Blogcritics Comments on Music Review: Clay Aiken - On My Way Here

Comment by Toni on Music Review: Clay Aiken - On My Way Here

Sat, 17 May 2008 11:50:34 EDT

I don't have the authority to delete comments. If you made one earlier, it may have been deleted by another reason. Thanks for the comments all and have a great day!

Comment by trish on Music Review: Clay Aiken - On My Way Here

Sat, 17 May 2008 05:43:49 EDT

I see you deleted my post. Why don't you want people to hear his song? Afraid that they will like it?

Comment by Dave on Music Review: Clay Aiken - On My Way Here

Sat, 17 May 2008 03:45:51 EDT

Review By: Tony at Shipwreck Island Studios It has been a while since Clay Aiken has graced the music world with a full blown studio album. 5 years after "Measure Of A Man", Clay showcases his growth as a musician as well as a person. From the catchy "Ashes" to the inspiring "As Long As Were Here", Aiken shares his diversity like no current musician. After every Clay release I find myself wondering what could he possibly do next to showcase his talent? Of course only he knows what is to come up next.... But with On My Way Here, he has hit another homerun. There's a great pallet of songs to choose from. There are of course the Clay Aiken pop rock tunes that music fans all know him for, then there are tunes that will shock even the most faithful "CA" fan. If you are only a fan of his pop rock material then chances are you will be giving this disc a lower rating then myself simply because of that reason. But if you like a broad range of material that covers different musical genres then it is a no brainer that you will appreciate this release. The one song that I feel will shock many "Everything I Don't Need", because it is "CA" outside the box. Clearly going the extra mile to try something different and frankly I think it worked out perfectly. Overall Clay has done the impossible again, releasing a disc that has something for everyone. If you liked his previous releases it only makes sense to continue the trend and pick this one up. If you didn't like his past works.... I say give this one a try, listen to some audio clips via iTunes or other legal websites. A fun filled adventure from start to finish in the way only "CA" can do it. ^^ that was a review by a rock lover at shipwreckislandstudios.com, a music review site that focuses mostly on Indie Rock. I'd say he was objective, unlike the Toni that has a clear bias and predisposition to be a sheep just bleeting the same old crap like all the other sheep. Buck up man! Show some courage and quit trying to get into the cool crowd.

Comment by Pat on Music Review: Clay Aiken - On My Way Here

Sat, 17 May 2008 00:15:36 EDT

Seriously. I don't think it would make one bit of difference what Clay sang. Some people are just not going to like it, not because it's bad but because it's Clay. I still have no idea what it is that critics like Toni want Clay to do. Someone please give me an example of something you think he should do. All I hear is that he should change or develop or evolve or some such nonsense. In what way? Maybe Toni should pick out some songs for him and let us listen to them to see what he should do.

Comment by nass on Music Review: Clay Aiken - On My Way Here

Fri, 16 May 2008 17:51:58 EDT

That's actually funny Toni, the title track to me was the weakest song on the album...You actually liked that one? I skip that one every time. I have a lot of other songs that are much better on that album. seriously now I understand why you didn't like it and I did. You like the bland On my way here, can't say much for your taste then, but now I understand you opinion. I do wonder what exactly people WANT from Clay... some like Toni wanted the bland song, some liked his more uptempo some said the CD was all ballads and I didn't think that at all. I guess Toni heard something totally different than what I did. and yet he said it was bad I say it was good. it makes me lugh to think you get to spew your opinion yet you praise the worst song. yikes.

Comment by Toni on Music Review: Clay Aiken - On My Way Here

Fri, 16 May 2008 15:34:16 EDT

Journalists don't write reviews, they report facts. Reviews are opinions and impressions. Critics provide an in-depth, almost academic, analysis of a certain subject. Clearly, I wrote this as a reviewer. Admittedly, I had some bias -- in that I expected better. I actually liked Measure of a Man. It was a decent first album. It has some bland lyrics but there were some catchy tunes and nice ballads, and there's no denying Clay's great vocals. I had hoped though, that On My Way Here would improve upon it considering several years have passed. However, it didn't and I was disappointed. I listened to the whole thing several times, for I didn't want to make any snap judgments. I even took a break for a few days to clear my head and listened to it again. I made notes on each track. I re-wound individual songs and listened to them over and over. But in the end I realized that, other than the title track, I didn't enjoy it. There was so little improvement over the first CD, which was a letdown. The reason I brought up the Claymates was because I feel that this CD would mainly appeal to the most diehard fans. Fans by nature aren't exactly the most objective, and will like anything their favorite produces regardless of whether it's good or bad. I'm sorry once again that I've upset people over this negative review. But I hope you all understand that my impressions were not based on prejudice against the artist or his fans. Take care and have a good weekend :)

Comment by psbintl on Music Review: Clay Aiken - On My Way Here

Fri, 16 May 2008 14:37:53 EDT

Yes, I have read those reviews as well and respect them BECAUSE they based their review on the album and NOT pre-bias towards the fan base as you did. Not all of the tracks on this album are for me but overall I think this is a very eclectic,well rounded album which showcases Clay Aiken's versatile vocal talent and is very entertaining. And I based MY review solely on listening to every track. I am glad you do not consider yourself only a critic and not a journalist, because any credibility as a journalist would have been lost with this biased review.

