Old vs New vocalists

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WayneKerr

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Had a great afternoon yesterday listening to a double CD of Randy Crawford, stunning voice. Last night on the Beeb Alicia Keys was on for an hour with some of her hits, I quite like some of her stuff so decided to watch it. What a complete waste of time. Terrible! She even tried to sing a few covers and failed miserably.

With the odd exception the main crop of singers from the last 20 or so years are such a homogeneous bunch all sounding the same. Instead of belting out a good song they just want to wail their way through with vocal gymnastics. I really doubt I could tell any two female singers apart these days. I guess we have Mariah Carey to blame for this ridiculous form of vocalising.

Conversely, if you go back to the 60-80's within 30 seconds of a song starting you would be able to tell who the vocalist is. Some examples of this would be: Randy Crawford, Gladys Knight, Donna Summer, Whitney Houston, Three Degrees and even Diana Ross.

Maybe it's me and I'm just getting old :)
 
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Revolutions

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I think it’s probably more to do with style than ability. Alicia Keys is a classically trained musician. She has a lot of credibility as an artist & songwriter.

There’s so many amazing vocalists around these days. A few off the top of my head: Jenny Lewis, Michael Kiwanuka, Father John Misty, The Staves, Wolf Alice.
 
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Rodolfo

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A little over-stated, though I sympathize. I think it's the major transition to viewing rather than listening to music (deciding/choosing to watch it). Looking good, and/or nice, provocative. etc. video has been sufficient to sell, to advertise for decades now. This very forum illustrates it daily.

I love much vocal music, and remind you of Nancy Wilson's An Older Man is Like An Elegant Wine, also sympathizing.
 
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Gray

Gray

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WayneKerr said:
Had a great afternoon yesterday listening to a double CD of Randy Crawford, stunning voice. Last night on the Beeb Alicia Keys was on for an hour with some of her hits, I quite like some of her stuff so decided to watch it. What a complete waste of time. Terrible! She even tried to sing a few covers and failed miserably.

With the odd exception the main crop of singers from the last 20 or so years are such a homogeneous bunch all sounding the same. Instead of belting out a good song they just want to wail their way through with vocal gymnastics. I really doubt I could tell any two female singers apart these days. I guess we have Mariah Carey to blame for this ridiculous form of vocalising.

Conversely, if you go back to the 60-80's within 30 seconds of a song starting you would be able to tell who the vocalist is. Some examples of this would be: Randy Crawford, Gladys Knight, Donna Summer, Whitney Houston, Three Degrees and even Diana Ross.

Maybe it's me and I'm just getting old :)
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I watched the whole of that Alicia Keys.
As Revolutions pointed out above, she's classically trained - and you can tell by the playing. I do like the (rapless version of) the 'Empire state of mind' track.

But I know exactly what you mean about the vocal style Doug.
It does seem to be a trend - and not one I welcome, but then I usually avoid it.

I know I'm biased, but The 3 Degrees are the world's longest running female group.....for a reason (y)
 
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WayneKerr

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There is no doubting Alicia's classical training and her talent as a songwriter. After having recently acquired some of her albums and liking some of the tracks, (Empire State of Mind part II*), I looked forward to the programme but was disappointed. Maybe "terrible" was the wrong word to use in this context. (*I loathe Jay Z's rap version and any rap for that matter).

What the majority of the current crop of artists seem to lack is a distinctive voice which sets them apart from the plethora of similar vocal styles and for this reason I can't warm to them. I have said this before but it's sometimes good to see these artists cover older songs in an attempt to make it their own, but they generally fail miserably because they just don't have the ability to do the song justice.

Maybe the The Buggles were right... video did kill the radio star :)
 
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Rui

Rui

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WayneKerr said:
Had a great afternoon yesterday listening to a double CD of Randy Crawford, stunning voice. Last night on the Beeb Alicia Keys was on for an hour with some of her hits, I quite like some of her stuff so decided to watch it. What a complete waste of time. Terrible! She even tried to sing a few covers and failed miserably.

