Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 6-10 of 210
 Three and 1/2 stars May 13, 2008
Dan E. Buoy (OH United States)
33 out of 48 found this review helpful
There are some recording artists whose fans are so intense that it is genuinely difficult to ascertain whether or not a given album is any good based on customer reviews. I find this to be the case with Clay Aiken. Some fans are so rabidly loyal, anything less than a five star review will elicit concern and suspicion, or worst case, hatred and venom.
My wife is a huge Aiken fan, but I daresay she is not as big of a fan as some posting here. We have Clay Aiken magnets on our refrigerator. I buy all of his albums for her. As a surprise this past December, I took her to his Christmas concert. She loved it, while I found it pleasant but a tad boring for my tastes (he stood virtually motionless behind the microphone the entire show). For Christmas, I bought her a plane ticket to New York City and tickets to Spamalot so she could see his Broadway debut with a girlfriend. So she very much loves Clay Aiken, and I support and indulge this habit.
But were she to put an honest review for this album on this site, she would likely be lambasted as a "hater" or psychoanalyzed with suspicion. So I am posting the review she verbally told me last night, so her Amazon ratings will not suffer, but that her opinion might make it out there to other Clay fans who may wish to read an objective opinion on this recent album.
Last night, I asked her if she had listened to this new album all the way through. "Many, many times," she replied. "OK," I said, "so be honest. Five stars is like, The Beatles' 'Abbey Road' -- what does this album rank? Honestly." She paused. "Honestly? Maybe three or four stars."
I asked her if Clay had yet to record an album where the material matched his talent, nuance for nuance. "No." Such was the case with this album. Several pleasant songs, all around good to listen to, but nothing that made her crawl out of her skin the way I witnessed when AI season 2 was on the air. I'm telling you, there were weeks when I would just stare at the TV and say, "Damn, that kid is good," and she would have goosebumps rolling over her arms. But with this album? Not that level of joy for the listner, at least in her case.
In other words, there are true Clay fans out there who want to hear him belt out those spine tingling notes, those mega ballads, those chill-inducing tones the way only he can, time and time again, the way we did on AI. But in studio, for whatever reason, we just don't seem to have heard it.
This should not be misconstrued as people who are "haters," or "not listening to the same album" as others. Rather, it is people who have heard glimpses of an unspeakably amazing talent, and wished a studio would find material that matched it. We have not. And for my wife to say this album ranks at "Three, maybe four stars" does not make her a "hater." It makes her a realist. Not in the category of fans who discouraged her from ordering a reuben at the restaurant before one of his concerts (I'm not making this up -- the ladies looked at her and said, "You don't order THAT," because Ruben Studdard had beaten Clay in season 2).
But she is smart enough not to post her honest opinion here for fear the die-hard fans will retaliate against her, as has happened to others here.
All that being said, three-and-a-half stars is likely a fair assessment of this album from a true fan. As her husband, I will happily take the heat/hatred for this review. And I will also continue to buy all things Aiken for my wonderful wife, who I hope will someday tell me, "THIS album is FIVE STARS -- HONESTLY!" When that day comes, I will be the first to post the review. And I'll know it's time to buy two copies of that album -- one for her and one for me.
PS: Since posting this review, I've followed up in the "Comments" section, and have subsequently been asked to point people to the comments section for the perspective it provides. Thank you.
 Solid entertainment May 12, 2008
Jem (MD, USA)
32 out of 36 found this review helpful
I loved Clay Aiken's song "Invisible." He has a great, strong voice, and though he does ballads very well, I prefer his uptempo songs. So, the last album was a little disappointing since it was so many covers and nearly all ballads/slow songs. I almost didn't buy this one, but Amazon's price was too tempting. I'm glad I bought it. "On My Way Here" has more than its share of ballads, but there are a few uptempo songs and the overall execution is far better than previous albums.
