Say No More (Clay Walker album)
Encyclopedia
Critical reception
Michael Paoletta and Ray Waddell of BillboardBillboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
gave the album a positve review writng "Say No More is a sonically adventurous album on which Walker offers more pop tendencies than usual, without sacrificing his country pedigree. This is a diverse package that effectively demonstrates Walker's versatility and maturity." Mario Tarradell of The Dallas Morning News
The Dallas Morning News
The Dallas Morning News is the major daily newspaper serving the Dallas, Texas area, with a circulation of 264,459 subscribers, the Audit Bureau of Circulations reported in September 2010...
also gave it a positive rating calling the album the " most complete and accomplished outing since his solid, self-titled 1993 debut." Tarradell also wrote "The record offers a convincing batch of tunes that showcase his pliable voice, his country and swing roots and his penchant for melody-heavy commercial ballads. He's frequently traded Texas grit for Nashville polish but with Say No More he's combined both to create classy, commercial country.
Carole L. Philipps of The Cincinnati Post
The Cincinnati Post
The Cincinnati Post is a discontinued afternoon daily newspaper that was published in Cincinnati, Ohio. Distributed in Northern Kentucky as The Kentucky Post, it was owned by the E. W. Scripps Company. Since the 1980s, its editorial stance was usually conservative. The Post published its final...
wrote "Clay Walker, the country boy next door, has put together as pretty a package as has been heard recently from Nashville. He croons his way through elegant love songs, down-home country tunes, juke joint anthems and punctuates the 11-song effort with a stunning cover of the late Richie Valens hit, "La Bamba," sung in well-studied Spanish." Michael D. Clark of the Houston Chronicle
Houston Chronicle
The Houston Chronicle is the largest daily newspaper in Texas, USA, headquartered in the Houston Chronicle Building in Downtown Houston. , it is the ninth-largest newspaper by circulation in the United States...
gave the album a B rating and wrote "The good news for Walker fans is that the country-pop album formula that has stoked his career hasn't been abandoned. He simply has turned it inside out. Instead of throwing a weeper like This Woman and This Man or Hypnotize the Moon in along with his rodeo swagger, Say No More is built on gut kicks. Overall, though, Say No More finds a light-footed hip-swiveler with a heavy heart and a tear in his eye.
Brian Mansfield of USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
gave the album two stars and said, "For Clay Walker, there's a winding road, or some other equally cliched phrase, in every song -- whether it's a deep ocean, a fire burning in his soul, or a woman who takes his breath away. Track after track, the smooth-singing Texan piles it on -- there's an ordinary song about an "unordinary" girl and a slick song about being rough around the edges. That these trite romantic blandishments or the out-of-nowhere cover of La Bamba remain at all listenable speaks volumes for the appealing earnestness of Walker's voice" USA Today also listed the album as the sixth worst country album of 2001.
BPI Entertainment News Wire gave the album a positive review writing, "Say No More is a sonically adventurous album on which Walker offers more pop tendencies than usual, without sacrificing his country pedigree. He sings with passion throughout, especially on piano-based ballads like Real the soulful You Deliver Me, and the conversational Could I Ask You Not to Dance. This is a diverse package that effectively demonstrates Walker's versatility and maturity." Maria Konicki Dinoia of AllMusic described the album by writing "Say No More is a fine album from an artist who has proved his staying power time and time again." Jerry Sharpe of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, also known simply as the "PG," is the largest daily newspaper serving metropolitan Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.-Early history:...
gave the album a four star rating and wrote, "All told, it's a nice mixture masterfully performed. Consider this a "don't miss" disc for Walker fans." Mike Clark of Country Standard Time
Country Standard Time
Country Standard Time is a website dedicated to country music and related genres such as Bluegrass and Rockabilly. It provides news and musical reviews pertaining to the genre. It was established in 1992 by Jeffrey B. Remz as a print magazine, which was first published only in New England but went...
gave the album a negative review by writing, "Neither pop nor country, this is easily Walker's least satisfying CD. "Say No More" indeed."
Al Levine of the The Atlanta Constitution gave the album a B rating and wrote, "On this surprising package, Walker not only displays strong pipes, but the song selection is a revelation. He pulls off a strong performance in the hymn "You Deliver Me." "If You Ever Feel Like Lovin' Me Again," is as good as anything semisweet coming out of Nashville these days. "Rough Around the Edges" captures the spirit of every unpolished soul still sorting out life's complexities. Walker is huge in Texas, and he plays to his crowd with "Texas Swing" (you can almost hear George Strait) and "La Bamba," which will never replace the original but is appealing anyway." Jolene Downs of About.com
About.com
About.com is an online source for original information and advice. It is written in English, and is aimed primarily at North Americans. It is owned by The New York Times Company....
