MERRY CHRISTMAS WITH LOVE DISCUSSION

[Marilyn]

I AGREE- ALL OF THE SONGS ARE ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL- BUT MDYK IS STILL MY FAVORITE WITH OHN COMING A CLOSE SECOND

[luv4clay]

MCWL is the very first album of Clay's that I bought for myself. I don't even have MOAM but I did buy it for some friends last Christmas.

I absolutely love all of his Christmas Cd. The songs plus his amazing voice moved me to happy tears the first time I listened to MCWL. The holidays have been a tough time for me in the past and I'm sure many other people struggle too. However this CD has lifted my spirits and gave me a sense of Joy and reminded me of the real meaning of Christmas.

Gosh, It's hard to pick just one fav song. I really like the medley just because those are two of my favorite Christmas songs.

I would encourage anyone to get this cd. You will be touched and your christmas will hopefully be merrier. I know I'll be giving it for early Christmas presents.

[CT loves Clay]

HAVE BEEN LISTENING NON STOP ALSO.  MY FAVORITES:

MDYK
DSIAFC
OHN


I LOVE THEM ALL THE SAME.  I COULDN'T EVEN NUMBER THEM!

[claydevotee]

Just played my MCWL for the first time.  I am speechless...I am overwhelmed with love and joy and peace in my heart.   This is perfection...But were we expecting anything less???

 

I think WAYDNYE is absolutely beautiful! I never heard this song before and it would make a great song for 2 people to dance to. I love it!!

LORI, I have heard this song before.  I think Barry Manilow recorded it about 20 years ago.  I know that hubby and I will be dancing cheek-to-cheek to this one throughout the Holiday Season!!!  Let's hear it for the Golden Oldies!!  And let's hear it for Clay!!!!!
 

[tessie]

I hate to be so wishy washy about making a choice, but I love Clay's voice and EVERYTHING he sings.  I love his very special phrasing, his unique pronunciation of words, his southern intonations appearing here and there, and the glorious soaring notes he sings and holds like only he can.

I can't possibly choose....I love them all!

[lorraine]

TESSIE,

I AM THERE WITH YOU.  I JUST CAN'T CHOOSE.  JUST WHEN I THINK I LIKE ONE THE BEST I CHANGE MY MIND.  I JUST LOVE THEM ALL.  I HAVE PLAYED IT SO MUCH SINCE I GOT IT ON TUESDAY THAT I AM SO GLAD I HAVE OTHER COPIES TO FALL BACK ON WHEN I WEAR THIS ONE OUT.  HE JUST MELTS MY HEART EVERYTIME I LISTEN TO IT.  SO WHAT ELSE IS NEW.


LORRAINE

[claydevotee]

I hate to be so wishy washy about making a choice, but I love Clay's voice and EVERYTHING he sings. I love his very special phrasing, his unique pronunciation of words, his southern intonations appearing here and there, and the glorious soaring notes he sings and holds like only he can.

TESSIE: Couldn't agree more.  Excellent points!  Now I have 2 questions I would like to ask you:

1.  Have you ever considered a career as a music critic?
2.  Were you by any chance a logic and/or philosophy major in college.? I so admire your clear, concise thought processes.  Me?  My thoughts tend to be quite scattered most of the time.  Difficult for me to ever be logical---only emotional.  Especially when Clay is involved.

LORRAINE:  I love the way you express yourself.  You have such passion in your writing!

[GWENN]

I POSTED THIS ON THE BLPT, BUT I SUGGEST THAT, IF YOU HAVE EARPHONES TO YOUR SYSTEM, THAT YOU POUR YOURSELF A BIG GLASS OF WINE, TURN UP THE VOLUME AND LISTEN.  IT IS AN AMAZING EXPERIENCE.

GWENN

[houstonclayfan]

After listening to the Cd for about the 15th time, I have come to determine that MDYK and DSIAFCD are my two favorites.  You can hear the passion in his voice in MDYK, maybe because he loves the song and the message is close to his heart. DSIAFCD is breath taking as well. But, of course, I love them all.

I forgot to tell y'all that I playd the CD in the car with Mr Houston and even he kept going back to MSYK about 5 times     I even said to him "Ok, lets listen to something else now"    He said "You get to listen to it all the time. Let me listen to it for once"    

He may receive his own copy soon. LOL

[mrs. c.]

Gwenn, sounds like a plan!!!  I think my fav is DSIAFCD, the glory note sends me!!!  close second is MDYK and OHN, sheer perfection Clay!!! I also love that this CD is not overproduced, we actually get to really hear Clay!!!!

[GWENN]

I THINK IT IS INTERESTING THAT EVERYON I TALK TO LOVES THE SAME SONGS.  EVERYONE SEEMS TO LOVE DSITFCD AND MDYK.  THEN THE 3RD CHOICE VARIES.  INTERESTING.

