The second season of American Idol introduced the new feature of
guest judges once the competition was whittled down to twelve finalists.
For the most part, these celebrities, drawn from many parts of the
music world, added little to the night’s proceedings. But once in a
while, a guest judge contributed to one of the most memorable moments in
the season. For Ruben, the most memorable guest judge encounter was
with Gladys Knight; after his smooth performance of A Whole New World,
she dubbed him “the world’s velvet teddy bear.” The moniker stuck and
became as much a Ruben trademark as the "205" he always wore. For Clay,
the encounter most emblazoned on the minds of fans was with Neil Sedaka.
After being moved to tears by Clay’s performance of his song Solitaire, Sedaka announced that he had lost the song forever to Clay Aiken.
Later that week, I visited his website to find the guestbook flooded
with hundreds of messages thanking him for his appearance on American Idol and begging him to team up with Clay for an album. Solitaire
became the most anticipated track on his album, and I know I was not
the only one disappointed when the news came that it would not be
included. After the album came out, however, I learned that the song
would be released as the B-side to the Invisible single early in
December. My anticipation soon turned to dismay when the day arrived to
no sign of the single in stores. I soon discovered that its release had
been delayed indefinitely.
By the time a new release date was announced, Invisible was no longer the A-side. Instead, the first track of the CD would now be The Way. I’m not sure what the reasoning behind this was. Perhaps Invisible
had already gotten so much attention and airplay that the producers
wanted people to take notice of other songs from the album. Or it could
be that the softer edge of The Way was more compatible with Sedaka’s legato song than the louder, more effects-laden Invisible. Maybe fans just seem to like The Way better (I know I do; Invisible
really isn’t my style of song and the lyrics are a bit creepy and
stalkerish). Whatever the reason, the A-side doesn’t really matter,
because the fans who so highly demanded Solitaire are obsessive
enough that they already own at least one copy of the album at this
point. This single is all about the B-side. So is it worth it?
When I reviewed Clay’s Measure of a Man and American Idol: The Great Holiday Classics,
I observed that I was far more impressed with his tracks on the
Christmas album than with his own album on the whole. A large part of
the reason, I think, is that he was simply dealing with better songs on
the Christmas album. There’s a reason they used the word “classics.”
These tunes have stood the test of time. His performances of those
carols are classy and showcase his voice extremely well. When I think of
Solitaire, I again am blown away by how much better this track
is than those on his album. They just don’t write songs like they used
to…
Solitaire is a whopper of a track, clocking in at
more than five minutes. The accompaniment is appropriately sparse and
complementary; it’s hard to go wrong with the piano, and the wave of
bass percussion adds a dark undertone that fits the lyrics well. One of
my complaints with Clay’s version of Bridge was that it starts
triumphant and maintains the tone throughout, not allowing for the
gradual buildup that is so effective in the original version. When Clay
does make use of such dynamics, he does so with great effect. The best
example prior to this recording is his demo of Open Arms, which starts out subdued and pole-vaults into exhilarated anguish at the entrance to the chorus. Here in Solitaire,
he nails the technique again, beginning quietly and with an air of
detachment before launching into the first of his impassioned choruses.
The crescendo reaches its height, however, towards the end, when he
pulls out of a moment of whispery despair with the lengthy, agonized
wailing of the song’s title. Just thinking about holding that note so
long makes me giddy. This is clearly a guy with incredible breath
control. And for someone who has never been in a serious romantic
relationship, he certainly comes across as authentic in this sad song
about a lost love once eloquently covered by Karen Carpenter.
I
love everything about this recording and hope that Clay – or, possibly
more to the point, his producers – decides to record more covers like
this. Between demos, show performances, and concert selections, he’s
sung a variety of classic songs that I’m sure would enjoy similar
success as singles, or as components of a second album. Elton John’s Can You Feel the Love Tonight, Sting’s Fields of Gold, and James Taylor’s Carolina in my Mind are just a few I would love to see him do in the studio. For now, though, I’m just thrilled that the wait for Solitaire
is finally over and it was worth the eleven months I had to endure
since he provided that exquisite teaser on last year’s show. If you buy
nothing else Clay has done, buy Solitaire. It’s his finest recording to date, and hopefully an indicator of what is to come.
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