To say that Elliott did his idol and musical influence, Donny Hathaway, proud is such an understatement while listening to this version of Leon Russell's song. How appropriate that he ended his CD with such a vocally charged rendition! I enjoyed almost every track on his CD (via the AOL Listening Party), but I am stuck on ASFY, and am listening to that song over and over as if for the first time. Elliott's vocals are incredibly pure in this track, and he displayed a musical maturity that is pleasantly surprising for a debut CD from an American Idol alumnus. I can totally hear him singing this as a fitting finale (or encore song) in his concert tour appearances. Incredible!

Thanks for letting me express myself. :)

Very well expressed. I can see that being a "signature" song for Elliott for ages.

I listened to it this morning for the first time all the way through, and by the end of it, I was weeping! Oh my God, how incredibly beautiful it is! That whole CD is even more than I expected and from hearing the clips, I had expected it to be great! This is going to be HUGE!!! Can't wait until the rest of the world gets a load of Elliott Yamin!!!

Just saw this thread, well said Jon. I agree. I actually wrote on the AOL Blog that this song was my favorite and that he did Donny proud. My entry is under my real name "Glenna".

Can you imagine if they stripped this version down even more so, and just have it be a capella? Whoa.

BTW, you know how Cristina Aguilera's all "Hey, listen to me, listen to me!" with her version of this song? Well, she ain't heard nothin yet.

Its an amazing track!!!! Inspiring and Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeautiful!!

:grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug:

Uh OH, I haven't heard the full version yet, and frankly I am kinda skeeered to!
This is my all time, made me cry, gave me chills, almost passed out,have played it at least 10,000 times,song thAt Elliott has done!. geez, what if I am driving when I hear it????Or what if I'm at work, or in the grocery store, orin the cafeteria, or the mall?????????It could get pretty ugly!!!.HELLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLPPPPP!!!!

Chloe, for your safety, you must listen to it somewhere private and then call 911 cause you're going to need CPR.

I am NOT :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:
You are probably right! OMIGOD, What if he sings it on Regis and Kelly???????????? A nationwide meltdown!!!!

:etrain: :allaboard: :allaboard: :allaboard:

The song is a work of art, IMO. He threw his whole soul and heart into it.

This is even better than his AI version!

I LOVE this song SOO much because it was his defining moment on AI when he finally sang ASFY. He sang it to get on the show and then brought it to the big stage like he'd dreamed of doing for so very long.

It is his signature piece and I had never ever heard the song before he sang it on AI. I had heard Donny Hathaway plenty of times with Roberta Flack, but didn't put 2 and 2 together at the time that E sang ASFY.

I read somewhere last year on the AI boards that Elliott is like Donny Hathaway come back from the dead, in a white man's body..... I had Donny's version of ASFY going at the same time as E's. I 'd pause one and then listen to the other to compare voices and the nuances of E's version vs. Donny's. E's is breathtaking. And like Randy Jackson said to E one time. "You can sing it like the record anytime, because you got it like that." (meaning he's got it like Donny.) I agree.

This will always be my very favorite E song because of the story behind it for E. E's voice is magical and Donny's as well, and Donny would be very proud of Elliott I think.

How is everybody hearing ASFY??? :unsure:

ETB - click on the first item in the box at the top of the page - AOL is hosting a full CD listening party.

NVM Linda, I found it!

ASFY album version=LOVE :wub:

:thud:

I love the intimacy of this version, the simplicity of the piano against E's amazing vocal. And the change in tempo......DELICIOUS!

Elliott<------ :iloveu:

:thud: