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Clay Aiken - On My Way Here |
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Written by Ryan Hogan
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May 15, 2008 at 12:53 PM |
Artist: Clay Aiken
Album: On My Way Here
Release Date: 05.06.2008
Label: Sony BMG
Rating: 3 of 10
Clay’s Aiken fourth studio album, On My Way Here, is 50 minutes of unadulterated, unrelenting, uncompromising schlock; 12 meandering tracks with no direction, no purpose and no socially redeeming qualities. The only use I can think for this album is background music at an office comprised entirely of middle-age-women who think the local Soft AC station is too loud.
The album’s production tops the long list of woes. On My Way Here sounds like the music you’d hear when the local news affiliate scrolls through their “weekend agenda.” The instrumentation is boring and the performances are uninspired—it’s stock music. As for the song writing, I thought Aiken sang the same song 12 different times until I read the album notes. This is a major credit to producer Marc 'Kipper' Eldridge, especially since 33 people wrote the 12 songs found on the album. Kipper must have worked very long and hard to make every song sound the same.
Apparently the theme of On My Way Here is “lessons we learn while growing up shape us as adults.” That insightful wisdom ranks right up there with “fire is hot” and “everybody poops.” According to the record label’s press release, Aiken and his executive producer Jaymes Foster (which is code for it was all Foster’ idea) came up with this idea after hearing the title track, "On My Way Here." I came up with a completely different idea after hearing the song and it involved jamming an ice pick in my ear.
“On My Way Here,” begins with a hokey piano riff (that’s been around since the invention of time) and the following preposterous lyric: “I took my first step on a black and white kitchen floor/sometimes wonder if that house is even there anymore.” Country music lyrics aren’t even that bad. That is the first line of the album and lyrically the album never recovers.
Surprisingly, Aiken’s vocals are not a part of the myriad of problems surrounding On My Way Here (except for the obnoxious note he hits near the end of “Where I Draw The Line”). I actually think he’s improved as a singer. He no longer sounds like the runner-up in a singing competition. Even though he sounds professional, he doesn’t sound like an artist. Therefore this album has no musical direction. You can’t hear one musical influence. You have no idea what’s he’s trying to say or where he’s trying to take you. You want him to pick an identity and go with it. He hints at Contemporary Christian music by singing material from Nichole Nordeman and Natalie Grant, but he never really takes the plunge.
I could break down each of the 12 tracks, but why? They are all the same. That is all but one. “Something About Us” is a nice little jazz number that is both interesting and satisfying but unfortunately it’s an exception.
Clay Aiken’s, On My Way Here, fails in just about every category you can judge an album by and on top of all that it’s bland too.
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