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Clay Walker never was a superstar, but he scored consistently on the country singles chart throughout the '90s. Once the new millennium started, he hit a bit of a rough patch with 2001's Say No More, which became his first album to not spawn a Top Ten hit -- which may or may not have been a side effect of it being his last album for Giant. Following its release, Walker headed for RCA and debuted on his new label in the fall of 2003 with A Few Questions, a record that certainly does raise a few questions about what Walker is doing as his career enters a second decade. Though he still sports a big black hat on the front cover, this is hardly the sound of a new traditionalist -- it's the sound of the well-styled, hunky dude in a sweater that appears on the back cover. It seems that Walker got scared at the lack of success of Say No More and now has no compunction about being seen as a Nashville country-pop guy. Even when the dobros and fiddles are hauled out for "Countrified," it's for a Shania-styled chant-along, and they're soon buried underneath the twang of nu-country guitars, anyway, to move it firmly into the realm of pop-country. And that would be A Few Questions in a nutshell if only it had a little more country to it. Instead, from the moment the title track kicks off the album, it's clear that Walker no longer toes a new traditionalist line, and this ballad-heavy record lays on the sentiment real heavy, whether it's in a string of love songs, the assertion that "Jesus Was a Country Boy" ("swimmin' in the river/fishin' for his dinner"), or the claim that no matter what our differences are in this country, "Everybody Needs Love" (although it's clear by the way he sneers "sushi" in his verse on California that he's none too fond of the Left Coast). Though fans of his first few records will view this makeover with disdain, Walker's new style doesn't not fit him -- he's comfortable and outgoing in these new clothes, and the record is pleasant enough, even if it doesn't have much personality. Then again, it's not supposed to -- it's supposed to ease Walker onto contemporary radio once again by sounding like everything else on the radio. On that level, A Few Questions is a great success, but at its core, it just doesn't feel like a Clay Walker album, even if it is likely the start of the second phase of Walker's career, the phase where he is no longer a new traditionalist and is now an unabashed radio guy. Fans can make up their minds accordingly.
© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo
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Jimmy Ritchey, Producer - Wes Hightower, Background Vocal - Ray Scott, Composer, Lyricist - Clay Walker, Producer, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Phillip Moore, Composer, Lyricist - Adam Wheeler, Composer, Lyricist
(P) 2003 BMG Music
Jimmy Ritchey, Producer - Wes Hightower, Background Vocal - John Rich, Composer, Lyricist - Josh Leo, Composer, Lyricist - Lisa Cochran, Background Vocal - Clay Walker, Producer, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
(P) 2003 BMG Music
Greg Barnhill, Composer, Lyricist, Background Vocal - Jimmy Ritchey, Producer - Wes Hightower, Background Vocal - Kris Bergsnes, Composer, Lyricist - Jeremy Stover, Composer, Lyricist - Clay Walker, Producer, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
(P) 2003 BMG Music
Jimmy Ritchey, Producer - Wes Hightower, Background Vocal - Clay Walker, Composer, Lyricist, Producer, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Rivers Rutherford, Composer, Lyricist
(P) 2003 BMG Music
Jimmy Ritchey, Producer - Lisa Cochran, Background Vocal - Clay Walker, Composer, Lyricist, Producer, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Chely Wright, Composer, Lyricist - Melodie Crittenden, Background Vocal
(P) 2003 Sony Music Entertainment
Wayne Kirkpatrick, Composer, Lyricist - Jimmy Ritchey, Producer - Wes Hightower, Background Vocal - GORDON KENNEDY, Composer, Lyricist - Clay Walker, Producer, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Keith Urban, Composer, Lyricist
(P) 2003 BMG Music
Jimmy Ritchey, Producer - Wes Hightower, Background Vocal - Trey Bruce, Composer, Lyricist - Lisa Cochran, Background Vocal - Clay Walker, Producer, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Cory Mayo, Composer, Lyricist
(P) 2003 BMG Music
