For those of you who don't want to read about Clay Aiken's X'mas album, scroll down till you see the words "End of review" in bold type. Don't accuse me of not giving you fair warning, ahem.


Merry Christmas With Love -- Clay Aiken

THAT CD Shop outlets at Pacific Plaza and Great World City haven't even gotten their stocks yet, and I picked up a copy at... Sembawang Music. At a neighbourhood mall ( well, it's a rather large mall, heh heh ).

I just bought it this afternoon, but have already heard it from beginning to end at least 5-10 times. Get ready for a track-by-track! :)

O Holy Night -- From the first moment I heard his voice, I've waited patiently for him to sing this classic, preferably with a full orchestra and backup choir. With this version, I was far from disappointed! Kicking off the very traditional feel of this CD, Clay's vocals and inborn knack for making even the most beloved songs all his own breathe new life into this cover, with the trademark glory notes, emotional delivery, and perfect diction. Breath-taking!

Sleigh Ride -- Always a fun piece. Clay breezes through effortlessly, giving it a fresh yet romantic tinge. You can easily visualize his gorgeous smile as he sings this. Ahhh. :)

Silent Night -- Another familiar favourite, but goosebump-inducing nonetheless. Give it a listen and let the music speak for itself!

Medley: Hark The Herald Angels Sing / O Come All Ye Faithful -- Have I mentioned his fantastic pronunciation? :D This is a prime example of how Christmas carols SHOULD be arranged and sung. None of that edgy hip-hop / rock / pop-disco nonsense other artistes like experimenting with, yuck. Imagine this track "live". In a gigantic church hall. By the way, I love the piano accompaniment. Wonder how I can get my hands on the score.

Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas -- Lovely lovely lovely. Enough said.

Mary, Did You Know -- First time I've ever even heard this piece, and what a privilege that it's a Clay Aiken version. :) Absolutely exquisite, with poignant lyrics and a haunting melody, and delivered flawlessly .
Mary, did you know that your baby boy would one day walk on water?
Mary, did you know that your baby boy would save our sons and daughters? ...
This child that you delivered would soon deliver you...
The blind will see, the deaf will hear
The lame will leap, the dumb will speak the praises of the land

A perfect TEN, this one. :)

Joy To The World -- Grand and uplifting.

The Christmas Song -- One of my very favourites, done by everyone from Nat King Cole to New Kids On The Block, 98 Degrees and Michael Buble. Clay sounds good as always, but I felt the tempo could've slowed down a tad to allow more room for his lush vibrato. But still, it's a nice transition to...

Don't Save It All For Christmas -- He first sang this Celine Dion-penned piece on last year's American Idols X'mas Special, knocking all our socks off with his powerful performance. Here, his lower register shines through ( and it's such a pleasure to listen to this through my headphones and on my car stereo -- full blast! :)), then gradually escalates to the higher octaves, before hitting The Glory Note. Bear in mind that he's fully capable of doing this "live", which is exactly what happened during the AI X'mas Special taping. This guy has the most amazing pair of lungs!

Merry X'mas With Love -- Sweet and wistful. Clay captures it all wonderfully.
Now a heart that for years had been silent
Was suddenly filled with the song...
Merry X'mas to all who may dwell here
May the joy of the season surround you
Merry X'mas with love.

Winter Wonderland -- Not one of my favourites, but hey, Clay can sing the phonebook and I'd still love it. :D

What Are You Doing New Year's Eve? -- A romantic ballad through and through. Ack, what're you doing to all your female fans?! :P
Maybe it's much too early in the game
Oh but I thought I'd ask you just the same
What're you doing New Year's Eve?
Wonder whose arms will hold you good and tight
When it's exactly twelve o'clock that night
Welcoming in the New Year's Eve?
Maybe I'm crazy to suppose
I'd ever be the one you chose
Out of the thousand invitations you'd receive
Oh, but in case I stand one little chance
Here comes the jackpot question in advance
What're you doing New Year's Eve?

This may be a Christmas CD, but the quality is far superior to that of his commercial album, Measure Of A Man, in terms of production and song choices. Some say it's because he had more time to work on this second offering. Or maybe the pieces are tried and tested, and you can't possibly go wrong there, right? Or perhaps Clay's sales success has given him more clout, and hence, more say in vital aspects. In any case, this is a must-have for anyone who'd like to add an excellent X'mas album to their collection. I'll be bringing this to Tasmania. Can already imagine plugging it into my CD player, then sitting back in the coach seat as the countryside or national park scenery rolls by. Only a month more, and I'll be outta here! :D


*End Of Review*


CD Overload

I'm going to leave the above review here for a while. Partly so it won't get lost 'cos I've asked a few other people to read it. Partly 'cos I need time to get through 6 other albums I bought in the past 2 days, heh heh. :) Couldn't resist -- Westlife's jazz compilation Allow Me To Be Frank ( preliminary assessment: FABULOUS ), Peter Cincotti's On The Moon ( this guy just gets better-looking with each CD cover :)), Jamie Cullum's special edition of Twentysomething ( with bonus tracks Everlasting Love from the Bridget Jones sequel, and Frontin', yow!!! ), the soundtrack to De-Lovely, Russell Watson's latest ( You Raise Me Up exceeds Josh Groban's ), and *pant pant* 1 Giant Leap ( which has been out of stock FOREVER, till I grabbed the one and only copy at Great World, hah! ).


A Good Day

Ever have one of those really exceptional ones? The last time I was this happy was last December, during a quiet afternoon spent at the edge of Lake Wakatipu in Queenstown, NZ.
But today... today I was in Singapore, and on a major high. :)
Started off with a gorgeous morning sky, then witnessing a Singapore workout session at a basketball court nearby ( blasting Cliff Richard, Elvis Presley and the song That Thing You Do! from the PA system ), then a moving sermon from renowned Armenian missionary Revd Samuel Doctorian, who reduced many to tears ( including myself ) despite a relatively simple story involving his need for a specific amount of funds to rebuild an orphanage in Beirut.
Following that, a trip to the gym ( endorphins overload, haha ), a delicious dinner spent with parents, a hilarious episode of Gilmore Girls ( Luke makes his move on Lorelai! Jesse's back and ready to rekindle with Rory! ), and major catch-up with friends at the Clay Aiken Singapore forum.
Oh yeah, Clay's birthday is 9 days away. Yes yes, re-minisce, I see your eyes rolling all the way to London. :D

In case you're wondering, Friday's call was HORRIBLE, but I've thankfully recovered from it, after 12 straight hours of snoring from 7pm Saturday to 7am this morning. I'll probably write about it on The Lingual Nerve at some point. But not tonight. Can't think straight after hearing Clay's album, heh heh.

Have a good week everyone.
[ freshman: still hunting for reliable info on that plastic surgery question you posed. ]