GWENN

[Marilyn]

I THINK THAT EITHER ONE OF THOSE TWO WOULD DO WELL WITH AIRPLAY IF THE DING DANG RADIO STATIONS EVER WAKE UP AND SMELL THE COFFEE- OR RATINGS, AS IT WERE, AND PLAY THOSE SONGS

[paclayfan]

I absolutely love MDYK. I am a teacher in a Catholic school, and each class has to plan a school mass. My school mass is in Dec. and I was given permission to play this song during Mass as a meditation, because of Advent. It fits perfectly.

     I taught my students to sing it in sign language(My parents are deaf). They will perform it for the school during the mass with the CD playing in the background. They love the song and keep singing it throuhout the day.  Added bonus.. I get to keep playing it over and over.
You know...practice makes perfect!

[Char]

Finally I found this thread through someone's help! First off I have to tell everyone that I had MCWL pre-ordered from Amazon.com but I thought that I would be able to wait so I chose regular delivery. Well, Tuesday came around and one of my co-workers was running to WalMart, so I sent money with her to get the CD of course! I told myself- that way I have one copy for the car and one for the house! Well.....I am a former wanna be record producer turned into a veterinary technician, so of course the firt thing I do if I cannot listen to a CD at that very moment is to read the liner notes. When I saw produced by Phil Ramone and Wlater Aranasieff- I knew that production of this CD was going to by far surpass MOAM. Then to see Humberto Gattica engineering many of the orchestral arrangements...I had even greater faith in the sound! (He does a lot of jazz/classical CD's) And then to top it off- Jacob, Angela and Quiana were backing Clay on a few songs- I knew that this would blow me away and if course, it did!

Clay's voice sounds stronger and more mature than ever in my opinion. They allowed the smoothness of his voice to come through. And I know that the reviewers are going to bring up the Broadway thing- but on the classic songs, yes- Clay could hold his own next to the biggest Broadway stars. But moreso- his voice has become very polished and you think to yourself this guy has had some great classic training! I would pit him next to Josh Groban any day! Of course, the arrangements are beautiful- lush but not overdone as we have heard on other recordings Clay has done (think Bridge Over Troubled Water). The re-arrangement of Don't Save It All For Christmas Day is perfect. I agree with some here about Silent Night- it is a beautiful carol, but it does not seem to shine like I think it should. O Holy Night is the best showcase of Clay's talent on the CD. Mary Did You Know is wonderful- and hearing Jacob, Angela and Quinana in the background is like hearing from an old friend again. After seeing them back Clay up in concert three times- you feel like you really know them- or at least you really know their voices! This is going to become a classic CD for all time. When I heard Clay sing Winter Wonderland I forgot all about Johnny Mathis! Personnally I plan on buying copies for all of my family members and friends and giving the CD to them before Christmas :) And now for the greatest part- I get to see all of these songs performed live in concert and I just cannot wait until December 15th!

Enjoy everyone- this is a special Christmas offering :)

- Char

[mrs. c.]

Interesting, I heard today that Kalan Porter, our newest Canadian Idol whom I voted for and adore!! has also released his version of MDYK on a Christmas CD also featuring a song by Clay and others, no more info at this time what the CD is entitled, but it will be interesting to see if Kalan's version measures up to the beauty of Clay's!!!

[LiftClayUp]

I have just about worn this cd and its case out taking it from the house to the car.  I will be purchasing more copies this week.  

I adore MDYK but have also come to love MCWL.  WAYDNYE  is an old song but OMC's version is to die for.  DSIAFCD has been one of my favorites since last year and this new version doesn't disappoint.  O Holy Night, from last years AI Christmas cd as sang by Miss Clarkson, is absolutely gorgeous, but has now been replaced by OMC's version.  Kelly sounds better on cd's than singing live on the two songs she did on the AI Christmas Special last year.

I can't pick one song but would have to choose MCWL and MDYK as my absolute favorites but the rest  come in a close second.  There is not a song I don't like on this cd.

BRAVO Clay.  This is an excellent offering!!!!

[CLAYMATEFL]

I bought 6 so far.  Target here is Florida also running a second week at $9.98.

[CLAYMATEFL]

Sorry, posted on wrong topic!  My favorite on the CD is DSIAFCD, without a doubt!  The voice is beautiful and I get chills when I hear that glory note, but I think the lyrics related to children really typify all that Clay's about.  #2 tied with MCWL and MDYK.

[Tammy]

I LOVE THEM ALL BUT MY TOP FOUR ARE......

1)  D.S.I.A.F.C.D

2)  MARY, DID YOU KNOW

3)  WHAT ARE YOU DOING NEW YEAR'S EVE

4)  O HOLY NIGHT

[lorraine]

TAMMY MY FRIEND WOULD YOU BELIEVE THOSE ARE MY FAVORITE FOUR ALSO AND IN THAT ORDER.  OF COURSE LIKE TAMMY I LOVE THE WHOLE CD AND I CANNOT COUNT THE TIMES I HAVE PLAYED IT ALREADY.


LORRAINE