I rushed out to buy the CD first thing yesterday morning, came home, played it, and it barely even sounds like Clay! Are they trying to RUIN him????? Anyone know where to write to cuss out the producer?
actually darlene, i was looking at claytonaiken.com earlier and there is a link to write to RCA.
i thought the cd sounded good but bridge sure wasn't as good as it was in the finals, like i've said i'm not sure clay could ever top that performance, as paula said it was his personal best!
the whole cd looks kinda like a rush job tho doesn't it? maybe its because they changed and added bridge at the last minute.
Yes, I saw that link, but it also has messages to choose from. None of them were a complaint about the CD. I didn't like the changes in either song. Besides that, Clay's voice sounded timid and weak in "Bridge Over Troubled Water" and not much better on the other song. If they have him singing like that on the full CD ... well, that would be awful.
Yes, it did sound "rushed" or like it was done in a cheap studio. Heck, the so-called background singers were louder than Clay.
As far as I am concerned they rushed both Ruben and Clay CD singles production wise. That's why FWOW and BOTW do not sound as good as they did live. Also, you know BOTW was rushed because the original release for Clay was not even going to include it, but the buzz about it was so huge that they changed the line-up mid-stream. I think they did a cheesy job on Bridge just to get it on the DIsc in time.
Like I have said before, I hope these two get better production attention than they have gotten so far. They both deserve the best possible arrangements and sound that those huge professional studios are capable of producing.
quote:
Live each day as if it were your last, for our days are numbered and we know not which one this is!
The only complaint i had was the choir took over the song otherwise i thought it was ok, better than a lot of full studio records out there. I just think that clay is a preformer not a studio nut. He seems to enjoy the thrill and natural high of the stage and the pressure of competition more than singing in a tiny box and thats probably where the difference is heard.
Jase, I wasn't quite the only Clay fan within the 205 area code, but I must admit I made a few people uncomfortable ... especially when I interrupted a circle of Ruben fans at work the day after the final competition. I walked right up and said, "Clay BLEW HIM AWAY!" LOL. Only comment I got was, "Yes, he did last night, but ..." Later I mentioned to my best friend, "If Ruben wasn't from Alabama, I bet you'd prefer Clay." I think her reply was quite telling ... "Yes, I probably would." In all honesty, however, I only watched the last month of the show. Everyone tells me Ruben was better earlier. His voice was gravelly when I heard him. Whereas he got tired, Clay seemed to thrive on the activity and that's very important for a STAR.
My concern about the CD isn't JUST because of this release. I've heard what's been done with Kelly and Justin. The two songs I've heard them sing are basically nothing more than screaming. I simply don't want the recording studio to ruin Clay ... OR Ruben, who does indeed have talent. Yes, Clay is obviously in his element with live performances, but please remember, those studios are suppose to have the very best equipment, etc., for sound quality. The CD SHOULD have been even better than the live performance. Instead, as was mentioned, the choir or whatever it was, drowned him out ... and even on the parts without them, Clay's voice simply was not HIM. I intended to buy a copy for my sister, who loves BOTW, but after hearing it, I don't want HER to hear it, after all my raving over how great he is. It's very embarrassing. Frankly, I hope Clay realizes that, as well, as he listens to it. Maybe then he'll do what he knows to be best ... and not let ANYONE change him.
I HOPE all the Clay fans will jump on this, finding ways to contact RCA and the producer ... to make SURE they don't try to change him. After all, it was the Clay we heard on American Idol that won the hearts of sooooooo many fans. I think we're all ready for a REAL voice and REAL talent ... not someone who can scream a lot.
Back to living on Ruben's turf, so to speak ... I heard maybe one or two people, only, who claimed they didn't like Clay at all and those were a couple of children. Everyone else freely admitted he was great ... usually commenting the two shouldn't really be compared with their different singing styles. I think it would have been most interesting to have them sing the same song ... and just see. While I have a great deal of state pride, this was about talent and, though I WANTED to like Ruben best, it simply wasn't possible. So, I was honest ... and got in as many votes as I could for Clay.
