Bob Dylan was/is superb. People give way too much sway to technical voice quality.
What makes a singer interesting/enjoyable to listen to is the perceived personality/character behind the person and the unique sound/character of the
actual voice quality itself that resonates with the particular melody of a song. That's why Mick Jagger, Louis Armstrong, Bob Dylan, Barry McGuire,
Jimmy Hendrix have been great to listen to. They have such a unique sound. It's not opera. Doesn't have to be. Wouldn't work if it was. I think
the best song interpreter of all times is Frank Sinatra. He had a decent voice, but not perfect. And no one could sing the vast number of songs that
became his own once he performed it.
Voice quality doesn't have to good, it has to be right.
Hi lyrics (poetry) have captivated me since I first heard Sad Eyed Lady some 45 or so years back. His ability to distill prose to its essence (poetry)
is still just fine by me. Here is a non-musical tribute by BD to his idol Woody Guthrie: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NVbr0y8zp68&feature=relat...
Certainty is the child of ignorance, knowledge is the mother of doubt. Question everything!
Originally posted by MrBillM
I'd be willing to bet that 90 % + of those who obsess over the profound words of BD would have failed a Drug Test at some time during their lives.
Yeah, and I bet that 90% of those who listen to Frank Sinatra would have failed a breathalyzer at sometime
in their lives. So what?
Not sure about your hang up on drugs, Mr. Bile. It appears to be your primary talking point on this thread. Perhaps you might consider reading up a
bit more about the pervasive use of drugs in our society. And maybe do more research to determine that, for instance, marijuana use does not imply
that harder drugs will ensue. Want to be smug. Fine. But, as monoloco appeared to be subtle about it, it's highly likely that you and Mr. Beam, and
Mr. Cuervo have a long standing relationship.
Originally posted by Bajahowodd
marijuana use does not imply that harder drugs will ensue.
Oh yeah??? Here's proof, in it's entireity, that you're wrong.
Now...go roll a bag full of doobs, load up the cooler, sit back and learn the real truth.
Originally posted by Bajahowodd
marijuana use does not imply that harder drugs will ensue.
Oh yeah??? Here's proof, in it's entireity, that you're wrong.
Now...go roll a bag full of doobs, load up the cooler, sit back and learn the real truth.
You, Uncle (Mr) Bill and I were all influenced by this great film that exposed that demon dope. We all marched down and handed this evidence to
J.Edgar Hoover. We got my sister Mary Jane busted. What a righteous thing! That skank had it coming.
After that, the world was convinced. It got those hip Bohemians all hooked on Heroin, made them write and sing bad songs. Meanwhile, the good, moral
folks like us retreated to the strains of Lawrence Welk. A-one, and a-two. Ahhhh, there now!
Edited to identify the film: Reefer Madness (for those that didn't open Dennis' link).
Originally posted by MitchMan
That's why Mick Jagger, Louis Armstrong, Bob Dylan, Barry McGuire, Jimmy Hendrix have been great to listen to. They have such a unique sound.
And don't forget Rex Harrison.
He practically talked his way through My Fair Lady. Hell, the man couldn't sing at all. But great vocalization would have destroyed his part and his
songs.
"Well after all, Pickering, I'm an ordinary man,
Who desires nothing more than an ordinary chance,
to live exactly as he likes, and do precisely what he wants...
An average man am I, of no eccentric whim,
Who likes to live his life, free of strife,
doing whatever he thinks is best, for him,
Well... just an ordinary man..."
About vocalization, though... Peter Paul and Mary doing Dylan just doesn't seem right. It's no longer Dylan. It's Peter Paul and Mary. Same is true of
them doing Arlo Guthrie.
I guess songs are like people.
You don't have to be good looking to be attractive.
Hey MrBillM... have a number of old "blue eyes" too... as his voice is (thanks to digital always with us) just "unbelievable"... my folks listened to
the big bands.. of WWII, I grew up on them.. was a war baby...
Have found that Mr. Sinatra is in a totally differnt league on the vocals.. very nice listening too... and ..... "words" .... some of his songs aren't
too bad either...
How about "the lady is a tramp"... "fly me to the moon", "new york new york" and many others...
The guy could knock them out of the park every time...
Now back to Bob... and an "electric" like a "Rolling Stone".... major change in music scene with that one...