Tom Shapiro, Composer, Lyricist - Jimmy Ritchey, Producer - Wes Hightower, Background Vocal - Lisa Cochran, Background Vocal - Clay Walker, Producer, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - John Wesley Ryles, Background Vocal - Rivers Rutherford, Composer, Lyricist
(P) 2003 BMG Music
Jimmy Ritchey, Producer - Wes Hightower, Background Vocal - Boyd Houston Robert, Composer, Lyricist - Lisa Cochran, Background Vocal - Clay Walker, Producer, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Rivers Rutherford, Composer, Lyricist
(P) 2003 BMG Music
James LeBlanc, Composer, Lyricist - Jimmy Ritchey, Producer - Wes Hightower, Background Vocal - Casey Beathard, Composer, Lyricist - Lisa Cochran, Background Vocal - Clay Walker, Producer, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - John Wesley Ryles, Background Vocal
(P) 2003 BMG Music
Jeffrey Steele, Composer, Lyricist - Jimmy Ritchey, Producer - Wes Hightower, Background Vocal - Kip Raines, Composer, Lyricist - Lisa Cochran, Background Vocal - Clay Walker, Producer, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - John Wesley Ryles, Background Vocal
(P) 2003 BMG Music
Tammy Hyler, Composer, Lyricist - Kim Tribble, Composer, Lyricist - Jimmy Ritchey, Producer - Wes Hightower, Background Vocal - Lisa Cochran, Background Vocal - Clay Walker, Producer, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
(P) 2003 BMG Music
Jimmy Ritchey, Producer - Clay Walker, Producer, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Bart Butler, Composer, Lyricist - Frank Solesbee, Composer, Lyricist - Mark Rone, Composer, Lyricist
(P) 2003 BMG Music
Album review
Clay Walker never was a superstar, but he scored consistently on the country singles chart throughout the '90s. Once the new millennium started, he hit a bit of a rough patch with 2001's Say No More, which became his first album to not spawn a Top Ten hit -- which may or may not have been a side effect of it being his last album for Giant. Following its release, Walker headed for RCA and debuted on his new label in the fall of 2003 with A Few Questions, a record that certainly does raise a few questions about what Walker is doing as his career enters a second decade. Though he still sports a big black hat on the front cover, this is hardly the sound of a new traditionalist -- it's the sound of the well-styled, hunky dude in a sweater that appears on the back cover. It seems that Walker got scared at the lack of success of Say No More and now has no compunction about being seen as a Nashville country-pop guy. Even when the dobros and fiddles are hauled out for "Countrified," it's for a Shania-styled chant-along, and they're soon buried underneath the twang of nu-country guitars, anyway, to move it firmly into the realm of pop-country. And that would be A Few Questions in a nutshell if only it had a little more country to it. Instead, from the moment the title track kicks off the album, it's clear that Walker no longer toes a new traditionalist line, and this ballad-heavy record lays on the sentiment real heavy, whether it's in a string of love songs, the assertion that "Jesus Was a Country Boy" ("swimmin' in the river/fishin' for his dinner"), or the claim that no matter what our differences are in this country, "Everybody Needs Love" (although it's clear by the way he sneers "sushi" in his verse on California that he's none too fond of the Left Coast). Though fans of his first few records will view this makeover with disdain, Walker's new style doesn't not fit him -- he's comfortable and outgoing in these new clothes, and the record is pleasant enough, even if it doesn't have much personality. Then again, it's not supposed to -- it's supposed to ease Walker onto contemporary radio once again by sounding like everything else on the radio. On that level, A Few Questions is a great success, but at its core, it just doesn't feel like a Clay Walker album, even if it is likely the start of the second phase of Walker's career, the phase where he is no longer a new traditionalist and is now an unabashed radio guy. Fans can make up their minds accordingly.
© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 13 track(s)
- Total length: 00:49:27
- Main artists: Clay Walker
- Composer: Various Composers
- Label: RCA Records Label Nashville
- Genre: Country
(P) 2003 BMG Music
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