Before I dive into this, I must bestow major props, big style points, kudos, compliments and whatever other terms the thesaurus might dredge up to Taylor for a crowning achievement: He is the first Idol who did not include his Idol coronation song on the following album. I'm hopeful that decision illustrates the kind of mold-breaking potential that a lot of fans envisioned Taylor possessing. Plus it's always nice to reduce the cheese factor.
OK, on to the track-by-track examination:
: The vocal sounds good, as it does throughout the album -- the production brings out the warmth of his voice, and the soulful qualities are evident without -- at least most of the time -- Taylor sounding like an overcompensating white soul singer wannabe. It's a very enjoyable album from a vocal standpoint. Too bad about the song, though -- it reminded me of any number of unpleasant '70s soul/pop hybrids.
He needs to dial back that Doobies influence; nothing good can come of it. Unimpressive opener.
: Much better, a strong song from Rob Thomas that sounds as if it were designed for Taylor.
There's a trace of soul in the vocal, as there should be, but this is good modern pop -- and since Taylor's career options would be limited if he turned himself into a one-man soul revival, it's reassuring to hear how well he handles this type of tune.
: This is the one where they grafted the keyboard riff from Ray Charles' What'd I Say onto the musical skeleton of the Smokey Robinson-co-written Marvin Gaye hit Ain't That Peculiar and then wrote a new song on top of it. Well-intentioned tribute, certainly, but since the originals are such great songs, I would much rather have heard Taylor sing Ain't That Peculiar with the Charles riff melded in and not bother with the new song, of which the chorus in particular is a comparative letdown.
: A bluesy song by Paul Pena (more famous for Steve Miller's Jet Airliner) and previously covered by blues singer/guitarist Susan Tedeschi. One of Taylor's best vocals, and a showcase for his harmonica as well, this comes off as a solid Southern funk tune, vaguely reminiscent of Tony Joe White. It wears out its welcome around the 3:30 mark, but all in all a nice job.
: Because I crave this song (both in the Marvin Gaye original and the Paul Young cover), I wanted this to be great. It's not, but it's very good, leaning toward the '80s-ish sound of the Young version, executed quite well, just lacking an indefinable touch of inspiration, maybe.
: A Taylor co-write, this is one of the album's stronger tracks, a deft mixture of soul, funk and pop ingredients with an attractively jittery feel.
: Leans strongly to the pop side, and again I find myself gravitating toward it, very cool tune, sung skillfully.
: Bit of a comedown from the last five songs, nothing really wrong with it but nothing particularly distinctive or interesting either, just an ordinary, forgettable pop tune.
: Although Taylor did manage to lose the Idol cheese number, he could not escape the statutory requirement to include a Diane Warren song.
His singing saves it from deluxe cheese platter status, but this ballad is an instant bringdown: lush, tedious, cliched, dull. Answer to the question What song doesn't belong on the album?
: This is the remake from his earlier album, which I haven't heard but would like to someday.
In any case, I hope to high heaven that it was better in the original version, because this rendition is ruined by the distracting background vocal bopping along in the background -- a terrible idea. The chorus reveals the ghost of a decent song (Taylor wrote it), but not in this version. (It's also the one song where he noticeably oversings, hamming it up to an irritating degree.
)
: Another original number, and thankfully much better, a convincing soul-styled tune sung admirably.
: This is the one written by Bryan Adams and his frequent partner Jim Vallance for Ray Charles, who never got a chance to record it (or reject it). The song was clearly tailored for Charles, as is this version, I guess you could say.
Taylor pays homage to his idol, and it's a respectful -- and respectable -- performance.
Overall, I'm impressed. The important thing the album needed to establish was that Taylor was more than a talent-show novelty, and -- artistically -- it accomplishes that mission.
He handles a variety of styles well and aside from the regrettable Warren ballad and the even more regrettable Soul Thing, everything is at least competent, with several high points that are much more than that.
I'd give it three stars, but whereas the three stars I rated Fantasia at would fall on the low side of the spectrum, this is a more solid rating (the difference, say, between a B- for Fantasia and a B for Taylor if we were giving out letter grades, which sometimes I wish we were).
I was not a big Fantasia fan during her Idol days.
I thought she oversang frequently, had an annoying edge to her voice, and was somewhat less appealing on the whole than La Toya London and Jennifer Hudson. (Although by the time it got down to the final three -- Fantasia, Diana DeGarmo, Jasmine Trias -- I was rooting for Fantasia all the way.) I didn't particularly care for most of what I heard from her first album either.
But I give her points on her new, self-titled album for blazing a trail away from the Idol cheese factory and toward a sassy, self-assertive brand of contemporary R B. Some of it works, some of it doesn't, but the overall direction is heartening. Track by track:
: Good choice of first single (doing well, so far).
I like the tricky beat and the overall toughness of the track, though I can't attest to the universality of the appeal of wifebeaters and chains as a look. Big Boi's good, too.