Bama
Last edited by Darlene48 on 06-12-2003 at 05:45 PM |
well darlene maybe at least i can help you get the live version of Bridge, if i can make posting a link work![URL=http://clay.neurox.net/content/media.asp?=1]
i'm probably not doing this right but at least there it is, you can find the audio from the show version of the song here, about 2.5 minutes long.
about ruben early on--i complained to all that the judges didn't do ru any favors by raving on and on about his every performance, so he never improved from his audition to his finale. i don't think he got worse, tho he sure seemed to be fatigued all the time (not a good sign for a star, as you say) it was more that the other competitors kept improving and he stayed "consistent", which the judges treated as a major virtue.
clay started as a super geek and turned into mr hottie, got rid of annoying facial expressions and gestures, changed his wardrobe, his hair, started moving more on stage--every critique he got, he acted on. ruben stood there gasping for breath while the judges basically said "you're perfect again, don't change a thing." kimberley locke morphed too, getting rid of clothes that didn't really work for her, sleeking her hair, and lettin this mellow jazzy sexy thing slide into her songs. by the time you saw the final 3, it was kinda like ruben was still at the audition in his 205 shirt and clay and kimberley looked like guest celebrities, or at least that's how i saw it. both of them already had a "star look" and ruben didn't have the look or the improved style they had--not saying he wasn't capable of it, but nobody told him anything helpful! most critical things he heard would be like simon saying "that didn't totally blow me away" and paula and randy would promptly boo simon like he'd just kicked a dog. that's why i think studio work is gonna help ruben, surely at J records they'll actually say, man, that needed a little work........
and about the current cd, i just think flying without wings is as dumb a song as i've ever heard, it sucks that ruben got stuck with it. i can't believe i like this is the night, i'm dying of embarrassment because i actually play the cd in my car, my friends are going to do an intervention to save me from pop drek if i'm not careful lol
Flying Without Wings sounded nice when I first heard but I was already bored with it after hearing it for the 3rd time on AI.
This Is The Night was nice when I first heard it but I find that it continues to take hold of me and grow on me, and I find myself liking it more and more as I hear it.
FWOW will probably climb fast, peak and drop, but TITN will probably stay around for awhile as it "grows" on people and they find that they like it too.
Now mind you, I do not listen to Top 40, but I love this song and I try to catch it on my local stations (no luck so far), so I am tuning in more often.
quote:
Live each day as if it were your last, for our days are numbered and we know not which one this is!
Thanks, Jasetalks. claymatemansion.com has them all ... and I have my own full-length Clay Aiken CD. Only problem, of course, is that most songs are the short versions necessary for the show.
Thanks for filling me in. What you're saying, then, is that Clay's improvements were a matter of image. After hearing all the songs from the show, seems he was great from the beginning. People keep telling me the same thing ... Ruben was consistent so it was right he should win. Frankly, I have trouble not laughing in a few faces because this is a very thinly disguised "excuse" for clinging to Ruben as the American Idol. Clearly, Clay was also consistent with regard to his talent and ability.
weeeeellllllll.........i didn't wanna come right out and say it but yeah i never saw that clay needed to work on his voice, just his style........the second he opened his mouth i guess i was like randy.......WHOA! WHERE DID THAT COME FROM?
thanks for the claymatemansion mention, bama, i'm gonna check that out because idolfan.org is never running and i still want some of the tunes from the show.
jase
"consistency is the hobgoblin of small minds"........hahaha
just heard TITN on tv this morning it was amazing to hear clay's voice again. Gosh! he's so good! still have to hear BOTW. when is his CD gonna be out?
Boy, you guys are good!!! I was afraid to voice my opinion re Clay's CD because unfortunately, I'm at a point where I can't listen to any singing without analyzing it to death and didn't want to ruin it for everyone else. But, yes, it was flat - not off pitch flat but muted flat. That wonderful full resonant tone that we all love in his voice just wasn't there. The ping in his voice was missing. Could have been the horrible production of the CD but more than likely it was due to vocal fatigue. Vocal chords are very sensitive, and these guys were worked to death. I remember hearing Clay complain several times that he needed to get some rest. And, when the body is tired - the voice just isn't there - no matter how good or powerful your voice is. Tessitura in his numbers are also sitting higher in his vocal register - belting the heck out of a lot of those notes and letting off in his lower middle register - and sometimes when you create that kind of imbalance of power, the tension in the chords are affected and that part of the voice sounds weaker. They should have given these poor guys some time to rest before having them record...poor planning on the producer's part...they underestimated you guys...big time!
06-12-2003 06:11 AM
While I have a great deal of state pride, this was about talent and, though I WANTED to like Ruben best, it simply wasn't possible. So, I was honest ... and got in as many votes as I could for Clay.