gave the album a favorable review and wrote, "If you've liked Clay's previous work, you'll really enjoy this album. There isn't a bad song on here. There are traditional songs, powerful ballads, and a little western swing. Something for everyone." Ben Scott of the The Oklahoman
The Oklahoman
The Oklahoman is the largest daily newspaper in Oklahoma and is the only daily newspaper that covers the entire Oklahoma City area.-Ownership:...
gave the album a positive review. Scott praised Walker's cover of La Bamba by writing "The country crooner gives an impressive delivery in Spanish and tossed in a couple of nice instrumental solos." DJ
Disc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
Johnny Sixpack of Slipcue gave the album a negative review and wrote, "Easy To Hold" and "Texas Swing" are the only tracks on here worth paying attention to. Everything else is way too wimpy and popped-out. A big, big disappointment." Editors at The Ottawa Citizen gave the album a rating of three stars and wrote, "Walker's voice, like many of his contemporaries', is a little generic and self-conscious for my taste, and he too often gravitates toward radio-happy numbers whose slickness almost conceals their blandness. And while love may be a many-splendored thing, relationship songs do wear thin. Still, the guy works damn hard at what he does, and the sweat and sincerity give his albums a tough core that's refreshing."
Personnel
As listed in liner notes.- Steven R. Conn - squeeze boxAccordionThe accordion is a box-shaped musical instrument of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone family, sometimes referred to as a squeezebox. A person who plays the accordion is called an accordionist....
on "La Bamba" - Shannon Forrest - drums
- Larry Franklin - fiddleFiddleThe term fiddle may refer to any bowed string musical instrument, most often the violin. It is also a colloquial term for the instrument used by players in all genres, including classical music...
on "She's Easy to Hold" & "Rough Around the Edges" - Paul FranklinPaul Franklin (musician)Paul Franklin is an American multi-instrumentalist, known mainly for his work as a steel guitarist. He began his career in the 1970s as a member of Barbara Mandrell's road band; in addition he toured with Mel Tillis and Jerry Reed. He has since become a prolific session musician in Nashville,...
- steel guitarSteel guitarSteel guitar is a type of guitar or the method of playing the instrument. Developed in Hawaii in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a steel guitar is usually positioned horizontally; strings are plucked with one hand, while the other hand changes the pitch of one or more strings with the use... - Tony Harrell - pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
- Michael Haynes - hornsHorn sectionIn music, a horn section can refer to several groups of musicians. It can refer to the musicians in a symphony orchestra who play the horn . In a British-style brass band it refers to the tenor horn players. In popular music, it can also refer to a small group of wind instrumentalists who augment a...
on "La Bamba" - Aubrey HaynieAubrey HaynieAubrey Haynie is an American bluegrass musician who plays the fiddle and mandolin. In his career, he has recorded three studio albums for the Sugar Hill Records label, all three of which contained mostly songs that he wrote himself...
- fiddle - Wes Hightower - background vocals
- Dirk Johnson - synthesizerSynthesizerA synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
- B. James Lowry - electric guitar
- Brent MasonBrent MasonBrent Mason is an American session guitarist and occasional songwriter. He is known primarily for his work in the field of country music. In addition to releasing two instrumental studio albums, he holds several credits as a songwriter...
- electric guitarElectric guitarAn electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker... - Gene Miller - background vocals
- Steve Nathan - keyboards
- Chris Rodriguez - background vocals
- Matt RollingsMatt RollingsMatt Rollings is an American composer, musician and record producer. He plays piano, organ, and keyboards.Known mainly for playing in Lyle Lovett's Large Band, he has worked with many artists, not all country...
- piano - John Wesley RylesJohn Wesley RylesJohn Wesley Ryles is an American country music artist. He made his debut in 1968 with the single "Kay", a Top Ten hit on the Billboard Hot Country Singles charts, and the title track to his debut album for Columbia Records.Ryles later recorded one album, Reconsider Me, for the Plantation label,...
- background vocals - Javier Solis - congas on "La Bamba"
- Bryan SuttonBryan SuttonBryan Sutton is an American musician. Primarily known as a flatpicked acoustic guitar player, Sutton also plays many other instruments including mandolin, banjo, and electric guitar....
- acoustic guitar on "Rough Around the Edges" & "Texas Swing" - Biff Watson - acoustic guitar
- Lonnie Wilson - drums
- Glenn WorfGlenn WorfGlenn Worf is one of the premier Nashville session bassists. He was born in Dayton, Ohio but grew up in Madison, Wisconsin and has concentrated on the bass guitar since he was thirteen. He majored in music at the University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire. Inevitably his talents forced him to abandon the...
- bass guitar
Weekly charts
| Chart (2001) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Top Country Albums | 14 |
| U.S. Billboard 200 | 129 |