: Another good one, pretty and wishful/wistful.
Her improvisational vocal flights tend to go a little over the top by the end, and wear me out a bit, but I like the song.
: (Note to the R B world in general: It's 2006, and theoretically possible to spell out the word You and not suffer an irrevocable loss of credibility.) Dull, tuneless, nothing but an empty vocal showcase.
: A bit more interesting than the previous track but still fairly weak. The sass is there but the song isn't, and the slowed-down male vocal effect is irritating.
: A sparse beat provides the skeletal structure for vocal gymnastics.
Fortunately, she's pretty good at it.
: An OK midtempo groove number, vehicle for fashionable Beyonce-like vocal treatment that fills every available nook and cranny in the song. A bit much.
: There's still probably a rule in effect within the Clive empire that a Diane Warren song is mandatory. Fantasia got lucky -- this is one of her better tunes, with a smidgeon of R B groove and a decent melody that offset the usual cliched self-affirmation lyrics.
: A Missy Elliott collaboration, and the beats are definitely cool.
One of the stronger tracks.
: A sequel to Beyonce's Unreplaceable? Or Jack Jones' Call Me Unresponsible?
OK, now that the grammar police are satisfied, this is pretty ordinary groove material.
: Lounge ballad that's way oversung at the end. Underscores the wisdom of her decision to mostly stay away from this kind of thing.
: (Fourth use of U in a title, if anyone's counting besides me.) One of my least favorites, a tuneless funk-driven mess.
: The kind of title that almost writes its own review, except that this is one of the best tracks, really interesting and distinctive-sounding.
: And the rally continues, with a pretty example of first-rate modern R B.
: Back to dullsville.
All in all, a mixed bag for me, but using the USA TODAY four-star scale and keeping in mind that this genre really provokes extreme reactions in me (I totally love the stuff that moves me, and intensely dislike the stuff that doesn't; there's not that much in the middle for me), I'd lean toward three stars, maybe based partly on giving her those points for a smart move.
Clearly, I need sensitivity training in learning how to psychically identify a poster's gender by reading his or her comment. Misidentifying But That's Just My Opinion (female, as it turns out) is my second consecutive blunder.
Sorry, and thanks for your gentle admonishment.
The enigmatically monikered But That's Just My Opinion brings up an interesting point in commenting about my review of Ruben's album.
He (correct me if I'm barking up the wrong gender tree) observes, If R B isn't your forte, there's probably not much Ruben could have done that would have impressed you ..
. The loser in the equation is the artist, because when a opinion by a card-carrying critic is printed that has the stamp of validity on it. I think it's more fair to have a review written by someone who genuinely has a love for that style of music .
.. So, Ken, while your review wasn't a slice-and-dice job, it was still easy to tell that your heart wasn't into the assignment.
Which is precisely why in the newspaper, I assigned our R B critic, Steve Jones, to review the album, instead of me (the official Idol expert, or one of them, anyway). Not being a huge hard-rock fan, I'll probably have someone else review Chris' album in the paper as well. It is more fair to the artist that way.
But for Idol Chatter purposes, it seemed logical to me that I should listen to all the Idol albums out there and communicate my reactions to them. Those communications would of course, as my Ruben review did, include a disclaimer if I'm not a fan of the genre. But I think it's still worth my chronicling my reactions, if only to stimulate discussion.
Which your comment, BTJMO, was an excellent example of.
I guess how much you like Ruben’s new album depends on how much you like contemporary R B ballads, since by my count there are 10 full-fledged ballads out of the 14 listed tracks on The Return, and the other four aren’t exactly hardcore funk workouts.
I’ll probably never be a wholehearted Ruben fan, because he has made the very sensible decision to concentrate on his strength, which definitely is ballads.
Most contemporary ballads period (not just R B) tend to test my not overgenerous patience, but there are exceptions, some of them on this album.
Anyway, the album got off on the wrong foot with me with The Return (of the Velvet Teddy Bear), which struck me as a pretty silly title and songwise as a lame “love man” concoction in the spirit of bad Barry White. (Turns out to be based on a ‘70s Philly International track by The Ebonys, You’re the Reason Why, which I probably won’t be seeking out.
) But Change Me, the single, is one of those good ballads, nicely sung, good tune, reminded me a bit of Mario.
Then it’s back to dullsville for Make Ya Feel Beautiful (standard thug love ballad, and it could easily lose the “Hey Ruben” interchanges) and Get U Loose. Our Story has a little tempo going for it and improves matters, and One Side is a really fine ballad.
Equally good is the next track, What tha Business Is, which has a bit of liveliness and a really pretty melody going for it.
After that good stretch, another dull patch follows with Rather Just Not Know, Ain’t No Party and Listen to Ya Heart, which features the unfortunate line “not trying to get into your jeans.” I’m Not Happy puts things back on track, a ballad with a more interesting texture than many of the others.
