pitfaltina's Full Review: Merry Christmas With Love by Clay Aiken
Let me start this review by admitting that I am obsessed with Clay Aiken. So keep that particular bias in mind as you read!
Clay Aiken, for those of you who have chosen to live the past year and a half under your neighborhood rock, placed second in the second season of American Idol. He went on to record two phenomenally successful singles (Bridge Over Troubled Water/This Is The Night and The Way/Solitaire and his debut album, Measure of a Man, which saw the biggest first-week numbers for a debut artist in ten years. So obviously the guy's got something, yes?
Clay Aiken has one heck of a set of pipes, and they were amply displayed on his prior recordings. However, production values on those recordings were, I felt, rushed and amateur. It was with much trepidation, then, that I inserted Clay's spanking new Christmas CD, Merry Christmas With Love, into my player. I was anticipating another rush job, but I was pleasantly surprised. Naw, that's too mild. I was blown out of the freaking water!
Track One: O, Holy Night
I have long felt that the definitive version of this traditional Christmas carol was recorded decades ago by Mario Lanza, who was famed for his classically-trained tenor vocals and his really lousy B-movies. What can I say? The guy can't act, but he sure can sing! When this track queued on the CD player, I was automatically setting up comparisons in my head. And the result? Mario who?
This is the perfect song for Clay to display his range, perfect pitch, and near-flawless vibrato. We begin, then, with a very mild piano intro and gentle strings. And Clay's voice creeps into the mix, quiet and wispy at first, like a crystal cloud in an otherwise cloudless sky. At the second verse, his voice picks up in volume and the orchestra makes its presence more apparent, with the addition of more strings and a very appropriate church bell (tubular bell, for those in the know). His vocals here are delicate and reverent,
The chorus gives us what we have come to expect from Clay. Pure, clear tones, glory notes that ring to the rafters, and that perfectly measured vibrato.
Veteran producer Walter Afanasieff was responsible for this track, and you can hear his touches throughout the song, especially in how Clay's voice is front and center above the orchestra and background vocalists. Too often in his previous recordings, Clay's voice is overwhelmed by the addition of a choir, but not here. For those who are familiar with Clay in concert, you can hear the voices of his stage band backup singers, Quiana Parler, Jacob Luttrell, and Angela Fisher if you listen closely.
My Grade: A+
Track Two: Winter Wonderland
This is one of those carols that tends to be on every.single.Christmas.CD.ever. In fact, I am quite sure I own about forty different versions of this song. So I listened to see how Clay put his own stamp on this track. There are about three standard versions...the girl group version (think of Mariah Carey's sound on "All I Want For Christmas Is You"), the swing version (think of Bobby Darin's sound in "Mack The Knife"), and the traditional version (think of your local high school choir). Clay's version starts off with a swing sound but mellows out into a jazz-nightclub sort of a sound.
Brush-work on the drums and a very audible string bass make me envision Clay performing this song in a smoke-filled piano bar. Clay's delivery throughout is rather standard and low-key, but he adds some interesting syncopation as the track proceeds.
Phil Ramone does the honors of production here, and his experience shows in the balance of the arrangement.
My grade: B
Track Three: Silent Night
Another one of those obligatory Christmas compilation tracks. This song tends to either sound like a dull church hymn or an overblown gospel affair, but Clay manages to perform in the church style rather successfully.
Clay's powerful pipes are lent assistance here by a selection of vocalists from the Broadway Inspirational Voices. Phil Ramone is once again at the producer's controls, and his touch with the background vocalists is spot-on. They don't overpower Clay, but rather provide just the right atmosphere of reverence. Clay himself shines in this track, with perfect emoting and some very delicate (and unusual for him) falsetto.
