I was wondering why I nearly always hate them; the reason is, great singers alter their performance depending on the other person. Elvis would have sung totally differently than he did solo, if he knew there was another singer. Great singers adapt accordingly - to make the other sound even better, and the finished product ditto.

I always hated the Natalie/Nat Cole duets for the same reason.

Fake duets are (almost always) terrible, even if both artistes are still alive (for example Sinatra's duet albums in the 90s with Bono etc).

When they work (Sonny and Cher) they can be terrific.

agreed.

and duets with both singers alive..such as Tony Bennett. Whilst all those he sang with are wonderful singers, Bennett has the 'finest vocal chords in the world' as Sinatra said and to see him sing live is a joy.

these duets don;t seem to boost each other, they sort of reduce each singer's style.

It's not just with dead people, though. Most duet albums these days feature a few songs that were recorded 'in separate studios. I agree it's the lack of interaction that makes them so dull.

I would actually go so far as to say that they should be made illegal. As someone who has made a few recordings myself (though unreleased) I am thinking from the point of view of the artist. Elvis may have HATED the idea of duetting with Susan Boyle and turned the project down flat. I also totally agree that singers are just like other musicians in the respect that they 'feed off each other'. I'm sure Susan was inspired by Elvis's vocals and has done her best to 'rise to the challenge' but the fact Elvis gets no say/has no opportunity to interact is not only unfair but shows the money grabbing side of the music industry in my opinion.

Tony May wrote:
I would actually go so far as to say that they should be made illegal. As someone who has made a few recordings myself (though unreleased) I am thinking from the point of view of the artist. Elvis may have HATED the idea of duetting with Susan Boyle and turned the project down flat. I also totally agree that singers are just like other musicians in the respect that they 'feed off each other'. I'm sure Susan was inspired by Elvis's vocals and has done her best to 'rise to the challenge' but the fact Elvis gets no say/has no opportunity to interact is not only unfair but shows the money grabbing side of the music industry in my opinion.

I bet Jane Austen would be pretty peeved at having a bunch of hacks bowdlerising her work just to help publishers exploit people too dumb and lazy to read the real things. Culture's folding back on itself.

Yes I hate those too... but I am reading the new Bond, mainly because Fleming wasn't a great writer but had some magic moments.