ATDW Listening Party, Take 2!

[zanyforclay]

Claygasm, love your cat's name!! Playbiller, I agree with your "much" and find that with the endings of some of the songs, too.

[Couch Tomato]

uh oh..scared of Play..she's getting mighty technical.

sa-woooooooooooooooooooon..just saw the ep cover.

[Claygasm]

After listening to it several times in a row (I like this!) Clay is clearly holding the long notes longer - it's gonna be interesting in concert!

Let Waldo communicate! He(?) clearly has some comments!

wty2t;ht2'1-5r,

That's all he has for now. He just jumped off my lap and pounced on one of his mice!

[Ansamcw]

BWAH...you guys a cracking me up...

I guess my other comment about this song is aside from making it a duet it seem very much like the original. I would like to hear this as a solo...I like how he waitls on it...

ITA about their voices blending aloost too well...and I think they could have a bit more harmonizing on the chorus.

OK...next...

BWah...yup let waldo talk...HEE

[ldyjocelyn]

These Open Arms

[playbiller]

I am having a very hard time typing as my cat (whose name is Waldo by the way - named after you-know-who.... ) issitting in my lap and pawing the keyboard.

Suzie is god on it, but the duet doesn't really make the song special, so why bother?

Just ok for me. I often skip it.

I will match Claygasm one pet and raise her 45 pounds - My dog crawls under the modesty panel of my desk hits my legs until I back up then pops up between the desk and my legs until she throws her paws on my chest. I am just barely talking to her as whe ran away from home for 4 hours today and I had to get her from the drunk tank at the police station. - seriously - a mysterious person found her and turned her in there - no one bothered to read the phone numbers on her collar. But I dropped by to put in a missing dog report and got her then.

This will be a great song in concert! Absolutely

[KAndre]

who tell you to touch; [Everything I] [sic] Have to be #1 - 5 [p]r[ey]

What a clever cat!

Now, TOA is my least favorite. Just not speaking to me.

[ldyjocelyn]

I feel like I should let my cat Spot tell you how he likes the album.

He doesn't talk much, can you tell?

TOA: my second weakest track on the album. It's a power ballad; a generic power ballad, IMO. That's what Jon Bon Jovi tends to do (I do like some of his stuff, though). This song just doesn't grab me.

[Ansamcw]

I was not looking forward to this song...didn;t like the original version.

But the lyrics are pretty powerful. I thought this is the one that has the most spiritual subtext .

I also like his voice in this...although it is the most bombastic.

Does not really have a very interesting melody...but it certainly has a feel good theme

[georgiaclay]

Play I am so glad that you got Holly back. I know you would just miss her something like crazy if something happened to work. What about all those boucing balls.

I like this song, alot. I am not getting technical, just love the melody, the vibe, just the song.

[Couch Tomato]

ok ..hated the clip of this song... his rrrrrs in arms was throwing me for a loop..but have to say..that I LOVE the full song...i guess this is my surprise of the album

[KAndre]

I wouldn't even call it a power ballad - it's missing the power ballad part to me. I guess y'all can tell I ain't subtle...

[Aspiegirl]

This is the song I was really waiting to hear. I love it but found that the big "chorus" part was a little slow. The part where he starts with "surrender your heart" I wish he would have put more power into it like in the Bon Jovi version. I like when a song has that one chorus in it that just reaches out and grabs you and I think I was waiting for that in this song and it is there but not as intense as I was hoping for. Other than that I still really like the song.

Please don't throw tomatoes at me.

[ldyjocelyn]

Does not really have a very interesting melody...but it certainly has a feel good theme

I guess that's it for me...the melody doesn't make me enthused. (I'd rather have the "sing-song" of ATD than this...) And the lyrics? What lyrics? Remember -- I'm the "I don't care about lyrics" person.

couchie -- YES! His hard RRRRRRRR's are in full force on this song. Consider they are all through this song...it really drives me a bit nuts sometimes.