With the odd exception the main crop of singers from the last 20 or so years are such a homogeneous bunch all sounding the same. Instead of belting out a good song they just want to wail their way through with vocal gymnastics. I really doubt I could tell any two female singers apart these days. I guess we have Mariah Carey to blame for this ridiculous form of vocalising.

Conversely, if you go back to the 60-80's within 30 seconds of a song starting you would be able to tell who the vocalist is. Some examples of this would be: Randy Crawford, Gladys Knight, Donna Summer, Whitney Houston, Three Degrees and even Diana Ross.

Maybe it's me and I'm just getting old :)
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not getting old ,just reality , when the 90´s started i could never imagine that i would listen to several new bands that had in common their taste in music and noticeable influences from older artists and styles of playing , i did liked a Alicia keys song written by the vocal of four non-blondes band a soft rock rythm with some funky efects from guitar in the song doncha know(sky is blue)song from the movie where she appears about slavery in the U.S. at the time of the underground railroad, so many bad artists that are famous like the taylor swift thing that i don´t even understand why is she a good singer , and many more with great hit songs that i didn´t even understand what was the reason for those to be heard , about one recognising bands by their first seconds in a song was easier ,so many diferent type of productions till the 2000´s and earlier ,today is remasterized and rematers of a remasterized song like the two albuns from the beatles in the 80´s a white and a black called remasters ,today a doble album with remasterized songs of remasters, maybe next is the triple R masters, but i think it´s a trend of re-remasterized old songs and people do buy the same album 3 or 4 times in their life time because of several re-editions of an album already squished to the fullest but then a remaster of the remaster appears and one as to have it ,it´s somehow diferent ,like the dark side of the moon ,i used to like the album but today i almost feel sick when started to hear the registry machine open and close with coins on it or is it a slot machine and why had david gilmour a slot machine at home, and still have the first record i bought and later someone ofered me a box of pink floyds albums, like when the chemical brothers release a song with a start from a pink floyd´s song initial bass, everybody knew it but when asked all looked to the clouds like if the name of the song sampled would appear written on the sky but hear saucerfull of secrets album and notice block rockin´beats, Someone is going to writte that i´m out of topic but i think it´s related or isn´t it, sorry if i´m wrong
 
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Bert_K

Bert_K

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WayneKerr said:
Maybe it's me and I'm just getting old :)
Click to expand...
Honestly, I can´t stand modern female singers. Since rnb became popular female singers are convinced they must sound rnb, which basicly means they can´t or wont hold on to a straight note for longer than 1,5 seconds. The result is that popmusic lacks dramatic expression and exaltation, and became all about words. Taylor Swift and Beyoncé take the lead in this style which bores me to death. I do like good lyrics but they should float on great melodies. Great melodies are very rare these days. Maybe mankind can´t come up anymore with equally good melodies like from the past. More words is not the same as a better song. Belly button staring lyrics are annoying and lyrics about female and or black victimship, as a means to wake up people politically, is not why I enjoy music. I regard Beyoncé a great singer, and I wish she recorded an album with real country songs, sung in a traditional way. But for her and her fanbase it means ¨white music is wrong because whites overruled black music". This is exactly the reason she sings in rnb style, or ghetto style even. It's about the tribe.

Like Ella Fitzgerald, the Supremes, Donna Summer, Chic, Whitney Houston, Shirley Bassey, Tina Turner and many other great black female artists never existed. Talents who expressed themselves in a universal way.

Oh well, I'm a classisist allright.

So yes, here the same, and I do get older. I was a teenager in the 1970's. Until around the end of the 1980's I listened and enjoyed chart popmusic and enjoyed the greatest voices possible. Records of these female vocalists spinned around daily: Rinda Ronstadt, Olivia Newton John, Barbra Streisand, ABBA, Donna Summer, Emmylou Harris, Carpenters, Kate Bush, Tina Turner, Dolly Parton.
In the 1990's I focussed on classical music, in the 2000's on country, and from 2010 onward I've mostly listened to instrumental music.

