roheblius's Full Review: Measure of a Man by Clay Aiken
When I heard that Clay was going to be releasing an album entitled Measure Of A Man, with the title track also being on the album, I was excited. Not like I expected the album to be stellar or anything, but more so because I was so sure he was going to cover Elton John's song of the same title from the soundtrack of Rocky V. I'm sure it's not one of Elton's more memorable songs, and even though it's fun for me simply because it's on during the best part of Rocky V which is the credits, I was interested. I could see Clay singing now.
Enter the black and white still shots of the first Rocky.
Elton's lyrics:
These battered hand are all you own
This broken heart has turned to stone
Go hang your glory on the wall
There comes a time when castles fall
And all that’s left is shifting in the sand
You’re out of time, you’re out of place
Look at your face
That’s the measure of a man
Rocky hits the meat
This coat that fits you like a glove
These dirty streets you learned to love
So welcome back my long lost friend
You’ve been to hell and back again
God alone knows how you crossed that span
Start of Rocky II
Back on the beat, back to the start
Trust in your heart
That’s the measure of a man
It’s the fire in the eyes, the lines on the hand
It’s the things you understand
Permanent ties from which you once ran
He finally beats Apollo
That’s the measure of a man
You’ve come full circle, now you’re home
Without the gold, without the chrome
Micky dies
And this is where you’ve always been
You had to lose so you could win
And rise above your troubles while you can
Clubber Lang falls
Now you can love, now you can lose
Now you can choose
That’s the measure of a man
He's not a machine, he's a man
Repeat chorus.
Rocky knocks out Tommy Gun.
Oh, what a great ending to the movie. Now I'm pumped up to listen to Clay's version of that song.
Um, what's with all this oooing? Wait, he got the first verse wrong. Where's the classic lyrics like, "You’re out of time, you’re out of place, look at your face, that’s the measure of a man"? Well gosh darn, it's a different song. In this song, Clay talks about how you measure a man. One who never gives up or gives up his dreams is how Clay measures a man. He's not talking about "permanent ties, from which you once ran." Now I'm really disappointed. Clay's version is just as schmaltzy as Elton's but you couldn't put stills of all five Rocky's behind it and get shivers down your spine. I'm already disappointed.
Now that I'm on this disappointed tip, do you think Clay is given more of a chance to succeed than most artists? He was the clear cut favorite to win American Idol. Yet, he lost. Even after losing, the word around music was that he would still win after losing and sell better than Ruben Studdard. What has he done to deserve such praise? I liked the guy on Idol. Well mannered, took his criticisms in stride, and he has some great pipes. But it's almost as if no matter how good or bad this CD is, he's going to succeed. In my book, this CD is very average. But it still sold over 600,000 copies in the first week.
Clay's first single reminded me of Hands Clean by Alanis for a second there. Invisible is a pretty good choice for the first single. It sort of reminds me of Clay. The song is about how he wishes he was invisible because then he'd have the courage to show his feelings for a girl. It's the typical, "I'm not worthy" song.
He says:
If I was invisible
(Wait..I already am)
The songs keeps this "aw shucks" part of his personality in tact. However, I read an interview where he said it was all acting on his part in the studio because most of the lyrics he was singing don't really relate to him. To me, that summarizes the album. They just threw him into the studio with already prepared material and told him to sing it.
I was talking to Speeddemon Mike and he said that the reason Clay sells is because his market is untapped. Phil Collins and Michael Bolton are getting old, and there's no other young guys singing this type of music. My thought was that his fan base seemed to be young girls. I didn't see that many older women holding up the I'm Aiken For Clay signs. (Actually my friend Blake made a sign that said, I'm Aiken To Shake Clay's Bacon) I saw all the teenagers holding them up. I figured the material would be more pop oriented to bank on his new pop stardom. But this is not going to cut it. This music sounds like Peter Cetera and the supposedly inspiring cuts sound like Survivor (speaking of artists and were all over Rocky soundtracks). For fans of Celine Dion, this material is ok, but she'd even dump some of these songs. For fans of Clay Aiken? I'm not sold.
On When You Say You Love Me, Clay says he's not up for one night stands. What an upstanding guy. But this song sounds very country and I doubt they could put this on the radio. Run To Me is much too boring for an artist that was on the cover of Rolling Stone with part of his shirt unbuttoned. I know he didn't have much say on this album to begin with, but it's hard for me to understand their vision for Clay Aiken's album was to be this bland.
Touch is decent as the production is spiced up as is the chorus. He sings it with more passion than anything else on the album. He sings, "All I want is your touch, all I want is your tenderness here in my life." Again, the lyrics are lacking, but this song has a chance to be a single, and is a better song than the first single overall. On Shine, this is where he sounds a lot like Peter Cetera circa Karate Kid II soundtrack.
He sings:
Everything you are
Everywhere you've been
The sinner and the saint
That fight the battle within
Every place you go
Everybody knows
Shadows fall across the sun sometimes
Shine
You are gonna shine
I'm sure people will enjoy this type of song. It's inspiring and again, he sings it very well. But for a guy who was on a TV show that was atop the ratings, it's just too safe. And I know people will say that you can't change his style as this is what he is. But I will beg to differ. He can sing smart pop songs. He doesn't have to sing songs that Michael Bolton sings. I Survived You is a much better love ballad. It changes his voice and his vocal patterns rather than continuing the bland formula on 80% of this album. And they even gave us This Is The Night. The people who bought this album, already bought this song, so it's really a waste of space.
I'm not down on Clay. I think he has a fantastic voice. I'm more so down on the album and the vision that record executive (Clive Davis) has for him. He's a 20 something year old kid singing songs for 35 year old men. And also, he faked me out on that Measure Of A Man song.
Out of the American Idol albums that have been released thus far, it's slightly better than Kelly Clarkson's album, but doesn't come close to Justin Guarini's.
Spiky-haired boy next door Clay Aiken proved he s got what it takes to win the hearts of millions of Americans when the 24-year-old Raleigh, N.C. nati...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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