Track Listing

1. Right Here Waiting
2. Lonely No More
3. Without You
4. Every Time You Go Away
5. Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word
6. When I See You Smile
7. Thousand Days
8. Everything I Do (I Do It for You)
9. Because You Loved Me
10. I Want to Know What Love Is - Clay Aiken, Suzie McNeil
11. These Open Arms
12. Here You Come Again
13. Everything I Have - Clay Aiken, William Joseph
14. Broken Wings

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #33289 in Music
• Released on: 2006-09-19
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.com
The project, Aiken's first outing since 2004, combines 10 cover versions of well-known songs from the '70s, '80s and '90s with four brand-new songs. The album is a follow-up to Aiken's debut set, "Measure of a Man," which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard album chart and is certified triple-platinum, as well as the platinum-selling "Merry Christmas with Love," the best-selling holiday album of the 2004 season.

More from Clay

Measure of a Man

Merry Christmas with Love

A Clay Aiken Christmas (DVD)

Amazon.com
A Thousand Different Ways, the follow-up to Clay Aiken's chart-burning debut Measure of a Man, trots out the kind of material a fleet-voiced former American Idol contestant can't help having a field day with: Aiken's version of Richard Marx's "Right Here Waiting" is bathed in a smoothness that renders it arguably better than the original; his step into Celine Dion's shoes for "Because You Loved Me" sees nary a stumble (no easy feat, considering it's a vocal obstacle course of a song); and his cover of Paul Young's '80s classic "Everytime You Go Away" comes across as a clean-sounding, much-needed update. More proof that Aiken ain't fakin' when it comes to being a stylish interpreter comes courtesy of his convincing carry-off of Dolly Parton's sweet "Here You Come Again," but where he'll earn the most merit points for this disc is with its four originals--"A Thousand Days" especially. Aiken has the kind of voice that makes listeners want to scoot close to the speaker. He may be a softy, but when it comes to trapping raw emotion in song, he's become a mop-topped man of steel. --Tammy La Gorce

Customer Reviews

The disappointment of others was my good luck...
I noticed that a lot of people seem let down because Clay Aiken released an album of covers. But in my case, it's a good thing he did, or I wouldn't have bought his CD, and you wouldn't be reading this now. The familiar songs were what made me take notice of him. (I don't watch "American Idol".) Frankly, I hadn't expected much, but before I bought it I listened to the samples one by one, and I found myself amazed to be liking them. Clay's voice is practically perfect technically, and it is really fervent and uplifting. And I like the breathy quality, because it makes his delivery very intimate. So, how do his vocals and arrangements compare to the originals? Well, I like the added muscle in the arrangement of "Right Here Waiting", and I would say the same for "Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word". As for "Without You", without a doubt it is very similar to Mariah's, but it is still gorgeous, and I can see no reason why both versions can't co-exist in the world of love Clay is trying to bring to us. I feel the same about "I Want To Know What Love Is". On "When I See You Smile", I actually prefer his vocal over the original. He sings "Because You Loved Me" in a more straightforward manner than Celine did, so the lyrics and their message reach me more easily. And his smoother version of "Here You Come Again" makes it a very different interpretation from Dolly Parton's. I want to add that in no way am I trying to belittle the other artists' versions of these great songs. I'm just saying that they sound different in Clay's hands, and there's nothing wrong with variety. My reaction to the 4 new songs isn't as immediate as to the covers, but I think I like "Everything I Have" the best of the 4. All in all, Clay has a beautiful voice, he does a terrific job, and I say, "You go, Clay, with your bad self!"

Very pleased!
Clay Aiken makes almost every cover song on this CD better and his own! There are some that sound so different from the original... it's fascinating. While he may be known for his glory notes, of which there are a few, I am drawn to the supptle softness of his interpetation of the lyrics! His voice is so pure. There are four new songs that are extremely nice. He co-wrote Lonely No More, which is lovely. I understand he wrote another one for a bonus track called Lover All Alone.
When he hits that low note in Here You Come Again... I just have to say, one more time... where is that voice coming from?

fantastic voice,
If you are a lover of great vocals you will love this cd, it is a feast for the ears. I'm not sure if the idea to use so many covers was that great, but the glory of this man's voice cannot be denied, I love the way he uses his breath control to an advantage on this album, Wow.... I really enjoyed what he did on this cd.