My grade: A-
Track Four: Medley: Hark The Herald Angels Sing/O Come All Ye Faithful
This track begins with a piano that sounds very rococo and Mozart-like, with ornamented piano trills. At first, it's just Clay and a piano, and a more perfect combination never existed. The orchestra enters at the beginning of the second verse and we get more Mozart sounds and some very dramatic harp. Or as dramatic as a harp can sound, anyway. Clay's vocals flow freely, the tones bell-like and full. Hark The Herald Angels Sing ends with the phrase, "Glory to the newborn...." and we are swept right into O Come All Ye Faithful. It's an interesting transition, and I have to applaud Walter Afanasieff, producer, for giving these two carols some new life.
O Come proceeds flawlessly until I hear Clay commit the cardinal sin of taking a breath in the middle of a word. "Beth *breath* lehem" just doesn't sound right, you know? Still, his vocals are otherwise meticulous, so I will forgive him just this once. The song is given just a hint of gospel flavor at the second chorus, with some syncopation from Clay and some dramatic swelling and ebbing from the sterling background vocalists. We get some trademark Clay runs at the end that stole my breath.
My grade: A-
Track Five: Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
I have hated this song for just about forever, so I was hoping Clay could make me like it.
The arrangement is a cool swing sound, with more of the brush drums as heard in Track Two. Gentle strings and an evident piano are pretty much the only other accompaniment.
Clay's delivery is very wistful and smooth, until we get to the big notes, which he delivers with his usual astonishing power.
There is an instrumental interlude in the middle, where we get a pleasing muted jazz horn. Again, a very piano-bar sounding treatment. Phil Ramone spends too much time in smoky piano bars, methinks.
My grade: B
Track Six: Mary, Did You Know
And here is where I bow down to Walter Afanasieff and his long years of experience. I have heard this song performed before, and it was always so boooooooring. Walter gives is a contemporary vibe that I'm liking very much.
For your information, there exists a still more contemporary treatment of this track by Clay on another CD, called Sounds of the Season: The NBC Collection. This CD costs $6 and is only available at Target, but it is worth seeking out a Target by you or ordering online, as the version on the NBC CD has an R&B feel that is totally unexpected from Clay.
The background track is an acoustic guitar, a heartbeat-sounding bass, and very unobtrusive strings. Quiana, Jacob, and Angela from Clay's stage band add some very soulful background vocals.
The best part of this track comes at the bridge, where we get a satisfying build to a truly breath-stealing glory note from Clay that made me gasp like a woman in the throes of something. What that something is, I'll leave you to guess.
My grade: A
Track Seven: Joy To The World
The first and only clunker on the CD. The Broadway Inspirational Voices make another appearance, and here it is ostentatiously overdone and unnecessary. The sopranos sound shrill and tinny, and the entire choir is entirely too loud. Phil left the piano bar and went to the opera, I guess. The results are quite disastrous, and the only redeeming qualities of this track is Clay's final run and the fact that it is the shortest track on the CD, coming in at just over two minutes.
My Grade: C-
Track Eight: The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)
The Christmas Song belongs to Nat King Cole. There, I said it. Nat owns it. Having said that, Clay does a creditable job with this standard. And Phil, having learned his lesson about operatic Christmas carol treatments, stumbles his way back to his favorite table at the back of the piano bar. The Christmas Song is given the predictable gentle swing treatment that sounds practically identical to Tracks Two and Five. Clay makes it more interesting with some unexpected bent notes and jazz-styled syncopation.
My grade: B
Track Nine: Don't Save It All For Christmas Day
I must be upfront and state that Celine Dion makes me puke in colors. So does anything remotely associated with her. It was with much fear, then, that I saw her name in the liner notes as the principal songwriter of this track.
I can now go to my grave knowing that Celine isn't a complete and total hack. Celine has managed to write one of the best modern Christmas tracks I have ever heard. Do you think that sentence will fit on my tombstone?
Wow. This track astonishes. It is, in a tie with Track One, the best track on the CD. We have stellar production values courtesy of Walter (whose children I will have to bear in gratitude for this track), we have a dynamite melody, we have gospel-drenched guest vocals by the McCrary Choir, and we have Clay's best performance on the entire CD. (Again, tied with Track One)
The bridge is simply amazing. Clay's runs are spectacular and he gives us the glory note to end all glory notes, with a very soulful "Ye-uh" tacked on the end. Just flippin' fantastic!
