On Monday afternoon, The Examiner.com published a review on Tried & True, the new Clay Aiken CD that is due out on June 1st.

ALBUM PREVIEWS: Releases for the week of June 1, 2010

By REVIEWniverse Staff

The Claynation is Aiken for this retro collection. (Photo: Decca)                         

Welcome to REVIEWniverse’s latest service to you, our dear readers: Sneak REVIEWs. Every Monday, we will whisk you out of your post-weekend doldrums by offering a detailed preview of spotlight-worthy albums coming to download platforms and dusty record-store shelves near you the following week, giving all you audiophiles plenty of time ponder near-future purchasing choices. Click on “Subscribe” above, and you will automatically receive our weekly “Sneak REVIEWs” along with our regular articles.

So to kick things off, here’s our take on what you can expect from artists as varied as Clay Aiken, Sleigh Bells, Taio Cruz and Hawthorne Heights, all of whom have new LPs landing down the week of June 1, 2010.

Clay Aiken Tried & True (Decca)
This is Clay’s fifth studio album, and it features classic songs from ’50s and ’60s. The American Idol Season 2 runner-up does have a great ear for good melodic songs. To wit, Tried & True cuts like “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You,” “Moon River,” “Crying,” Herman’s Hermits’ much-under-appreciateed “There’s a Kind of Hush,” “Suspicious Minds” and “Misty.” Aiken also includes two songs he made his signatures on Idol: “Unchained Melody” and “Mack the Knife,” which are the perfect vehicles for his soaring vocals. Congrats, Claynation, your idol will be out on the road with Ruben Stoddard this summer.

IN OTHER WORDS: Love his style or not, Clay’s a great vocalist, and these terrific selections are right up his alley.

Sneak REVIEWs ANTICIPATION RATING: 8.7/10

To see the article and the rest of the reviews, click on EXAMINER

Entertainment Reviews Examiner reviews and rates all of pop culture. ROBBIE WOLIVER is an award-winning journalist and New York Times Bestselling author who was a columnist at Newsday, writer at The New York Times, Sr. editor at Village Voice’s LI edition and editor in chief at Long Island Press. He was a pop-culture freelancer for New York Post, Rolling Stone, Village Voice, San Fran Chronicle, Country Weekly, Salon and more. He was also a music venue owner and director of music-awards shows. KENNY HERZOG has been a Sr. editor or contributing writer for SPIN, Village Voice, CMJ, TimeOut NY, MSN TV, LI Press, Asylum, HEEB, New York Daily News, All Music Guide, Wax Poetics, MLB.com, Film Threat and more. Kenny, a band manager and popular DJ, has appeared on E!, Bio Channel, CNBC, A&E & NPR as a pop culture expert. Robbie and Kenny are co-editors of REVIEWniverse.com.

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