Comment by Toni on Music Review: Clay Aiken - On My Way Here

Fri, 16 May 2008 14:24:15 EDT

Oh please. Recently I read some reviews of this CD in which the reviewers don't mention "Claymates" at all, yet is still severely chewed out by fans because the reviewer dared to give it a negative review. Prejudice apparently works both ways. Many fans will like anything that's put out by their favorite, regardless of whether it's good or not. And they definitely get upset at anyone who doesn't agree with them. You liked the CD. Spectacular! Enjoy it. Have a nice day :)

Comment by psbintl on Music Review: Clay Aiken - On My Way Here

Fri, 16 May 2008 14:04:32 EDT

Just want to say WORD! to smitty's post! Face it Toni, you got caught on this one! Too bad, because had you really listened to this album without prior prejudice to the artist or his fans you could have written a respectable and believable review.

Comment by smitty on Music Review: Clay Aiken - On My Way Here

Fri, 16 May 2008 06:14:27 EDT

Maybe a lot of the critics reviews would be more acceptable if they, themselves, would step out of the box and quit using all the typical cliche's to describe their opinions of an album. Shall we make a list of all the trite words used in this review such as corny, generic, bland, fanatical... And how about listening to the music with the beautiful vocals and rich background mixes without prejudice to the artist? There's only so many words in the English language and there are no more cliche's used in On My Way Here than in other AC and pop tunes. It's just something used to criticize Clay who didn't even write the lyrics to begin with. If you are looking for substance in a CD then maybe you need to listen to Ashlee Simpson who sings four notes very well. As for Claymates,they aren't even a factor as they have nothing to do with the music. Critics often resort to bringing up the fans and in some cases reviewing them, too. It's obvious critics use "Claymates" as a further knock to the cd. As soon as I see the word "Claymate" in a review I automatically know it's written with prejudice. I'll read your next review when it becomes obvious you have actually listened to the songs, written without prejudice to the artist and left his fans out of it.

Comment by Susan on Music Review: Clay Aiken - On My Way Here

Fri, 16 May 2008 03:25:13 EDT

Measure of a Man was mostly power ballads, except for "Invisible," "Touch," and "When You Say You Love Me." I think there is a lot more variety in tempos, genres, vocals, instrumentation and production in this CD - the bluesy "Everything I Don't Need," up tempo "Ashes" & "Falling" - and the excellent Walmart exclusive track, "Forget I Ever Knew You" where he does incredibly sexy things with his voice in the verse before moving to a catchy up tempo chorus. "Something About Us" has a beautiful smoky/jazz style vocal - don't care if the lyric is trite - the vocal is so good. I listened to the performance by the songwriter & there was no comparison to Clay's beautiful interpretation. "The Real Me" & "Lover All Alone" are both haunting (and for the latter, Clay wrote a pretty good lyric). The theme of "Sacrificial Love" is going to resound with a lot of listeners, as is the title track for people who are emerging from some painful experiences. I like the Celtic feel of "As Long As We're Here" - and this is a real power ballad, which I did not connect with on first hearing, but have grown to like very much. I gave this CD to two of my African American friends from work and when I drove up the day after, one girl had her car door open & the CD blaring to let me know how much she liked it. Sorry, the reviewer did not like the album - but lots of us "just listeners" do - and I hope that's enough to make it the success it deserves to be.

Comment by Keith on Music Review: Clay Aiken - On My Way Here

Wed, 14 May 2008 23:54:55 EDT

Here's the thing. What incentive does one have to buy this new CD which sounds like a remake of his first CD. Those of us who bought "Measure of a Man" already have that CD, so to put out practically the exact same product is just being lazy.

Comment by Linda on Music Review: Clay Aiken - On My Way Here

Wed, 14 May 2008 23:49:48 EDT

Thanks for such a well-thought out review. It is a shame that someone with as much potential as Clay continues to put out third-rate material. After five years, it seems as though Clay is putting out the exact same product, and not growing or changing in any way as an artist, and that is very unfortunate. This CD sounds like one to pass on, but with a bit of luck, perhaps the next CD will rise up to Clay's talent.

