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Topic History of: Dusty Springfield and talent
Max. showing the last 5 posts - (Last post first)

Author	Message
MC MC	I think the technical expression is overuse of melisma, i.e. singing 300 notes when four would have done - an exhibition of technique rather than emotion. And sadly, thanks to the Cowell/Idol template, this now seems to have become the lingua franca of contemporary pop. One random but useful comparison point - on Sunday's Pick Of The Pops Dale played Aretha's exquisite "Until You Come Back To Me (That's What I'm Gonna Do)" and even though she's singing about knocking on his doo and tapping on his windowpane until he gets up and notices, she never becomes hysterical; the emotion is always controlled and her slow-motion glide is sublime. If Mariah sang that now it would be all "AAAARRRRRGGHHH KNOCK ON YOWOWOWOWOO DOWOWOWOWOOR" for five minutes before she even got to the next line.
JK2006	Now you see, funnily enough I love Celine Dion (for me she and R Kelly were the two outstanding talents of the 90's) and I adore Whitney at her best but I cannot stand Mariah or Christina. Leave aside the personal preferences though - the overall point remains - it's how they handle the mundane and ordinary that really matters. There's nothing wrong with a bit of drama and hysteria (love my friend Bassey to bits and Judy too) but check out their soft, gentle, everyday vocals to find true greatness.
DJKZ	Don't get me wrong Zooloo, I am not necessarily a huge fan of Whitney's style of singing. I mean't that when the young ones grow older they will be bemoaning the days of 5 octave singers. I blame Christina Aguilera and Celine Dion. Once they started warbling all over the place it became about technique and not about passion. I have heard some great Gospel singers who had great dynamics. It wasn't just about technique. Now the yardstick to measure singers is by how many notes they can cram into a syllable or belt like crazy. It is sad actually.
zooloo	Radio 4 thing on 60s girl groups - should be available on listen again by now
SW	I'm the right side of 40, actually! It's not an age thing...you can't deny that Dusty Springfield had a lot of emotion in her voice, though you can't beat Donny Hathaway for that...genuinely a voice that makes me cry every time I hear him sing. Can't miss out Scott Walker either - what a gorgegous rich tone. It's all about tone...too many shite singers use the vocal acrobatics to hide the fact that they haven't got any and also that they can't hold a note. Mariah...not a fan at all but Whitney had a beautiful voice. It's all a bit shot to pieces these days.