Some reviewers thought the subject matter a little depressing. I actually found it uplifting. Most songs discuss the difficulties in life and how he got past them to be where he is now. Everyone can relate to that. "Ashes" is uptempo, and the lyrics are about everything "going up in flames" but he managed to rise above it all. This was one of my favorites, in addition to "Falling," also a faster song. Of the slower offerings, I felt that "The Real Me" and "Weight of the World" and "Where I Draw the Line" were the best. These aren't syrupy ballads going on about how great love is. They center on how love makes us vulnerable and can even hurt us, but it so necessary to live. How many people do we know who actually see the real us? "Where I Draw the Line" reminded me a lot of Rob Thomas' "Lonely No More," at least in tone. It's easier to guard our hearts to avoid pain, but if we never take that chance we're missing out.
Though I didn't love every song on here, there were many that I enjoyed and could relisten to on a frequent basis. Aiken is certainly talented, and this album showcases that. I hope his next offering has more fast songs, but even if not I'll check it out. Overall, highly recommended.
 Pop. Rock. Blues. Jazz. This CD's got a little of everything... May 6, 2008
M. Hannah (New Zealand)
30 out of 31 found this review helpful
I'm still waiting on this CD to arrive, but thanks to a friend I've heard all twelve songs.
It's amazing - forget what you've heard before, this is a grown up Clay Aiken; no longer just a 'ballad boy'. A little modern blues a-la James Morrison, a little uptempo rock/pop, a little jazz piano, a few ballads, a little country-crossover and even an inspirational song. And a beautifully sad song the man wrote with David Foster. Just goes to show ya what the guy can do when his record label lets him choose the songs instead telling him what to sing. The guy has good and very eclectic taste in music.
If you remember Clay from American Idol, but have never bought any of his CD's, this is the one to get!
THIS should have been his second album May 13, 2008
T. Burger (Chicago)
30 out of 33 found this review helpful
(This is especially for those who have listened to the CD once or twice, and made up their mind it's not to their liking.)
After my second time through this CD, I was prepared to give it a thoroughly sub-par review. Other than the title track and "Lover All Alone", nothing really grabbed me. However, I *wanted* to be grabbed, so I gave the CD another chance.
Clunk. Nothing.
After my fifth run through, I was ready to call it quits, especially as I found myself skipping through the songs, not even giving them a proper listening, to get from "On My Way Here" to "Lover All Alone". I did call it quits for a few days, then found that I was humming a tune in my head that I couldn't quite place. After driving myself insane for a day or so, I finally recognized it as "Something About Us". So I pulled out my iPod, played the song, and was a bit dumbfounded. Was this the same thing I skipped through a few days ago? Indeed it was. And yet now (or then) as I listened to the song, I thought it was one of the most gorgeous love songs I'd ever heard. Clay's voice was sublime, as he caressed each word, each phrase, with a tenderness I don't think I've heard before from him.
Well, that meant I had to give the entire CD another listening, and when I did so, it clicked. I "got it", though I'm not sure what it was that I was missing before. I wasn't expecting him to recreate Measure of a Man, and was hoping this wasn't another A Thousand Different Ways (sorry, I didn't like that one, save for "Lover All Alone"; someone of Clay's stature shouldn't be singing remakes on their second studio--non-holiday release).
So for me, the sixth time was the charm. It's obvious that Clay has given up aspirations of being a hugely successful POP artist and is singing to his fan base. That's perfectly fine--a performer can entertain (and enrapture) his audience without trying to score the next big #1 single.
I'm glad I gave it that sixth shot. It's had many more listens since then.
Clay's given us a beautiful album, and I'm already looking forward to more.
EDIT: I listened to it this morning (5/13) and now I even like the songs that weren't my favorites--in other words, I like the entire CD. This is truly a stellar offering, and I'm glad I gave it a sixth shot. (Thankfully, the other guys at the gym around me didn't know that I was listening to Clay Aiken while exercising. I doubt he gets much play on guys' iPods, especially at the gym!)
The Best Clay Aiken Album Yet! May 6, 2008
Music Lover (Michigan)
29 out of 32 found this review helpful
I'm so glad that Clay finally got to choose his own songs for this album. They are all beautiful, and Clay's glorious voice brings each song to life. A must-have!
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