Good grief. Could I be procrastinating anymore? The thing is, I’m so loving this time in the Clay fandom right now. We have new music! We get to hear how Clay sounds singing new music! For the record, he is sounding spectacular to me, and I’m one of those people who tend to notice his rare losses of technique and misses. Not only is that upper register belting and wailing for which he is so widely known more assured and strong than before, but we’re hearing more of that resonance and the lush and honeyed tones that make Clay’s middle and lower register so incredibly gorgeous. And he is sustaining all this through his most challenging set yet. Impressive doesn’t begin to describe it, as far as I’m concerned.

So in addition to those classic songs that we’re getting to hear Clay cover, we’re hearing him try out new original material as well, which has the thankless task of following material that has already stood the test of time. I love that we’re hearing original material in the testing phase because it gives us a window into the album-making process and gives us something from which to extrapolate as far as Clay’s direction goes. I’m also loving it because the fact that the process is ongoing right now gives us so much scope for imagination as to how a song might sound when they’re done with it. We’re watching lyrics get tweaked, we may get to see tempos sped up and slowed down, we may get to see arrangements changing. I just think all that is super-cool, and it’s such a joy listening for that kind of stuff, whether or not any particular song ultimately makes Clay’s next album [insert journey/destination cliché here].

My Predispositions With all that in mind, I turn to “Just You,” the second song that Clay previewed at Toms River Fest, and through his first 6 JBT concerts. By way of disclosure, I should state up front that I tend not to like power ballads; well, I tend to prefer them in very small doses. To me, the typical power ballad is very predictable in structure (restrained melody on the verses, then a soaring, bombastic chorus featuring the singer at full belt), and it takes a particularly strong melody and emotional resonance to help me to overcome that sense of predictability (examples of power ballads that I like: “These Dreams” by Heart; “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me” by Elton John and “Black Velvet” by Alannah Myles). It also typically takes a rock edge to sell me on a power ballad, as opposed to the pop or operatic tendencies of singers like Celine Dion, Whitney Houston and Josh Groban. I guess what I would say is that I tend to have more difficulty relating to power ballads because, so often, they don’t tell stories, they just speak about these sweeping emotions in dramatic lyrics to which I just can’t relate.

JY-Melody So it is with “Just You.” But before I talk about the lyrics, I’d like to start with the melody. Over the cellstream (again, my first exposure to the song), I was unable to find the melody. It took multiple listenings to good quality audio Clack from the concerts to do so—and within a couple of days, I found myself really loving the incredible wailing that Clay does on the chorus (despite the fact that he has often strained the reach the notes—I think this had added to the grit of the performance, which I think improves it). The chorus has the same melodic structure as the verses, it’s just that the chorus is in Clay’s upper register, and that’s what injects some energy, feeling and charisma into the song. The problem is, I didn’t feel any of that in the verses—the melody on the verse really bored me—it sounded very boy band or Marc Anthony, and I couldn’t help but think, “Oh, I’ve heard this song before. It’s that kind of song.” I want so much more than that kind of song for Clay, so, to me, the song started off on a bit of a disappointing note.

JY-Lyrics Then, over a few days, a few people on the boards tried to figure out the lyrics. The first line, “You were the sun, there to light up my life.” Holy cliché Batman! The whole sun/light/day/night thing is a rather overdone metaphor, especially in love/love lost music, so that was an immediate turnoff for me. I also didn’t care for “I never thought that it could be this way,” which is an overused line in this kind of song, I think. I also felt like the line needed an extra syllable in order really work as a transition from verse to chorus. Again, I think Clay deserves more inventive lyrics. Fastforward to the chorus, where we’re informed, “Now that you’re gone/I’m standing all alone.” Well…if you were together before, isn’t it kind of redundant to say that you’re standing alone after you note that this person to whom you’re singing is gone? That’s not a big deal, just kind of annoying to me. The rest of the chorus is a bit sweeping in emotional tenor, but Clay sings it so compellingly that it seems fine to me.

But then, we hit the original second verse, that featured the mercifully gone sequence of “touch the sky” (which, unfortunately, reminded me of R. Kelly’s “I Believe I can Fly—not a good thing), “mountains oh so high” and “we’ll fly away.” GAH. Talk about trite—it’s not just the words, it’s the rhyme scheme, as well—these exact words are almost always used in conjunction with each other.

I was so glad to see the second verse lyrics change to the much more engaging “reach for me, through all the time and space” (this adds a physical component that makes the sentiment seem more real to me), etc. Yes, the lyrics are still kind of trite, but it is now at least a bit easier (for me) to relate to the song.

Overall thoughts-JY Ultimately, Clay is the one who sells this song—as sweeping as the lyrics (like “Can you save me from the pain, baby?” on the bridge—which is probably my favorite version of the bridge’s lyrics so far) are, he wails them with such passion that they are so much more believable than they ought to be (in my view). I completely believe that the guy is devastated when he sings this—he totally takes me with him. So…that raises the question…is this a song that is worthy of Clay simply because he sells it so well (especially if there’s something in it to which he relates), or does the ability that Clay shows in selling this song indicate that he deserves a power ballad with more interesting and unique lyrics, married more effectively to a more compelling melody? I seriously don’t know the answer to that, but I think I lean towards the latter, unless Clay has found something in “Just You” to which he relates. There have got to be better power ballads out there, with greater lyrical and melodic originality. Maybe my expectations are too high, but this is Clay and his incredible talents that we’re talking about—so I tend to think not.

Still, the song presents some intriguing possibilities, and I get the feeling that my opinion of it would vary a lot depend on how it was arranged in studio. I’ve got a limited imagination, so I’ve focused on 3 major possibilities for how JY might be arranged in studio:

• With a piano/bass-reliant arrangement that is most suited to the AC format and that would really put the song in Marc Anthony territory. They could use some subdued strings to add to the tone of melancholy. I can’t say I’m a fan of this idea, because I think it would make the song sound too smooth. If they go this route, then I definitely hope that they do incorporate some orchestral accompaniment.
• With some electric guitar riffs (to supplement the piano/bass) brought in to lend more of a rock edge, that is, to put the power back in the power ballad. There would be a sizable risk of busying up the song too much here, and making an already-dramatic song over-the-top. They could also add a more dramatic orchestral accompaniment here—I’m imagining one that would add descending runs as a sort of echo/response to Clay’s wailing in the chorus.
• Acoustically, with either just a piano or just a string quartet. It’s possible that this idea seems more attractive now because it would take the bombast out of the song and possibly force Clay to channel his passion into a softer, sort-of falsetto tone of voice. I think this could sound incredible, but again, maybe it’s just the contrast to the current arrangement that appeals to me.

I don’t know. Maybe it says something about the song that there are so many intriguing possibilities. Still, ever unsatisfied, I want better for Clay! I'd love to hear what other people think about possible studio arrangements for this song.

Next time…how about “1000 Days”?