My grade: A+
Track Ten: Merry Christmas With Love
The title track was originally recorded by Sandi Patti, and Clay himself can be found on various internet sites singing this tune as a teenager. His improvement with lyric interpretation is evident when you listen to his two versions back-to-back.
The arrangement is standard 4/4 power ballad given extra oomph by good ole Walter. Clay's voice is pure and full, cutting a swath through the instrumentation like a machete in dense vegetation. This is not to suggest that production is overdone; on the contrary, the production is balanced just right. My one complaint with this track is that the melody exists in a narrow range and doesn't give Clay a chance to display how broad his own range is. Clay's range is best displayed in other tracks.
My grade: A-
Track Eleven: Sleigh Ride
Oh goody, time for my second favorite Christmas song ever. (My favorite carol just happened to lead off this CD!) I adore the swing version that Leroy Andersen originally wrote, but I'll be damned if I could ever find it on CD.
Clay starts with a bit of a growl that is, dare I say it, sexy. Yup, I dared! I'm used to a faster tempo with this particular song, but Phil doesn't think a faster tempo works at the Blue Dolphin Jazz Bar, apparently. Yeah, piano and brush drums yet again. Enough, Phil!
Clay's performance is rather understated here, and I'm feeling somewhat miffed. This is a joyous song, and I'm just not feeling the joy. I blame it entirely on the tempo.
My grade: B
Track Twelve: What Are You Doing New Year's Eve
ARGH! Piano and brush drums! Me kill Phil now!
Sorry, but I'm so tired of this sound, as half the CD has the same sound. : )
Clay's vocals are spot-on. He comes off as the underdog here, perfectly in tune with the hopeful but resigned lyrics. He sings with a wistfulness and regret, with a tiny bit of optimism thrown in. His lyrical interpretation here is among the best I've heard from him. Unfortunately, this is another one of those songs that has a fairly narrow octave range, and it denies Clay the chance to really astonish.
My grade: B+
Overall, the CD exceeds my expectations. Clay and Walter's production are a match made in heaven, as the production values for the other Clay/Walter collaboration ("Proud of Your Boy" from the new Aladdin DVD by Disney) has demonstrated quite effectively. Phil Ramone and Clay are NOT a match made in heaven, as Phil seems to see Clay in a very limited manner. Does Phil think that Clay is destined to live out his days singing to depressive drunks with suicidal tendencies breaking up for the umpteenth time at the table in front of Phil in the mythical Blue Dolphin? I think so, because the Phil-produced tracks all have an emotional sameness that drags down the overall quality of the disc. At the same time, Phil's woeful underproduction highlights the genius of Walter Afanasieff.
My chief complaint with this CD is that the track order of the CD does not match the track order that is printed on the back of the case, or the track order that is printed in the liner notes. A bit more behind-the-scenes coordination is required, I think.
My grade for the entire CD: A-/B+
What I love about this CD:
-The fact that Clay is singing it
-All songs produced by Walter Afanasieff.
-The overall production is a huge step up from the overproduction of Clay's last full-length disc, Measure Of A Man.
-Clay's lyrical interpretation shows marked improvement from his debut recordings.
-Tracks One and Nine threaten to turn me into an ecstatic corpse at each listen, they're so good!
-Clay's vocals are stellar throughout.
What I hate about this CD:
-Phil and his love affair with piano bars!!!
-There are three different track orders on the printed material, and the only one that is accurate is the one printed on the CD itself.
-It's too darn short! The CD comes in at just over 39 minutes. Clay could have easily added another five tracks (hopefully produced by Walter!)
Merry Christmas With Love is Clay s first Christmas CD. The follow-up to his triple-platinum Measure of a Man debut album, the holiday set features cl...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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