Clay Aiken - A Thousand Different Ways

The endlessly delayed A Thousand Different Ways, Clay Aiken's second proper album, was long-awaited, at least by the hoards of fans enthusiastically calling themselves Claymates, of which there are many. There were enough Claymates to make the American Idol season two runner-up one of the two biggest stars the show has produced to date -- the other, of course, being Kelly Clarkson -- propelling his debut album, Measure of a Man, to number one upon its 2003 release. Chart success means a lot, particularly for an American Idol, and it would seem that blockbuster success would embolden a pop star. That certainly was the case with Kelly Clarkson, who came on strong with her second album, forever banishing the specter of AmIdol as she swaggered through the irresistible "Since U Been Gone." Given Kelly's example, it would seem that Clay could have come out swinging with A Thousand Different Ways and do something interesting, but A Thousand Different Ways isn't risky: it's an album made directly for fans and makes Measure of a Man seem daring. This record has a couple of new made-to-order tunes for Clay, but for the most part it consists of songs you know by heart, equal parts popular standards and adult contemporary. Clay sings Richard Marx's "Right Here Waiting," Badfinger's "Without You," Hall & Oates' "Every Time You Go Away," Bryan Adams' "Everything I Do (I Do It for You)," Foreigner's "I Want to Know What Love Is," and Mr. Mister's "Broken Wings." He does a really nice job with Dolly Parton's "Here You Come Again" (the closest thing to a genuine surprise here), rivals Celine Dion on "Because You Loved Me," and naturally does a pretty good job with Elton John's "Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word." The cumulative effect of all these covers plus the new songs is like a season of American Idol in microcosm: it's uncannily like listening to outtakes from the show. And it's the first album from any American Idol contestant to sound exactly how they did on the show. Justin Guarini, George Huff, Josh Gracin, and even William Hung sound different on record than they did on the show -- but not Clay, one of the few genuine American Idol superstars. He sounds exactly how you remember him from TV, which means that A Thousand Different Ways will particularly satisfy the Claymates -- but the truth is, they probably would have stuck with him under any circumstances. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide

Name Credits Adam Anders Producer, Guitar, Editing, Audio Production, Vocal Producer, Engineer, Bass, Keyboards, Arranger Alejandro Rodriguez Digital Editing Alex Anders Engineer Andreas Carlsson Guitar (Acoustic), Engineer, String Arrangements, Producer, Audio Production, Vocals (Background), Arranger, Mixing Bo Reimer Drum Engineering Brent Paschke Programming, Digital Editing, Engineer Brett Kilroe Art Direction Brian Krinke Violin Brian Paderalsky Engineer Brian Wohlgemuth Editing Assistant, Digital Editing Carol Pool Violin Charlie Bisharat Violin Charlton Pettus Bass, Programming, Guitar, Engineer, Producer Chris Brooke Engineer Cliff Lin Drum Programming, Editing, Guitar (Electric), Assistant Engineer Cornelius Dufallo Violin Courtney Blooding Production Assistant David Channing Engineer, Editing, Digital Editing David Foster String Arrangements David Gold Viola David Krueger Arranger, Programming, Producer Dean Parks Guitar Dorian Crozier Drums Dorothy Lawson Principal, Cello Doug Petty Organ (Hammond) Ed Ackerson Engineer Emanuel Kiriakou Guitar (Acoustic), Keyboards, Bass, Engineer, Programming, Producer, Guitar (Electric), Piano Emil Heiling Vocals (Background) Erik Friedlander Cello Esbjörn Öhrwall Guitar (Electric) Frederik Larsson Piano Fredrik Andersson Engineer, Mixing George Marino Mastering Greg Suran Guitar Gregg Bissonette Drums Henrik Janson String Arrangements, String Conductor Henrik Nordenback Drums, Percussion Humberto Gatica Mixing, String Engineer, Producer Ian Schreier Engineer Jason Scheff Vocals (Background) Jay Goin Assistant Engineer Jeff Bova String Arrangements Jeremy Lubbock String Arrangements Jesse Marks Assistant Engineer Jimi Englund Percussion, Drums Jochem van der Saag Programming, Engineer Joe Wohlmuth Digital Editing Johannes Nyberg Sitar (Electric) John Fields Keyboards, Engineer, Producer, Bass, Vocals (Background), Effects, Guitar, Guitar (Bass), Audio Production Jonas Groning String Arrangements Jonathan Dinklage Violin Jules Chaiken String Conductor, Strings Contractor Ken Chastain Effects, Percussion Lara Lynne Hickes Viola Larry Corbett Cello Mairi Dorman Phaneuf Cello Marshall P. Coid Concert Master, Violin Marti Frederiksen Engineer, Producer Mats Berntoft Guitar (Acoustic) Matt Beckley Assistant Engineer Matt Funes Viola Michael Bland Drums Michele Richards Violin Mike Shipley Mixing Miranda Penn Turin Photography Morgan Grace Vocals (Background), Vocal Harmony Nikki Hassman Vocals (Background), Vocal Producer Norm Dlugatch Assistant, Assistant Engineer Owsley Guitar Owsley Suran Guitar Paul Wertheimer Assistant Per Magnusson Arranger, Producer, Keyboards Peter Anderson Assistant Engineer Peter Ijung Piano Phil Solem Vocals (Background) Quiana Parler Vocals (Background) Ralph Farris Viola, Orchestra Leader Rasmus Billie Bähncke Keyboard Programming, String Arrangements Rebecca Walker Vocals (Background) René Tromberg Drum Programming Rob Shaw Violin Ross Hogarth Engineer Russ Irwin Programming, Producer, Keyboards, Engineer, Guitar Ryan Brown Drums Samuel Waermo Producer, Mixing, Programming, String Arrangements, Engineer, Percussion, Arranger Sebastian Nylund Guitar (Electric), Guitar (Acoustic) Shawn Pelton Drums Stephen Lu String Arrangements, Conductor, Piano, Keyboards, String Conductor Steve Lotz Assistant Steven Miller Engineer Supaflyas Arranger Suzie Katayama String Conductor Thomas Bundberg Bass Tom Durack Engineer Tom Leonard Vocals (Background) Tommy Barbarella Keyboards, String Arrangements Ulf Janson String Conductor, String Arrangements Vivian Ng Art Direction William Joseph Piano Yuri Vodovoz Violin