I suppose "rap" is just an evolution of the "folk" song... just a bit more drums.. and words with are allowed to be used, which would have never made
it in the 30's to somewhere into the late 80's and early 90's when things started heating up on the "words.. or something like that...
What makes a singer interesting/enjoyable to listen to is the perceived personality/character behind the person and the unique sound/character of the
actual voice quality itself that resonates with the particular melody of a song.
Everybody's got an opinion and it's worth what it cost to express it.
I, too, have quite a few Sinatra albums and I enjoy them. Good stylist. Dick Haymes had a better voice.
While Sinatra had some great hits, he also had "Mama Will Bark" and a lot in between. It's worth remembering that his career had cratered before he
did "From Here to Eternity" which established him as a dramatic star and, ironically, revived his singing career at a time when his voice was going.
Film ? I've never seen a film about demon Marijuana or any other drug. I don't have to do any reading about drugs. Living at the beach in the
60s-70s I saw enough people (friends included) who used various illegal drugs. I developed a dislike for the Drug and Hippie culture. Not for me then
and not after.
But, then, I thought that the good guys at Kent State were the National Guard. Still do. Too bad they didn't cull more from the herd that day.
Odd and others make my point when they get defensive about drugs. No doubt, everyone of them were users.
As to the incoherent singing cracks that is just gibberish from those who haven't seen him live in the ten years (and of course I get the fact they
don't WANT to see or hear him live!). You'll slam me for this but his voice and his phrasings now sing up, around, through, after, back again the
chord changes just like ol blue eyes used to do (oh man, this will drive some of ya ballistic). The great singers have a different beat in their
heads...and that usually is not the 4/4 or 3/4 time the public has in THEIR heads. He is a GREAT singer. The naysayers are the same ones who would
have dissed Symphonie Fantastic in the early 1800s cause it was too "harsh" or the Rite of Spring cause it was too "wild". People want their arts tied
up in neat little boxes with pretty bows and ribbons and art isn't always pretty or accessible. The bottom line is that he has written dozens and
dozens of songs that any songwriter would call ONE of them a good career.
Originally posted by redhilltown
As to the incoherent singing cracks that is just gibberish from those who haven't seen him live in the ten years (and of course I get the fact they
don't WANT to see or hear him live!). You'll slam me for this but his voice and his phrasings now sing up, around, through, after, back again the
chord changes just like ol blue eyes used to do (oh man, this will drive some of ya ballistic). The great singers have a different beat in their
heads...and that usually is not the 4/4 or 3/4 time the public has in THEIR heads. He is a GREAT singer. The naysayers are the same ones who would
have dissed Symphonie Fantastic in the early 1800s cause it was too "harsh" or the Rite of Spring cause it was too "wild". People want their arts tied
up in neat little boxes with pretty bows and ribbons and art isn't always pretty or accessible. The bottom line is that he has written dozens and
dozens of songs that any songwriter would call ONE of them a good career.
You have a point. I don't know that I'd call him "great," but his voice definitely improved over time. (Maybe he took singing lessons.) Listen to
him on "Lay Lady Lay." His voice is really quite melodic, and not bad, on that one.
Skipjack, couldn't agree with you more on Rex Harrison. He talked his way through all the songs in My Fair Lady --- and it worked. Mick Jagger talks
his way through virtually all his songs. I wouldn't have it any other way. Remember Satisfaction, Sympathy For The Devil, Little Red Rooster,
Midnight Rambler. Wouldn't have it any other way.
Can you imagine what it would sound like if John Gary, Johnny Mathis, or Pavarotti did those songs -- and they have great voices?
"If it were lush and rich, one could understand the pull, but it is fierce and hostile and sullen.
The stone mountains pile up to the sky and there is little fresh water. But we know we must go back
if we live, and we don't know why." - Steinbeck, Log from the Sea of Cortez
"People don't care how much you know, until they know how much you care." - Theodore Roosevelt
"You can easily judge the character of others by how they treat those who they think can do nothing for them or to them." - Malcolm Forbes
"Let others lead small lives, but not you. Let others argue over small things, but not you. Let others
cry over small hurts, but not you. Let others leave their future in someone else's hands, but not you." - Jim Rohn
"The best way to get the right answer on the internet is not to ask a question; it's to post the wrong answer." - Cunningham's Law
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