I'm learning to like the song more....

[Ansamcw]

wow another missing pet with a happy ending story...glad you got her back Play....

[dmclovesomc]

I love the words to THESE OPEN ARMS!!!!

[georgiaclay]

I have a question, Where is Bottle???

[KAndre]

It has no real hook for me - I'll catch myself singing a little of almost all of these - this is one I don't.

[FearofH2O]

I really like this one. Too!! Aw, I like them all.

There is a hook to this which goes on after the song is done- in my head.

[Claygasm]

I was THRILLED to see a Bon Jovi song on the album because I broke that rumor to the Clay Nation!

I was driving to work one day this summer and the radio station I listen to was interviewing Jon Bon Jovi. Blah, blah, blah. Then they talked about how Chris covered him and JBJ said yeah and so did Bo Bice and "that skinny kid from AI2 Clay Aiken has too". Well, I almost crashed my car! I was sure by the time I got to my office it would be all over the boards, but no. It wasn't. I posted it on EAYOR and within 5 minutes it was EVERYWHERE!

I didn't want to be known as another "insider" with bad information, so I was glad when it made the cut!

As for the song, unlike many, I liked it right away. I even liked it better than LNM (although I like them about the same now). I like the lyrics a lot. I like his voice on it (mostly - there is one part where he sounds a bit nasally). I like the pop/rock tempo. I think he will absolutely KILL on this in concert. Since this wasn't on that 16-track list we saw, I sometimes wonder if he didn't want it on the album, or maybe he did and he fought to get it on the album. Either way, I really like it and I hope he sings it in concert because this is one he will rock out on!!

[playbiller]

Holly has no toys tonight, she is being punished and I am recovering from running all over the neighborhood.

Open Arms - I feel a bit stressed duringthis song,. Clay can sing it easily, but I think he puts too much "oomph" into the lyrics and it dowsn't come across as easy as the other songs. A little "oomph" goes a long way, but he does it pretty much the whole song.

* Oomph, the extra emotion you put intpo a song when you bend at the knees and push it out - see Josh Gracin on AI2"

Aspiegirl, ducking tomatos is a fun thing to do. Then you pick them up and throw them back.

Edited October 28, 2006 by playbiller

[Aspiegirl]

I love the words to THESE OPEN ARMS!!!!

I agre the lyrics are aweseme.

Question: Did Clive make Clay slow these down or was it Clays choice. I think if given more freedom Clay could have really belted these songs out we all know he can do that. I cant wait to hear him sing them all in concert where he will be free to do them his own way.

I guess I am asking did Clay sing these songs his way or Clives way? I do like the CD just curious.

Edited October 28, 2006 by Aspiegirl

[ldyjocelyn]

claygasm -- cool story! Didn't realize that was you!

Yeah, where IS bottle?!?!?

I'm going to compile play's definitions for a book later.

Five minutes to next song!

[Ansamcw]

Does not really have a very interesting melody...but it certainly has a feel good theme

I guess that's it for me...the melody doesn't make me enthused. (I'd rather have the "sing-song" of ATD than this...) And the lyrics? What lyrics? Remember -- I'm the "I don't care about lyrics" person.

I know ...me too. But I think because the melody didn't grab me I ended up listening to the words more closely...

specially the bridge...

Surrender your mind

Give in and stop questioning why

Open your heart up to love and you'll see you will find

kinda reminds me of Clay saying he just give up his life to God and his plans...just have faith...I don;t know the words really hit me even when the melody does not.

[KAndre]

Ah, on the 4th listen I picked out something that highlights what doesn't thrill - that part that goes:

Did you really love the ones you said you loved? Think twice. And did you make a bit of difference in somebody else's life? Tell me, is there someone you can count on when you need a friend? Can you say i need a friend?

Dang, that's just too talky. It's like Bon Jovi got paid by each word he could put in a stanza...