In the meantime I upgraded my stereo system. The simpler the music, the better it sounds.
Some favorites:
  • Pat Metheny - Dream Box
  • Tommy Guerro - all his albums
  • Vince Clarke - Songs Of Silence
  • Klaus Schultze - Deus Arrakis
  • Floating Points - Crush
  • Duane Eddy - Twang A Country Song
Of course I do support any minority getting the same rights and chances in life.
 
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DougK1

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Bert_K said:
Honestly, I can´t stand modern female singers. Since rnb became popular female singers are convinced they must sound rnb, which basicly means they can´t or wont hold on to a straight note for longer than 1,5 seconds. The result is that popmusic lacks dramatic expression and exaltation, and became all about words. Taylor Swift and Beyoncé take the lead in this style which bores me to death. I do like good lyrics but they should float on great melodies. Great melodies are very rare these days. Maybe mankind can´t come up anymore with equally good melodies like from the past. More words is not the same as a better song. Belly button staring lyrics are annoying and lyrics about female and or black victimship, as a means to wake up people politically, is not why I enjoy music. I regard Beyoncé a great singer, and I wish she recorded an album with real country songs, sung in a traditional way. But for her and her fanbase it means ¨white music is wrong because whites overruled black music". This is exactly the reason she sings in rnb style, or ghetto style even. It's about the tribe.

Like Ella Fitzgerald, the Supremes, Donna Summer, Chic, Whitney Houston, Shirley Bassey, Tina Turner and many other great black female artists never existed. Talents who expressed themselves in a universal way.

Oh well, I'm a classisist allright.

So yes, here the same, and I do get older. I was a teenager in the 1970's. Until around the end of the 1980's I listened and enjoyed chart popmusic and enjoyed the greatest voices possible. Records of these female vocalists spinned around daily: Rinda Ronstadt, Olivia Newton John, Barbra Streisand, ABBA, Donna Summer, Emmylou Harris, Carpenters, Kate Bush, Tina Turner, Dolly Parton.
In the 1990's I focussed on classical music, in the 2000's on country, and from 2010 onward I've mostly listened to instrumental music.

In the meantime I upgraded my stereo system. The simpler the music, the better it sounds.
Some favorites:
  • Pat Metheny - Dream Box
  • Tommy Guerro - all his albums
  • Vince Clarke - Songs Of Silence
  • Klaus Schultze - Deus Arrakis
  • Floating Points - Crush
  • Duane Eddy - Twang A Country Song
Of course I do support any minority getting the same rights and chances in life.
Click to expand...
Wonderful response, thanks Bert (y)
 
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Rodolfo

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I sympathize this year too, but I do like many modern female singers, even if not many current pop singers. But, I probably didn't like many 20th century pop singers either --females or males, in all genres.

Linda Ronstadt, by the way, is my forever favorite singer. Remarkable voice across eras, genres, and in two languages. One of my very first CDs was her 'Round Midnight, a 2-cd compilation of her then-current albums with-the Nelson Riddle Orchestra. I still play it regularly and use disc 2, especially to test new or others' equipment's ability to impress/thrill me as she always has. Her voice illustrates Music beautifully, including the importance of volume! I still lend the CD selectively, always recommend it highly and do here and now, if available to you. And there are others, of course, and from across several decades.

