How Do I Love Thee? Let Me Count the Ways: ATDW Album Review

When Clay Aiken started the journey towards the follow up to 2003's Measure of Man, one of my concerns was that he would make an album that was essentially MOAM, part II, based on the songs he had previewed on the 2005 Jukebox Tour. To put it in analogy form, "Back for More":"Invisible"::"Tears Run Dry":"Run to Me"::"Just You":"No More Sad Song." Now, I actually like those new songs more than the songs off of MOAM, but they didn't represent much of an artistic progression to me. Nevertheless, when RCA records sent wind to the press that the new album would be feature "love songs" and "covers of big songs," I was even more concerned because rather than standing still, this seemed to be a step back towards American Idol. Upon closely listening to the songs closely, however, it's clear that Clay cut and polished a gem of an album with A Thousand Different Ways.

Executive producer Jaymes Foster had promised Clay fans that his voice would sound as fans have never previously heard, a statement met with much skepticism at the time, but which has indeed come to pass. Aiken's voice is far more restrained, employing a airy, lighter approach to several songs that one would typically expect him to belt in full chest voice, most notably "Sorry Seems to be the Hardest Word" and "Everything I Do (I Do It For You)." These two particular songs also feature unusually pretty choices of accompaniment, with "Sorry" featuring acoustic Spanish guitar and "Everything I Do" arranged in a Celtic style using pan flutes and strings.

Aiken's vocals also make an artistic leap from his previous recordings on the nuanced, understated tracks of "Here You Come Again" and "Everything I Have." "Here" is perhaps the only song on A Thousand Different Ways where Clay has a chance to show the full resonance of his voice, hitting several remarkable low notes. In "Everything I Have," the vocal is contemplative and emotionally laid-bare, in conjunction with its delicate accompaniment, the song is a truly sincere promise of love.

The two biggest artistic achievements on this album are the contemporary pop ballad, "Lonely No More" (not to be confused with the Rob Thomas drum machine-fueled pop single) and a radical rearrangement of Mister Mister's "Broken Wings." The former represents Clay's first official writing credit, while the latter speaks to his imagination to change up a straight up rock ballad to an ethereal, new age effort including spoken word vocals and Celtic drums. "Clay Aiken" is listed as fourth co-writer on "Lonely More" and based on what's known of Aiken's writing style, it seems he likely had a hand in crafting the quiet, evocative lyrics of the verses, while the chorus and music, which are pretty standard pop fare, had been previously written. The layering of vocals on both "Broken Wings" (female Evanescence-type background singer) and "Lonely No More" (Clay singing changeups on top of himself singing the chorus) are aesthetically pleasing, with the majority of the vocals performed in Clay's strongest and most effective range of tones and coloring.

"Lonely No More"
Written by Andreas Carlsson, Samuel Waermo, Mimmi Waermo, and Clay Aiken
Lyrics copied from Quiet1ne's lists and lyrics

Another dream, another day
I've seen too many fade away
So if you wonder how to make it right
Give me everything, everything tonight

'cause I don't want to be lonely no more
I don't want to feel empty no more
Only you could unbreak this heartache I've carried around
Don't want to be lonely no more, no more

Take me in, take me home
I can't stand to be alone
Help me paint the picture of my life
Don't you disappear and leave me here tonight

'cause I don't want to be lonely no more
I don't want to feel empty no more
Only you could unbreak this heartache I've carried around
Don't want to be lonely no more, no more

Can't make no sense of life
No matter how I've tried
'cause something's missing in my heart
Tonight

I don't want to be lonely no more
I don't want to feel empty no more
Only you could unbreak this heartache I've carried around
Don't want to be lonely no more, no more

I don't want to be lonely no more
I don't want to feel empty no more
Only you could unbreak this heartache I've carried around
Don't want to be lonely no more, no more
No more

"Because You Loved Me" and "Right Here Waiting" are noticeably more percussive in sound and more catchy than their originals, but the emotional quality, particularly compared to Marx's yearning in "Right Here Waiting" doesn't quite translate in the new versions. Two new songs, "A Thousand Days" (previewed on the Jukebox Tour and by far my least favorite of the JBT songs due to the plodding music), and "These Open Arms" (even more insipid) play mostly to Clay's stereotypical American Idol bombast. The remainder of the album sticks closer to original arrangements of cover songs, which is particularly evident in "Without You" and "When I See You Smile," and to a lesser extent, "I Want to Know What Love Is" (changed up because it's a duet), and "Everytime You Go Away" (altered mostly by Clay's lighter vocal touch). They all sound fine because it's Clay's remarkable voice, but not especially innovative compared to some other tracks.