To da Crib is trite, Blow Ya Mind has a nice falsetto but an unexceptional tune and I was cringing a bit at the lyrics, but the Luther tribute, Brenda Russell’s If Only for One Night, is well executed and a high point.
So overall I’d still give it 2 ½ stars -- his singing’s fine, at times excellent, but there’s too much routine, unexceptional material and stylistically it’s mostly not up my alley.
I've spent a good chunk of the day (longer than my work schedule readily permitted) reading the comments on my book-length Clay Aiken review.
I think I'm truly overwhelmed, in many senses of the word.
First, thanks for taking the time to read it, all of you who did. Second and more important, thanks for responding in the spirit I tried to convey in the review.
Since it's an album that means a lot to many of you and is at least a flashpoint of discussion for most, I wanted to attempt a serious analysis. To an extent, at least, I think I succeeded, but I was certainly matched by many of your responses.
A ton of good points were made, a lot of contrasting and interesting viewpoints were expressed, a lot of emotion was expended, and although there were a few extremes of blind idolatry or equally blind antipathy, the level of reasoning and objectivity was high enough to qualify Idol Chatter for the intellectual elite of music blogdom.
It will be interesting to see how it sells when the figures come out Wednesday. Those numbers will go a long way toward determining whether Clay is a broad-based star or a cult artist (or a cult artist with a really huge cult). Can he beat Fergie and Chingy and Elton John on the sales chart?
I'm fascinated to find out -- but (bad timing award) I won't be around to discuss it, at least immediately. I'm off until Oct. 2 on a combination business/recreation/family trip.
While I'm gone, our stalwart online staffers will post any Idol-related news they encounter, including Clay's sales numbers, and as always, I encourage you to talk amongst yourselves about all things Idolic (idyllic? something like that) -- though I know you'll do that whether I'm around or not.
See you a week from Monday.
I've often said that Idol Chatter would be nothing without the support of you loyal readers and commenters. Like my old virtual friend Jim in Nashville, who posted this encouraging note: Ken, I can't wait. (Both for the review, and the reactions it will elicit.
) Do you have Armani in Kevlar in your wardrobe closet?!
Thanks a ton, Jim.
Now I feel a whole lot less nervous about posting my review of Clay Aiken's A Thousand Different Ways album. But seriously, all I can do is call 'em as I see 'em (the Coliseum theory of record reviewing). I can't worry about how Clay lovers or Clay haters are going to react (at least I can't worry about that while I'm writing the review; I'll have plenty of opportunity to worry later).
I'll just give you my take. So, in pleasant anticipation of receiving the kickbacks from the music industry stars that have to use filth, sex and video porn to get ahead that Summersky seems to think are responsible for critics' negative reviews of Clay (please, get a grip), here goes:
Overall, I just don't understand the reasoning behind this album. In the immortal words of Carl Wilson describing the Beach Boys' modest Smiley Smile album salvaged from the ruins of the ambitious Smile, it's a bunt instead of a grand slam.
The label had an artist coming off a highly successful first album, in easily the best position for growth outside of Kelly Clarkson before her second album (and maybe even stronger than that, considering the intensely loyal fan base Clay had generated).
They encouraged Kelly (or agreed at Kelly's insistence) to branch out in a new direction, add more contemporary rock to the Idol pop/pap formula, write more songs, etc. -- and saw a huge payoff.
Kelly's sold more than 5.5 million, gets Grammy nominations and is taken seriously as a leading artist now -- a considerable achievement for someone who had to overcome the manufactured pop star image of an Idol winner.
So why not try something similar with Clay?
I don't mean he should have hired the guy from Evanescence to co-write songs and set the decibels blasting (although he does have Jon Bon Jovi, Mick Jones and former rockers Desmond Child and Aldo Nova in his songwriting credits). But a contemporary pop album, minus the hip-hop trappings Justin Timberlake adopts but a mix of uptempo songs and ballads with a modern sound, would have given Clay a chance to catapult to the top ranks of today's hitmakers.
Instead, he releases an album with 10 covers, leaning heavily toward middle-of-the-road ballads of a certain age, plus four new songs, all of which are ballads.
I could be wrong on this, but I don't hear anything on the album that a top 40 station (Kelly's main bastion of radio support) would be likely to play.
I just don't get it. I've mentioned this before, and so have some of you, but it seems as if Clay's almost being abandoned.
Instead of having him record an album that could be his springboard to general superstardom (as opposed to cult idol status, however massive his cult is), it's as if he's doing a side project at a crucial juncture of his career. This album is the kind of thing he should be doing in 2014, after he has five big contemporary albums under his belt, not now. There's no need to consign Clay to the nostalgia market so early in his career.
This feels like an aging, or past-his-peak, artist's album.
Well, if you've read this far in this mini-epic, I imagine you can read some more. Track-by-track impressions follow, with clips available for those of you who haven't heard the songs.
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