Love linda Linda :love:
 
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Rui

Rui

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Bert_K said:
Honestly, I can´t stand modern female singers. Since rnb became popular female singers are convinced they must sound rnb, which basicly means they can´t or wont hold on to a straight note for longer than 1,5 seconds. The result is that popmusic lacks dramatic expression and exaltation, and became all about words. Taylor Swift and Beyoncé take the lead in this style which bores me to death. I do like good lyrics but they should float on great melodies. Great melodies are very rare these days. Maybe mankind can´t come up anymore with equally good melodies like from the past. More words is not the same as a better song. Belly button staring lyrics are annoying and lyrics about female and or black victimship, as a means to wake up people politically, is not why I enjoy music. I regard Beyoncé a great singer, and I wish she recorded an album with real country songs, sung in a traditional way. But for her and her fanbase it means ¨white music is wrong because whites overruled black music". This is exactly the reason she sings in rnb style, or ghetto style even. It's about the tribe.

Like Ella Fitzgerald, the Supremes, Donna Summer, Chic, Whitney Houston, Shirley Bassey, Tina Turner and many other great black female artists never existed. Talents who expressed themselves in a universal way.

Oh well, I'm a classisist allright.

So yes, here the same, and I do get older. I was a teenager in the 1970's. Until around the end of the 1980's I listened and enjoyed chart popmusic and enjoyed the greatest voices possible. Records of these female vocalists spinned around daily: Rinda Ronstadt, Olivia Newton John, Barbra Streisand, ABBA, Donna Summer, Emmylou Harris, Carpenters, Kate Bush, Tina Turner, Dolly Parton.
In the 1990's I focussed on classical music, in the 2000's on country, and from 2010 onward I've mostly listened to instrumental music.

In the meantime I upgraded my stereo system. The simpler the music, the better it sounds.
Some favorites:
  • Pat Metheny - Dream Box
  • Tommy Guerro - all his albums
  • Vince Clarke - Songs Of Silence
  • Klaus Schultze - Deus Arrakis
  • Floating Points - Crush
  • Duane Eddy - Twang A Country Song
Of course I do support any minority getting the same rights and chances in life.
Click to expand...
well i have to say that it is a fact that i can´t understand this new R`n`B thing with the hediest ear drum reaping singers and nice young female singers who really have a good voice who try to decrease their own voices to meet the shallow standart of this well-known bad female singers some called Divas, or whatever they mean by that, your examples are enough to show what you meant but the list would be endless if we started to writte all female voices that were really surprising good when starting their careers
 
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DougK1

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Rodolfo said:
I sympathize this year too, but I do like many modern female singers, even if not many current pop singers. But, I probably didn't like many 20th century pop singers either --females or males, in all genres.

Linda Ronstadt, by the way, is my forever favorite singer. Remarkable voice across eras, genres, and in two languages. One of my very first CDs was her 'Round Midnight, a 2-cd compilation of her then-current albums with-the Nelson Riddle Orchestra. I still play it regularly and use disc 2, especially to test new or others' equipment's ability to impress/thrill me as she always has. Her voice illustrates Music beautifully, including the importance of volume! I still lend the CD selectively, always recommend it highly and do here and now, if available to you. And there are others, of course, and from across several decades.

Love linda Linda :love:
Click to expand...
I really tried and wanted to love Linda as she has a terrific voice, unfortunately she's a bit too country & western for my taste. Karen Carpenter is my all time favourite but there are so many others too, Gladys Knight, Randy Crawford, Lara Fabian, Annie Lennox, Kate Bush, Alison Moyet, to name but a few.
 
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Revolutions

Revolutions

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I mentioned Jenny Lewis in my first post. Possibly one of the greatest lyricists of her generation, can write incredible pop songs & has an incredible voice.

This video is going back a few years, and is strange as she’s not playing guitar or piano, but such a great example of all three elements above - the dynamics in her signing, and the ease at how she does it is especially impressive
View: https://youtu.be/MUUaJs9ls8c?si=T5XsDXzANCHQj27V
 
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Revolutions

Revolutions

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DougK1 said:
Do like Buddy, another personal favourite. In my opinion far better than Elvis.
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Buddy Holly’s output in just a few years was incredible. I really should dive into his catalogue more, and read a biography. I only know him by the various compilations I’ve listened to throughout my life, don’t know the timeline of when/where etc.
 
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