is a career helper. When You Say You Love Me: Country to pop. I hated this song at first. Now it grew on me. I think they should have either made the song a strong country ballad, or a strong pop ballad, but they made it a weak both combination. I think Clay also sings very weak and almost sissified on the song. No More Sad Songs: Wow, really different almost gothic ballad. Definitely different! Who ever put the cello or violin in the background, excellent idea it really compliments Clay's voice. Clay sings real strong in the song! Run To Me: This is a ballad that sounds similar to something Celine would do. Clay is exceptional on it. The extra reverb in his voice makes it better. I do think Celine would have sung it better. Shine: Beatles reborn. For the AP Press reviewer whom said this was interchangeable with the next song, go back to music classes! No similarity. I love the song and really think this shows that Clay can sing everything. Clay can sing Beatles! Love Clay's soulful voice in the middle. I Survived You: I love this song! It has a jazz, soul, strong ballad mix put together. It is produced too much like "Run To Me" which makes the songs a little too similar. Clay again is excellent in the song. This Is The Night: Well if you want Clay to be Clay the American Idol for the rest of this life than this song would be great for you. I agree with Randy Jackson on this. Perfect Day: WOW! WOW! WOW! Whoever wrote this song should be handed a Grammy award. The most creative song I have heard since Paul McCartney and John Lennon. The most challenging song for Clay to sing and boy does he pull it off BIG! Definitely deserves Simon to apologize to Clay for saying, "I close my eyes and I hear Broadway." Definitely Pop at it's best. The type of song you can here ten years from now and it still sounds like a cool song because it never was trendy to begin with. If it was my CD, and it is not, I would release this as the next single! If you don't hear any other songs on the CD, listen to this one! Measure Of A Man: I think the strongest part of this song is that Clay does what is so hard for many singers to do. He reaches you right in the heart. I could listen to this over and over and over and would always get the same great emotional feeling he pulls off in the song. Definitely a song that is needed in the music industry. Touch: SALSA! Clay nails this salsa upbeat song! Again could be a top 40 song! A little predictable, but at the same time will get your feet tapping and the emotions going! I love the synthesized acoustic guitar in it. Very refreshing and different beginning! I give it five stars because it is a showcase of a different side of Clay than was previously seen and because the singer pulls it off greatly! Definitely one of the better CDs of the year!
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121 of 134 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Against All Odds- Real Music is Back, November 8, 2003
By A Customer
I've read many of the reviews posted on Amazon- most of them echo what I felt when I first heard this CD-- it's the best CD I have bought in a long time. I listen to MOAM at least 2 to 3 times a day- Clay Aiken's voice just makes me feel happy- sounds corny; but in the world we live in today it's nice to feel that again. I didn't realize how snarky, and snotty the music industry was until I read some of the "critics" reviews of this CD- I guess I just don't get it- what's wrong about a pure & honest talent??Do yourself a favor-buy this CD- The Way, Shine, I Will Carry You, I Survived You- in fact the whole CD is excellent-- I never skip a song- I start my day with this CD & I end it with this CD. Clay, next time make it a double CD- & quickly.
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