Comment by Gale on Music Review: Clay Aiken - On My Way Here

Wed, 14 May 2008 23:25:20 EDT

Toni, I had really hoped you could answer my questions but I can fully understand why you might not want to. Fair enough. Have a good day and, thanks ...I am enjoying On My Way Here a lot...especially Ashes and Falling which are uptempo, and Everything I Don't Need which I find wonderfully quasi-jazzy.

Comment by Toni on Music Review: Clay Aiken - On My Way Here

Wed, 14 May 2008 22:37:19 EDT

If you like this CD, then great. Enjoy it! No one said you shouldn't like it. I just didn't care for it much. Thanks for dropping by :)

Comment by Gale on Music Review: Clay Aiken - On My Way Here

Wed, 14 May 2008 20:06:01 EDT

Toni, I would love to hear who you think is memorable on the radio today. Could you please name three songs on the radio right now that have great lyrics with no cliches? That might help many people to understand where you are coming from with this review. Frankly, my view is vastly different. I enjoy to some degree every single track of this CD. Throughout the day I have some of these songs playing in my head because they are very "catchy" or so melodic they have captured the attention of my subconscious. I agree that if someone else's name were on the album cover, many reviewers would allow themselves to actually give the CD its due. I also think it is a valid point that if a reviewer stoops to denigrating the fans of the person they are reviewing, they lose a good bit of any credbility they might have been given. There is an eclectic mix of tempo and style and yet an overarching theme which brings cohesiveness to this album. In my opinion it is far and away much better than Measure of a Man although I very much liked that CD as well.

Comment by Toni on Music Review: Clay Aiken - On My Way Here

Wed, 14 May 2008 13:53:45 EDT

Well, that is your observation and your opinion. And I have mine. Sometimes they aren't the same. Isn't it great? Have a good day! :)

Comment by psbintl on Music Review: Clay Aiken - On My Way Here

Wed, 14 May 2008 13:45:02 EDT

No Toni, An honest review is one where the review actually listened to the music without a predetermined opinion of who the artist is or what the artist should record or without reference to the artist's fans! This is a very eclectic and good mix of music and yet too many reviewers what to stick Clay Aiken in their own predetermined "box" where they think he should be. Your bias showed through loud and clear! Admit it!

Comment by Toni on Music Review: Clay Aiken - On My Way Here

Wed, 14 May 2008 13:26:41 EDT

I guess the only "honest" review is a positive one, right? Thanks for the comments all! :)

Comment by pk on Music Review: Clay Aiken - On My Way Here

Wed, 14 May 2008 08:58:15 EDT

Also, I never said that there was anything wrong with being an adult contemporary artist. I think that he should stick with that instead of trying to branch out to pop music, which seems to be the case given some of the fast tracks on the CD. Actually Toni, Clay said radio would NEVER play him so he was NOT looking for "radio friendly" songs for this CD. He is singing what he likes and I like it too. I thinks this CD is great!

Comment by psbintl on Music Review: Clay Aiken - On My Way Here

Wed, 14 May 2008 06:19:39 EDT

I meant to type 7,000,000 Albums, not dollars. :)

Comment by psbintl on Music Review: Clay Aiken - On My Way Here

Wed, 14 May 2008 06:17:07 EDT

Curious review: "Regardless of its shortcomings, On My Way Here will still appeal to the notoriously fanatical Claymates, who will no doubt storm their local music store or visit their favorite music download site to purchase it. However, those who require a little more substance and originality in their music are best to look elsewhere." Clay Aiken is an artist who has sold over $7,000,000 albums (that is combined full albums plus singles and internet downloads)in five years without any radio support and has racked in well over $30,000,000+ in concert ticket sales (eight successful tours in five years. Those are not the stats of an artist who only has a handful of so-called "Claymates" as fans and whose music has no substance. Unfortunately there was an agenda based on bias for this review long before the reviewer ever really listened to the album. Pigs will fly the day we really see a music review anymore for any artist which projects an honest critique and objectivity. It's a good thing I never let a review/critic determine what music I will listen to or what movie I see. OY!

Comment by Pat on Music Review: Clay Aiken - On My Way Here

Tue, 13 May 2008 21:33:17 EDT

Jeeez! Let's make mountains out of mole hills. I like Clay Aiken, I like his music, I like this CD. Where's the problem with that?

Comment by Toni on Music Review: Clay Aiken - On My Way Here

Tue, 13 May 2008 16:39:49 EDT

These comments are intriguing to read. Thanks again for stopping by. Have a good day :)

Comment by Denise S. on Music Review: Clay Aiken - On My Way Here

Tue, 13 May 2008 16:36:10 EDT

Surely you jest? There are smear campaigns all over the media. Just read the political posts alone. If you think there aren't smear campaigns in the entertainment world then you are just playing naive to keep face.