Curiously, while RCA Records has been hyping the songs featuring more traditional arrangements and emphasizing the big voice, it's Aiken's own, less mainstream approach on the other songs that are most imaginative in illuminating the uniqueness of his voice and phrasing previously unheard on recordings. These less stereotypic songs are where Clay shows considerable artistic growth via his vocal and instrumental choices, despite the initially limiting context of "love song covers." Nevertheless Clay clearly excels at live performances of the showboat songs chosen by the label as potential singles, "Without You" and "A Thousand Days."

Here's Clay on The View performing "Without You:"


I'd be remiss to not address the two bonus tracks available with certain retail versions of A Thousand Different Ways, "If You Don't Know Me By Now" (from Kmart) and "Lover All Alone" (from iTunes) because they represent different facets of Clay's voice and artistry. "If" sticks fairly closely to the Simply Red arrangement and works with the album thematically as a declarative song about the relationship between "you" and "me," but sonically it's quite a departure from the sweeter vocals on A Thousand Different Ways and more in line with Aiken's bluesy, soulful wailing concert performances. "Lover" is quite another animal altogether, it fits sonically with the album but not thematically because the song is reflective rather than declarative. More importantly, "Lover All Alone" represents the first recording primarily written by Clay Aiken, with music by Warner Music mogul David Foster.

"Lover All Alone"
Written by Clay Aiken, David Foster, and Eman
Lyrics copied from Quiet1ne's lists and lyrics

Maybe I’ve convinced myself
I've really been in love
And I’ve been wrong all along
For all I know the feeling
And the picture that I’ve tried
So hard to find isn't mine

Could be its all just a waiting game
Wanna share my everything

And on my own
It’s hard to tell my heart it will be alright
This love it holds will one day find a home
As hard as love can be
It’s harder still it seems
To be a lover all alone without love

Picking up the pieces makes me wonder if
I only build it all to watch it fall
The faster it can go away it means the less of me
Is gone to stay and I’m ok

But lonesome tomorrow comes anyway
I’m alone for another day,
Another day

And on my own
It’s hard to tell my heart it will be alright
That this love it holds will one day find a home
As hard as love can be
It’s harder still it seems
To be a lover all alone without love

And on my own
It’s hard to tell my heart it will be alright
That this love it holds will one day find a home
As hard as love can be
It’s harder still it seems
To be a lover all alone without love
A lover all alone without love

Maybe I’ve convinced myself
I’ve really been in love
But I’ve been wrong all along

To borrow 43dudleyvillas's words, Clay's writing style appears to "impressionistic," "spare" and "intimate" at the same time. I liken his writing to just dabbing a dot on the surface of water and then watching the ripples. His words are subtle yet emotionally evocative, a startling contrast to most of the "singer/songwriter" pop stars who tend to rely on writing high school level diary entries made over by professional songwriters to have a hook or the "sun, stars, moon" type cliches that many professional songwriters become ensnared in because of easy rhymes. The vocal performance of this song is another revelation altogether. Aiken has been criticized in some circles for being too technically perfect a singer (a crime if there ever was one in this age of digital enhancement), who doesn't convey the proper emotion because his voice is too good, and in this song he shows that he can "get all choked up inside" (tm "The Way") and really bring a deeply emotional tinge to his singing. He just reaches for a few notes to add a catch to his voice, coloring yet not sacrificing the overall quality of the vocal. There are also some stunning moments where he utilizes his vocal to harmonize with the instruments.

On the whole, A Thousand Different Ways (minus bonus tracks) is a very tightly knit project both in theme (declarative love songs) and sound (pop ballads). Clay navigates the various dimensions of his voice within these confines adeptly, but he shines most in the songs that he's truly taken as his own, whether through melodic alterations, changes in vocal style, writing, or re-arranging. Occasionally the sound mix has the instrumentals overwhelming the vocal, which can be a bit annoying, but the primary sound of Clay Aiken remains in tact, unlike the clean, scrubbed up Measure of a Man album where production frequently overwhelmed the voice. Clay's done well within the structure he's been given by Clive Davis, but it's clearly only a slice of his true capabilities. ATDW is lacking particularly in songs highlighting Clay's resonant lower range, other than in a few spare moments, and in this aspect suffers in comparison to 2004's Merry Christmas With Love, which prominently featured Clay's deep voice. Still missing from any of Clay's recordings is the growly, gritty voice that he showcases in concert and some faster tempo songs sung in his lower range that he executed brilliantly in the 50s set of his Jukebox Tour. Maybe next time.

The ways in which Clay has transformed some of these classics and the lyrics he's brought to the table as a songwriter show that he has excellent musical instincts about how to make songs work for him. I'm looking forward to see where he goes next, and in the meantime, I've already listened to A Thousand Different Ways more than Measure of a Man and Merry Christmas with Love combined. It's possibly the most listenable album I've ever owned, the perfect type of music for listening to on headphones with your eyes closed and no distractions while letting the beauty of the voice and complementary instrumentals sink in; a gem in which you can discover a new subtle brilliance everytime you listen.

Tags: Clay Aiken, album review, A Thousand Different Ways